I'm back and it's been anything but a restful few days. Facebook continues to slide and Zuckerberg exits the list of Top 40 Billionaires. But no tears to spare for Mark (or his friends) as we have bigger 'Exit' problems. Euro-zone looks on the brink (literally). Actually I've written quite a bit about the situation in Europe and I consider myself fairly up-to-date. That said, my previously optimistic posts on the European crisis are looking foolishly naive at this point. So, hands up, I was wrong. Frankly, I don't know where we go from here. There are lots of views on what happens now but they all seem to agree that (a) it's a real possibility that the Grexit happens (b) it will be very disruptive for markets. Next vote is June 17 when Greeks head to the polls to yay/nay a bailout. Unfortunately the anti-bailout camp seems to be gaining ground which is why everyone's so worried. It feels like a fast approaching train-wreck at this point.
I'm really sorry to sound alarmist (I'm a natural optimist) but it's hard to be sanguine right now. The threat of contagion/panic is real. Spain's a ticking time-bomb while Italy and Portugal look increasingly precarious as well. In many of these distressed countries, bank customers are literally drawing their deposits as they have little confidence in the health of their banks.
Against this backdrop, it's hard to be enthusiastic about markets. Indeed, I too, was hoping to add a little levity to today's post but I just can't find it (yes, I know Barney's and net-a-porter Sales have started). Just not in the mood to be binging as Europe teeters on the brink. Have a few things in my basket but I'm going to wait. Hopefully (I pray) we see global policy makers deliver a very large-coordinated rescue package and I'll splurge then. I see few reasons to celebrate otherwise.
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