Grexit or Spanplosion, Markets in Flux; Dan Dorfman Dead at 80

This post is dedicated to Dan Dorfman, one of the pioneers and true legends of financial journalism, who passed away Saturday in New York.

The world of journalism should deeply mourn his departure, because Dan was one of the very best and brightest of all time. From his early work at the Wall Street Journal and USA Today through a TV career with CNN and CNBC to his final days with the New York Sun and Huffington Post, Dan Dorfman was always keen to break a story first, never skimping on relevance and factuality.

Throughout his carer, Dan Dorfman was as engaged as he was engaging and entertaining, no small feat, considering the dryness of his main subjects, business and finance.

By comparison, what passes for financial reporting today falls incredibly short of his standards, which he not only set, but owned, in as complete a manner as any writer or reporter could ever be expected. Words cannot fully express the magnitude of this humble man in the craft of journalism, though this brief insight by Joan E. Lappin, CFA, of Gramercy Capital Mgt. is a nice touch.

Godspeed, Dan Dorfman. Rest in peace.

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As for US financial markets following the highly-anticipated elections in Greece over the weekend, which solved nothing, they are a shambles. Stocks traded in a dull, narrow range and defied the gravity of the situation in Europe to no small degree.

Bank stocks in Euopean bourses - where it's getting very real - did a seven percent turnabout to the downside, as those on the continent have perception correct: the condition of the Eurozone and the finances of its member states and their banks are in a truly horrific place. Whether Greece departs the Euro (Grexit) or Spain comes completely unglued (Spanplosion), the endgame is mostly at hand, and it's likely too late to save from complete annihilation, which, of course, would constitute a repudiation of trillions of dollars, euros and yen of personal, bank and sovereign debt. A complete reset is in the cards, only a matter of time before the world is thrust into utter chaos, which some say is pre-planned.

Whether the world's central bankers continue to print at full speed around the clock or allow deflation to take full control, the result will be the same, though most people will be barely affected, since everything is relative. $100,000 today could be worth only $15,000 tomorrow, but a new car would cost $3000 instead of $30000.

The world will survive, though the financial system of fiat money, digitized out of thin air, will eventually end, as have all such regimes, schemes and plots.

Until then, we wait and watch as little makes sense and debt piles up higher and higher around the world. There's really nothing to it all, other than to be a good Boy Scout, always prepared.

Dow 12,741.82, -25.35 (0.20%)
NASDAQ 2,895.33, +22.53 (0.78%)
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WTI crude oil: 83.27, -0.76
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Silver: 28.67, -0.07