Pakistan,Hungary,Ukraine,Argentina all about to go bust

[expat]

Analysts warn that it is leading indicator for what could happen if Russia if crude falls much further.

ISTM that this is right, and an interesting observation. Russia is rediscovering its pride, but it is all based on things that it is only able to do because of the demand for oil and gas. I don't think they will lightly give up this renewed confidence.

[Cyberman]

Im sure Russia will be happy to assist Ukraine with its bankruptcy problem.

And this is a country that wants to join NATO ??

I don't see the relevance of NATO and bankruptcy. NATO is purely a voluntary alliance, and it's just a matter of safety in numbers.

[AlfredJPruffock]

Im sure Russia will be happy to assist Ukraine with its bankruptcy problem.

And this is a country that wants to join NATO ??

[Diver]

Zimbabwean inflation is currently 231,000,000 %. Well done, Mugabe !!!

50,000 dollar banknote

The banknote is worth five US dollars on the parallel market and 294 dollars at the official rate, and is enough for three loaves of bread.

[Cyberman]

Zimbabwean inflation is currently 231,000,000 %. Well done, Mugabe !!!

[DiscoStu]

I have £53.95 in my wallet - where do I go to buy Russia?

Too late I'm afraid, I just bought it for 100 Zimbabwean dollars. Boomed!

[PM-Junkie]

I have £53.95 in my wallet - where do I go to buy Russia?

[SueEllen]

My Barclaycard was declined in a petrol station this morning, and I seriously wondered if it was me running out of credit or Barclays!

Turned out that a flurry of my Amazon orders from last week were deemed suspicious transactions, so Barclaycard had suspended the account. I wish they'd have bloody let me know - It's embarrassing being treated like a sad pauper or a con man when your card is refused!

Barclaycard have a habit of doing that with online transactions.

[OwlHoot]

My Barclaycard was declined in a petrol station this morning, and I seriously wondered if it was me running out of credit or Barclays!

Turned out that a flurry of my Amazon orders from last week were deemed suspicious transactions, so Barclaycard had suspended the account. I wish they'd have bloody let me know - It's embarrassing being treated like a sad pauper or a con man when your card is refused!

[HairyArsedBloke]

They are in the tulipe since quite a few years now so they can't be doing any worse. Besides the banking system overthere is still in the Middle Ages so they have probably invested only in sheep and cheese which nowadays doesn't seem like such a bad thing to do.

I agree. So does Jim Rogers who recommends agricultural commodities as an investment in these troubled times.

[Francko]

How's Italy doing?

They are in the sh1te since quite a few years now so they can't be doing any worse. Besides the banking system overthere is still in the Middle Ages so they have probably invested only in sheep and cheese which nowadays doesn't seem like such a bad thing to do.

[Bob Dalek]

I wonder if the former USSR countries will "merge" back with Mother Russia? I must find my "Protect and Survive" pamphlet.

[Troll]

How's Italy doing?

[Francko]

That didn't seem to be a problem in Argentina. They just scrap all debts with any other countries and start from zero. Boomed.

[Troll]

Nuclear-armed Pakistan is bleeding foreign reserves at an alarming rate leading to fears that it could default on its loans.

There are mounting fears that Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Argentina could all now slide into a downward spiral towards bankruptcy, while western banks exposed to property bubble across Eastern Europe have seen their share price crushed.

The markets are pricing an 80pc risk that Ukraine will default, based on five-year credit default swaps (CDS) – an insurance policy on a country being able to pay its debts.

The country's banking system has begun to break down after years of torrid credit growth; its steel mills are shutting as demand collapses; and the political crisis is going from bad to worse.

Ukraine's government seized Prominvestbank this week, suspending payments to creditors. It closed the Kiev stock market, which has fallen 73pc this year.

The International Monetary Fund said it is mobilising a "rapid-fire" fund worth several hundred billion dollars to stop a domino collapse across the developing world.

The trigger for the latest round of capital flight has been the lightning implosion of Iceland. BNP Paribas warned clients yesterday that the island is heading for "sovereign default" with contagion risks for other economies that have been living beyond their means on foreign credit.

The most new mortgages in Hungary are in Swiss francs, leaving the homeowners facing a vicious squeeze as the forint plunges against the franc.

In Pakistan, the rupee has fallen to an all-time low. Standard & Poor's downgraded the country's sovereign debt to near write-off levels of CCC-plus. The central bank's foreign reserves have fallen to $4.7bn (£2.73billion).

"The danger of default is hovering," said Professor Kaisar Bengali from Karachi University.

"Pakistan may not be able to re-pay its debt or import anything," he said, adding that the country cannot assume that it will be bailed out for strategic reasons.

Default risk on Kazakhstan's top banks has risen to 70pc as property bubble bursts in the former Soviet republic and reliance in foreign credit comes back to haunt.

The country has mortgaged its future to oil prices, which crashed below $80 a barrel yesterday as the whole nexus of commodities (except gold) buckled in a wave of forced selling.

Analysts warn that it is leading indicator for what could happen if Russia if crude falls much further.