IMF, British P.M. agree: second recession "very possible" given European gov't. debt

Earlier this week I posted on the severe economic situation in Greece, which produced street riots and a complete shutdown of Athens on Wednesday (October 5). That, by the way, was not the first time Greeks have turned out in force to protest government austerity measures, but it was far and away the most serious. It took a mere 10,000 people to entirely close down the capital. Food for thought, as Occupy Wall Street (and Occupy other cities) approach Week 4.

I also ran an article featuring predictions by the director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute, who says that a second round recession in the United States is both inevitable and imminent. In fact, the U.S. is already in the early stages, he opines. "This recession will not be denied," says the expert. Click here if you missed it: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/10/double-dip-recession-in-us-is.html.

All of this is being brought on by -- or at least is closely linked to -- the European sovereign debt crisis. Continental governments have made too many promises and have run up too many obligations, and now they simply cannot pay for them. The European Union is at risk and so is the euro as a currency. That's why the U.S. dollar has spiked in recent days, despite our own very difficult situation in the States. What do European experts themselves have to say about their economic fortunes and future?

Antonio Borges, the International Monetary Fund's European director, told officials there this week that world wide recession in 2012 is definitely not out of the question. "We continue to hope for a modest expansion of the economy next year, but it could contract just as well," he said. Of particular worry is the yet unresolved Greek debt crisis, he noted.

British prime minister David Cameron (pictured) was much more direct. He told fellow Conservative party members this week that the "worrisome European debt crisis presents as grave a risk to the world wide economy as it did in 2008." He also said that he would continue implementing severe austerity measures at home. And in an obvious word of warning to Greece, Spain and Italy, the P.M. added, "Great Britain will not continue to participate in the funding of unlimited (financial) rescues" on the Continent.

"The Eurozone is in crisis, the French and German economies have decelerated to the point where they're almost dead, and even the powerful United States is being reevaluated (by foreign creditors) based upon its (huge) debt," said Cameron.