To see part 1, click here To see part 2, click here No economy can recover without a functioning banking system. Greece’s banks have been in chaos for nearly a decade, during which time roughly 45% of all deposits fled overseas, forcing the need for over 120 billion Euros of Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) from the ECB while new loan issuance ground to a Read More

To see part 1, click here   Sacha Imbert (Portfolio Manager at RBC): Hey Kuppy, this receipt says we’ve just used a Bulgarian POS to pay for lunch!!! Me: Whoa!!! That can’t be right. Waiter: Don’t worry, it’s a famous Greek trick. Revenues go to Bulgaria, expenses stay in Athens. We also get around the exchange controls. Me: Won’t the Greek government get upset? Waiter: Actually, they’re pretty happy Read More

Back in July, I re-posted an article that my good friend, Chris, at Capitalist Exploits had written about Greece. I had found the idea of a Greek economic recovery intriguing, but hadn’t really followed up on it. Over the following weeks, a number of people reached out to me and noted that I really should take a more serious look. In particular, they said that I Read More

“No pork tonight because this is a Muslim country, but don’t worry, we’ll drink twice as much vodka to make up for it” Yup, I’m in Kyrgyzstan, checking off another box, on my long-postponed ‘Stan tour. Like all good adventures, this one started over drinks with some new-found friends. Him: You really should go visit our stock exchange Me: Sure, can you make an introduction to Read More