With the euro crisis spreading even to mighty Germany last week—when investors ignored a bund auction and sovereign debt yields grew more expensive than the UK's—it is clear now that the euro crisis is not just about the debts of the poorer, peripheral countries like Greece and Portugal, or even the entitlement-swollen troubles of bigger countries such as Italy and Spain. "What we are witnessing is awesome stuff—the death throes of a currency," writes Jeremy Wagner in the Telegraph, calling the potential collapse "eurogeddon."
Investors are increasingly convinced that the euro is going down, and in the process will cause "the biggest mass default in history," leading to widespread unemployment and, in the worst cases, GDP dropping in half. Already, banks and financial institutions are working on contingency plans in case the euro collapses entirely, and the British foreign office is warning its embassies around Europe there could be rioting and social unrest. "The EU treaties that created the euro and set its membership rules contain no provision for members to leave, meaning any break-up would be disorderly and potentially chaotic," writes the Telegraph. (More euro stories.)