by Calculated Risk on 9/09/2011 09:07:00 PM

• From Kash Mansori at The Street Light: When Fear Dominates

Today's twin pieces of news out of Germany - that the ECB's most prominent German, Juergen Stark, is resigning, and the unconfirmed report that the German government is preparing a contingency plan to support its banks in the event of a Greek default - had the effect of fanning the flames of fear running through world financial markets.

• From the WSJ: Default and Dissent Threaten Greece

Greece is being buffeted on several fronts. It is in danger of missing budget-cutting targets that its euro-zone rescuers insist are the price of continued aid. Participation by banks in a crucial debt-restructuring plan may be less than planned. And euro-zone countries are mired in a debate over whether Greece must provide collateral to secure its bailout money.

There is little room for anything to go wrong. Without more aid, Greece will run out of cash within weeks, senior Greek government officials say.

Meanwhile, popular dissent in Greece is seething. Mass protests are expected to greet Prime Minister George Papandreou in Thessaloniki, Greece's second city, where he is slated to give a speech Saturday at the international trade fair, defending the harsh fiscal cuts his government has pledged.

• From the Financial Times: Greek PM to give key speech amid hostility

The Greek prime minister will face a hostile audience on Saturday when he makes a key economic policy speech ... his finance minister was on Friday forced to dismiss market speculation that the country might default over the weekend [calling] the rumours “a game in bad taste; an organised piece of speculation against the euro and the eurozone countries”.
excerpt with permission