Talk about schadenfreude. The Brics nations will next week discuss how to help the eurozone and the leading developing countries may consider buying European bonds. Better, perhaps, might be their advice: Russia defaulted only 13 years ago, while Brazil’s 1983 default, in the wake of Mexico’s, is seared in policymakers’ memories.
The mooted aid, like China’s much-discussed supposed help for the troubled periphery, is unlikely to solve the eurozone’s problems.
That will leave investors to their worries about how bad things could get. Even if the eurozone’s sovereign crisis passes, a European and US recession could still be devastating for investors.