Ten Years To Total Destruction
The Dynamic Wealth Report
May 24, 2010
Are you sick of Greece yet? The media has been talking about the Greek
debt problem for months now. You can’t open a newspaper or magazine
without seeing some reference to the problems in Europe.
I’m all for highlighting problems, but what I really want to know is
how
do I make money from this fiasco? I’ll give you a great idea in a
moment…
Now, I’ve done my fair share of research on Greece. It’s not hard to
notice their problems spreading across the rest of Europe. While looking
at problems is one thing, not many people know how Greece got into this
mess in the first place. It’s a good question.
National Public Radio (NPR) did a great story on the Greek debt problems
a few weeks back.
Instead of focusing on the current issues and all the suffering this
financial collapse has caused, they focused on its genesis. Where did it
all start?
Amazingly, it only took ten years for total destruction.
What happened ten years ago? Greece joined the European Union. To join
the EU, Greece had to adopt a whole new level of rules and regulations…
and by joining, they received some great benefits as well.
-------------Sponsor-------------
Where Can You Turn $300 Into $1.3 Million Right Now?
Our own small-company specialist, Robert Morris, has found a
way to 'sniff out' tiny penny stocks on the verge of a major breakout. And
the timing for this has never been better.
You see, the system takes advantage of an obscure SEC regulation that
sends penny stock prices through the roof.
We've seen some stocks gain 852%... 5,450%... even 17,496% in no time
flat.
Click here
for the details...
-----------------------------------
Ten years ago it was difficult to get a loan in Greece.
Interest rates were high (over 10%) and people just didn’t borrow a lot
of money.
But that started to change once Greece joined the EU. They began using
the euro as their currency. Suddenly, Greek debt was interesting for
international investors. The Greek debt markets, once tiny on the global
stage, started growing rapidly.
The euro-denominated Greek bonds started finding homes in international
investor portfolios. The more these investors bought, the lower interest
rates moved. Low interest rates became attractive to borrowers.
Suddenly, everyone was borrowing money and spending.
The economic boom was breathtaking.
Greeks were borrowing money to buy houses. They were borrowing to buy
cars. They borrowed to take vacations. They even started borrowing to pay
back earlier loans.
It was a bad cycle.
While everyday Greeks were sliding down the slippery slope of debt, the
Greek government just jumped off the cliff. It was a majestic swan dive.
The Greek government spent way beyond its means for years. They too got
caught up in the cycle of borrowing and spending, borrowing and
spending. They made dramatic civic improvements. They hosted the
Olympics. They started promising more and more money to civil servants
and retirees.
The cycle ended just 10 years after it started.
A new government was put in power and what they discovered shocked the
world.
The Greek government had been hiding their true levels of debt. What
they’d been telling global bond investors was a blatant lie. (Politicians lying to the public… now there’s a shock.)
They had been hiding debt “off the books”.
Global investors didn’t just smell a rat. They watched the rat dance its
way through the dining room! Like any intelligent individual, these
investors stood up and walked out. They sold off their Greek bond
holdings and abandoned the Greek bond market.
Then the situation began spiraling out of control.
Nobody wanted to buy Greek bonds. Investors started worrying about their
ability to repay the debt. And interest rates soared.
Just as a comparison, US 30 year bonds yield about 4% right now… Greek
bonds pay double the yield… almost 8%.
That means investors see double the risk in Greece.
For businesses and individuals, interest rates are even higher. They’ve
shot through the roof and are quickly approaching the stratosphere.
But there’s an even bigger problem. Nobody wants to loan out money. Even
if you agreed to pay the huge interest rates, you can’t find a bank
willing to lend. And that spells doom for the Greek economy.
In just ten short years, the entire economy went from steady, to booming,
to blown-up. It will be years before these problems can be overcome.
How bad is it?
Just take a quick look at the Athens stock market.

You can see Athens participated in the global rebound starting in early
2009. However, the bounce was short lived. In the fall, when early signs
of economic problems stated appearing, the markets started looking like
a downhill ski-slope more than an economic recovery.
Many good companies got caught up in this mess.
Take a look at
Crude Carriers (CRU). This is a brand new Greece based
company. They went public in early March… right as the “you know what”
was hitting the fan. Their IPO price was $19 per share. Today it’s
trading for just $16.
It’s one of the worst performing IPOs in the last
few months.
While a lower price is nice, that’s not reason enough to buy a stock.
What’s interesting to me about CRU is their business. They’re a shipping
company. They focus on shipping crude oil from place to place. CRU gets
paid to run the ship, regardless of oil prices. That being said, higher
oil prices can be a good thing.
Higher prices typically mean more demand… and more demand means more oil
needs to be shipped around the world. That means more business for the
shipping industry… and for CRU.
Once the European debt crisis is contained, the global economic recovery
should pick up steam. And that will happen sooner than you think. Oil
prices will move ever higher and CRU is perfectly positioned to capture
this growth and profit from it.
I’m not the only one who thinks so.
Recently CRU’s CEO bought 25,000 shares on the open market… and the
company president bought 6,000 shares. Clearly they see smoother sailing
ahead.
Take a closer look at CRU. It’s a great way to make money from the Greek
debt debacle.
• Gold Mining Industry (Up 0.2%)
It’s funny. Just last week I highlighted the growth in the gold mining
industry. Now, of all the industry groups we track, it’s the only one
showing a positive return in the last 30 days. The horrible market
action over the last few weeks hasn’t spared a single industry group.
Print
Page
Bookmark Us