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The other day a friend of mine asked me if I had any advice for visiting Greece at this time of year. I replied, half-jokingly, that after visiting Thessaloniki he might head down to Athens and wait around for about a month until the country went bankrupt - he could then buy up his very own Greek island in the Med for cheap.

(See what I did there? I cleverly inserted into my travel advice a reference to the current politico-economic climate in Europe, thereby indicating my awareness of current events and razor sharp wit).

But like I said, I was half-joking. Turns out you can actually snap up your very own island in the Aegean for, like, a pittance!* Moreover, if the Greeks are forced to sell some of their sovereign soil to raise money to pay back the IMF or ze Germans, there could be some real bargains out there.

Your own island.... Mull that one over and try to tell me that it wouldn't impress your gender of preference.


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*starting at $1-2million, or higher if it comes with a place to dock your yacht. Or mermaids.

- Facts and Myths about Greek's sovereign debt woes: this is one of the better pieces I've seen so far.

- Michael Arghyrou and John Tsoukalas argue for the creation of a "strong" and weak" euro, both managed by the European Central Bank, as a solution to the looming sovereign debt crisis in southern Europe. (possibly gated link, sorry)

- Spillover effects: as investors are betting against the Euro and possibly forcing EU governments to make some tough decisions (see below), they are simultaneously fleeing towards the safety of the US dollar. So long as the US can continue to borrow cheaply, they are less likely to be forced to make some tough decisions about their own problems.

- What if Google was a state-owned company in the Ukraine?

- Indulge yourself and set aside 12 minutes to watch this stunning video. On as big a screen as you can find. It's almost entirely computer generated (except the person, clouds and pigeons), and makes Avatar look like an etch-a-sketch drawing.

After a busy busy week, I am happy to get back to the blog today and hit on a few points I missed while drowning in Excel hell...

-Hot off the presses: US GDP surged a whopping 5.7% in Q4 2009, the best quarter in over six years, and driven by companies ramping up production to overcome thin inventories amid rising consumer demand. Consumer spending, which accounts for over 2/3 of US economic activity, expanded by a better-than-expected 2%. I'm not even going to make a comment about a job-less recovery, as these are really strong numbers, unless I just did...

-Bernanke wins reappointment, which Simon Johnson believes is the beginning of the end for financial reform. While I disagree (though I imagine the difference in our expectations is only a matter of degree), Johnson's post is great on the strength of the following sentence:

And now we can look back over 20 years and be honest with ourselves: Alan Greenspan contends for the title of most disastrous economic policy maker in the recent history of the world

Fitch ratings has downgraded Greece to BBB+. See FT Alphaville for their reasoning.

As explained earlier, the freespendin' ways of governments to address the economic crisis has led to some serious sovereign debt concerns for the near future. This applies to both the developing and developed economies of the world. Want to learn more? We've got you covered:

- Morgan Stanley predicts that the United Kingdom (and sterling) is in for a messy year ahead (the Telegraph)

- Deutche Bank's 2010 Outlook also predicts that sovereign debt land mines may sabotage economic recovery somewhat. I will take their four "probable scenario" forecasts with a large grain of salt, but the core point rings true: that deficit levels in some countries may prove unsustainable for the market, and that some of the most difficult economic decisions still lie ahead of us (FT Alphaville)

- Those of you who have been following the events in Dubai may have seen several references to the problems in Greece. The Financial Times summarizes the situation well, and Wolfgang Munchau describes the awkward dance being performed by the EU to deal with its fiscally irresponsible member state.