For one month, Greece was more or less self-sufficient. Of course, this does not necessarily signify much, as in other countries such as Spain, you also saw one-off surpluses on a monthly basis, only for it to swing back later. However, it is worth noting that through the first seven months, Greece's current account deficit fell by 53%. That means that the pain Greece has endured for the past year is more than one-half the total it must suffer until it no longer needs external financing to cover its current account. Which is a good approximation of the point where it no longer needs external financing to cover its physical needs.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444450004578004074025147926.html?mod=googlenews_wsjA year ago, the euro crisis seemed to be expanding to more countries... now it seems that countries are falling off the crisis map. First Ireland, then Portugal, and for now it appears that Italy has won some confidence. It is really only down to Greece and Spain. Of the two, Spain is of greater concern at the moment, as Mariano Rajoy will likely need a rescure package from the Troika and the sooner he gets it, the better off he will be, although he is loathe to ask for it. He must know it is inevitable.
Btw... for those who still think 'Those profliage Greeks' .. the same article says that Greek's primary budget deficit is 1.5 pct of GDP. Meanwhile the IMF says that Japan's primary budget deficit for 2012 will be 7.5 pct of GDP. Yet Japan is currently rated nearly as safe as Germany on the CDS sovereign bond market. Sure, keep on saying it's all about government deficits and nothing to do with currency...
