New England Patriots Forums - PatsFans.com Patriots Fan Messageboard - Analysis: Thinking the unthinkable -- a euro zone breakup

When they first moved to the Euro, I thought they were nuts. After the first 2-3 years went by, and I saw the massive inflation in the cost of living in Italy, both for me, and my friends and family there, i thought the Euro was on borrowed time. I still do.

Analysis: Thinking the unthinkable -- a euro zone breakup

By Noah Barkin

BERLIN | Thu Nov 25, 2010 10:56am EST

BERLIN (Reuters) - Contagion spreads from Ireland to Portugal and then to Spain, forcing European leaders to exhaust the $1 trillion bailout fund they set up only half a year ago to defend their ambitious single currency project.

Sniping within the 16-nation euro zone mounts and popular support for the euro erodes as German taxpayers rebel against a series of costly rescues and austerity fatigue in the bloc's periphery reaches breaking point.

Eventually one or more countries decide enough is enough and break away or are forced out, reintroducing the national currencies they used before tying their fate to Europe's audacious economic and monetary union.

Unthinkable only a few weeks ago, a small but growing number of experts now believe some version of this nightmare scenario could become a reality for the euro zone if policymakers fail to unite behind a more forceful strategy for saving the euro and address investor concerns about fiscal and economic imbalances.

Analysis: Thinking the unthinkable -- a euro zone breakup | Reuters