Quote:

---

There was something depressingly familiar about the travails of the euro this past fortnight. The markets laid siege to a euro-zone member, Ireland, and — in a bid to settle the currency anxiety — a bailout package was agreed over the weekend. But now the markets have moved on. Earlier this week, it was Portugal under pressure, as borrowing costs soared on its debt. Investors then had Spain in their crosshairs, but by Wednesday, they had added Belgium and Italy to their list. Euro officials have emphatically insisted that no other country needs a bailout. But behind the scenes, they are watching the spreading contagion with apprehension. And what was once a taboo subject — the breakup of the euro zone — is being contemplated ever more openly.

How bad is it? Doom-laden warnings of a domino effect were also heard earlier in the year, as the euro zone pondered a bailout for Greece. The country's eventual rescue came with the creation of a shock-and-awe trillion-dollar bailout fund to help any euro-zone member that found itself in dire straits, and the move initially appeared to quiet the market's fears. The bailout fund can easily handle the $145 billion needed for Greece and the $115 billion estimated for Ireland. But if other nations put out the call for help, even a trillion dollars would be stretched: such an exercise for Spain alone would mean finding a whopping $570 billion, say analysts at Capital Economics. The looming possibility of serial European bailouts is, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday, "exceptionally serious."

---

Quote:

---

the only properties the bank ends up owning are the ones they cant even sell at foreclosure auction

---