A New Reason To Consider Greek Bonds

Large portions of Greece were recently on fire.

Riots have been going on over announced austerity measures, huge new taxes, and massive government cutbacks. The people are not happy, and they're showing it. But there's an interesting new wrinkle in the bond market that's making Greek bonds--despite the fact that they're so very risky--look attractive. That wrinkle? They may have a new backer, and it's no less than the European Central Bank.

There have been some stirrings of late that suggest that the bank will have to step in and buy the government bonds of vulnerable countries (like the SUKPIG nations) to prevent that "contagion" that everyone keeps talking about in the bond markets. See, they're making a rather pragmatic move here--if they buy the bonds of the nations most likely to collapse, they'll stem off a collapse, and keep the dead weight from dragging down the whole thing in the process.

But there is doubt--isn't there always?--that this will be enough to prevent collapse, and will instead cause a systemic collapse from everybody who buys these bonds...including the European Central Bank.

For the individual investor, however, this does provide a little extra impetus to pick up those dangerous Greek bonds--because they've got one big potential buyer in the form of the biggest bank in Europe.