Off with the masks. Multinational debt bubbles, propped up by nothing more than confidence, have given way to a glimpse – for the time being, nothing more than that – of harsh reality. And that reality is none other than Northern Europe’s refusal to continue committing its money to the black holes of the South and the periphery.
Some will try to justify it by saying that it was a publicity stunt on the part of the Neurogroup against the Russian mafia’s unchecked slush funds; others will simply put it down to President Anastasiades’ negligence in the way he has handled yet another bailout in extremis, with negotiations taking place in the early hours of what was supposed to be a ‘corralito’ over a long weekend, and which could last for months. But no. What happened in Cyprus marks a radical departure from the mantra repeated ad nauseam by all the leaders of the Neurozone since the start of this crisis, back in 2007. A repetitive narrative that has always sought to square the circle of peripheral debt with promises of money that does not exist. (more…)
The rhyme is easy. But there is no animosity towards that nation, far from it, as what happened in Cyprus would be comparable to what has happened in the rest of the southern periphery of the Eurozone. The circumstances and the rhymes of a Greek, Italian, Spanish or Portuguese person are different, but the parallels are undeniable, and 
It seems that the world is divided between those who save and those who don’t. But many of those who claim to live from hand to mouth do, at some point in their lives (mostly in middle age) and despite the hardships of this crisis, tend to put a little money aside for their old age or for an uncertain future. However, most of these forward-thinking people have never considered themselves investors, but simply savers. Warren Buffett said that Investing means spending less today so that we can spend more in the future, and he hit the nail on the head, as he almost always does. 
Most business owners, employees, the unemployed and even civil servants in this country are wondering how long this crisis will last – this ordeal for the welfare state that is taking such a severe and persistent toll on household and business finances. But I fear that the answer does not match the hopes of the Spanish people. 
Despite being the closest member of the BRICs, the Russian economy is still largely unknown to Spanish investors. However, we are already beginning to see its inhabitants travelling en masse around the world. And little by little we are becoming familiar with their appearance and language, because more and more Russian tourism is flooding the Mediterranean coasts from the Turkish Riviera to the Costa Brava. Restaurant menus in the Cyrillic alphabet are now quite common, and this is a clear sign that their roubles are beginning to make a substantial contribution to the balance sheets of our companies. 
Most investors care little about what might have happened. They only value and rate the quality of their bets by the final outcome. In other words, often without realising it, they subscribe to the old saying: “all's well that ends well”.
