- Budget deficits in “good” times, build-up of government debt
- Few countries’ (GER, NED) exports lead to trade deficits for others (GR, ESP, POR)
- Costly bank bail-outs and fiscal “stimulus”
- Monetary stimulus (0% interest rates); useless
- Rating agencies finally wake up (downgrades)
- PIIGS unable to sell more debt as yields rise
- IMF/EU (read: taxpayers) step in to provide more debt, crowding out private investors
- Austerity measures lead to social unrest
- Corporations unable to access capital markets
- Default and Euro exit by various countries
- Run on banks, bank “holidays” (closed for week)
- Insurance companies going bankrupt
- Capital controls (restricted transfer of money)
- Indiscriminate printing of money by ECB/EU/IMF
- “Super-tax” on gold to punish “speculators” after gold price triples. Some Central Banks discover their gold is gone. Run on gold. Paper gold worthless.