The storm clouds are gathering over Greece..
The American Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, has flown to Poland to throw his two cents in concerning the EU debt crisis.. Now as for the next tranche of bailout payments to Greece, European Finance Ministers will wait until October to decide whether the situation can be saved by pouring cash into a leaking bucket.. the majority of analysts agree Greece will default on it's next interest payments.. which leaves few options for that beleaguered country..
The one solution, as we mentioned some months ago, is for Greece to leave the EU temporarily, lose the Euro and return to the Drachma, and devalue the currency as low as the markets will bear..
But, what then of all the billions already loaned..? French and German banks are dangerously exposed.. and investors in those countries could see their own house of cards wobble should none of this cash come home..
The markets have closed here.. but investors seem uncertain.. with the exception of France's Cac, which closed down about 1% on the heels of uncertainty in the banking sector, the rest ended the day flat..

In perhaps an optimistic moment.. at a campaign fundraiser last night in Washington, President Obama said he believes his chances of being reelected in 2012 are “much higher” than they were in 2008..
“Over the last couple of months there have been Democrats who voiced concerns and nervousness about, well, in this kind of economy, isn’t this just.. aren’t these just huge headwinds in terms of your reelection?” Obama said..
“And I just have to remind people that, here’s one thing I know for certain: the odds of me being reelected are much higher than the odds of me being elected in the first place.”..
Obama made the remarks before a gathering of 50 donors to his reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee who each paid $35,800 to attend..
Yet history cannot be ignored.. No American President has ever been re-elected, with an unemployment level over 7.2%..
As we write, it stands a full two points above that level, with the private sector unable to keep up with the layoffs in the Public Service..
That, does not look as though it will change much in the next 15 months or so..
Obama attended two intimate $35,800-per-couple fundraisers last night, assuring donors that he will push Congress to pass his economic initiative and expressing confidence in his ability to win a second term.. Comparing his drive to get the public behind his $447 billion jobs proposal to a political campaign, Obama declared.. "We intend to keep the pressure up," he said. "Folks are ready for action.".. Now, there's an understatement if ever there was one..
Best of luck with Congress.. the GOP has no great desire to pass legislation that could reflect well on the President, regardless of the good it may do their constituents.. The general view is, that this 'recession' will last longer than the run-up to the next election, and if the Republicans can use this to their advantage, they will..
We've already seen how 'playing politics' is indeed a game in the US..
They appear to have lost their way in the overall Game..