I’ve been writing about this for a while now, but the day has come: Greece will go into default and not pay its current bills to the IMF.  I and other writers have been primarily concerned with the impact a Greek default could have on Europe, especially the Eurozone. Monday, however, the US stock market took a dive due to investor fears.

From my point of view, I find myself just asking questions. How would Greek’s default lower the value of General Electric, the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Average? Do those companies and indices hold millions in Greek bonds? Have they been trading in euro? It doesn’t take much digging to find the general trend: it’s just skittish investors. The US markets aren’t alone; Greece is having a global effect.

Presidential Treatment

President Obama has made a statement that he reached out to France’s Francois Hollande as a form of intercession. Obama apparently urged Hollande to renegotiate a reform package that would bring Greece back from the precipice of default and utter financial doom. Stop me if this story about magical reforms restoring Greece from its depression starts sounding familiar. I don’t believe President Obama is going to save the day, and neither do investors worldwide.

Blowback

I don’t want to get ahead of myself though. I’d like to clarify that Greek failure will impact the US and other global economies as far as the markets are concerned. Europe will have fewer vegetables from Greece, but as a tourist spot and agrarian society, no one in Hong Kong will be asking where his Greek imports have gone. What is likely to happen is that the stock and bonds markets, as well as the currency markets tied to the euro, will take a further dip downward. For experienced traders, this is the time to buy. Why though? Because it is only a confidence issue! If Germany were to default right now, several international businesses would be affected by their inability to buy goods coming out of Germany with euro. Greece is going to be a bump in the road, not a road block.

More Reasons to Buy

Further evidence backing the buyer stance is that an even weaker euro and the upcoming Grexit talks will not cause unemployment very far outside of Greece. Most of the world economy will actually remain intact as literally millions of investors endure a micro-panic. Because you and I are not likely to lose our jobs, we are safe investing a slightly higher amount this month than we might have planned. Additionally, it may seem hopeless right now, but to be frank, most of the Eurozone is great this year. The recovery across Europe is the only thing that’s kept Greek afloat. Ditching some dead weight will help the EU rebound, although Greece faces myriad doomsday predictions.

What to Buy

It’s a buyer’s market right now. Because all major continental trading has suffering anxiety, you can take your pick. Stocks and (most) bonds, even the priciest of them like Apple shares, are now being discounted though not for reasons tied to those companies’ or debtors’ own performance.

Euros are going to take a nice dip in price relative to stronger currencies such as the US dollar, so forex traders can pull them in now. As stated, ditching a consistently underperforming nation from their currency union or at least forcing it in some way to comply with reforms should mean long-term gains in currency value for the Eurozone over the next few years. Buy low; sell high. Finally, for commodities fans, it may not be as dramatic, but look for oil to get cheap with the 1-2 combo of Greek failure and potential Iranian success over the next week.