Chapter 204: Opportunity (Seeking Pink)_2

"On December 8, 2009, Fitch International Credit Rating Co., Ltd. downgraded Hellas' sovereign credit rating from "A-" to "BBB+", causing a sharp decline in the Greek stock market and a significant rise in the risk aversion sentiment in the international market. On the 16th of the same month, international rating agency Standard & Poor's announced that it would downgrade Hellas' long-term sovereign credit rating by one notch, from "A-" to "BBB+".

Wall Street's Goldman Sachs and two hedge funds, which had invested in Hellas' debt CDS, sold Euros in waves to lower the Euro, reduce Hellas' financing capabilities, and dramatically increase financing costs (loan interest rates were more than double those of other emerging countries). This caused the CDS value that Hellas could afford to double and the Euro to plummet worldwide!