BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor:
President Obama
tonight is off to a meeting of
world leaders
in
France
. One topic that will definitely be up for discussion and urgently, the meltdown of the economy in
Greece
.
NBC
's
Stephanie Gosk
tonight explains why Americans need to be paying close attention over here to this time bomb ticking over there.
STEPHANIE GOSK reporting:
The world's economic heavy hitters, the
G-20
, are converging on
Cannes
for their annual meeting. Topping the agenda,
Greece
, which has once again thrown the global economy into turmoil and raised feared of another financial crisis.
Ms. DIANE SWONK (Mesirow Financial Chief Economist):
Greece
has the potential to, if it defaults, to be an event like
Lehman
was back in
2008
.
Chancellor ANGELA MERKEL:
GOSK:
Just last week, European leaders thought they had a deal to save
Greece
from bankruptcy, a $178 billion bailout tied to strict austerity measures. But now, Greek Prime Minister
George Papandreou
says he will put the deal up for a nationwide vote, a referendum. A recent poll shows the deal is opposed by a majority of Greeks, who have taken to the streets, angry about cutbacks to pensions and government spending. All this has world markets on a roller coaster, way up on news of a deal last week, way down on
Papandreou
's announcement, which also blindsided European leaders, including
Germany
's
Angela Merkel
.
Chancellor MERKEL:
GOSK:
"Last week we agreed on a program with
Greece
and the
EU
," she said. "We want to implement that program." Simply put,
Greece
is practically broke. Years of reckless spending have led to massive debt and the very real threat of default. But it's not just their problem.
Greece
is one of 17 nations sharing the same currency, the euro. Instability there creates instability here, hurting US businesses, costing jobs and draining Americans' retirement accounts.
Ms. SWONK:
The fear is that we actually have a run on banks in
Europe
that spreads to the
United States
.
GOSK:
We aren't there yet,
Brian
, but that is the fear. And the instability, both economic and political in
Greece
, is growing. Prime Minister
Papandreou
only has a slim majority in
Parliament
, faces a no confidence vote on Friday.
WILLIAMS:
Stephanie Gosk
on this latest crisis, and of course, this may have days to go.
Stephanie
, thanks.
“ ”