EURO HEARTBURN

BANZAI7 NEWS--A bailout of Greece will only delay the inevitable breakup of the Eurozone because the one-size-fits-all interest rate policy imposed by the euro has left several countries in the region uncompetitive, Societe Generale strategist Albert Edwards said Friday.

Edwards, a noted bear, warned about the Asian currency crisis of the late 1990s before it happened. That turmoil led to Russia's debt default and the collapse of hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management.
"The situation in Greece following hard on the heels of similar solvency issues in Dubai feels to me very much like the Russian default and LTCM blow-up in 1998."

European leaders vowed this week to save Greece from a fiscal crisis that's pushed the country's relative borrowing costs to the highest level since the country joined the Eurozone more than a decade ago.

"Any 'help' given to Greece merely delays the inevitable break-up of the eurozone," Edwards wrote.

WB7: This is coming from a French bank.