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These are the personal views of Peter Morici, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission:

Just a year after wealthier European governments rescued Athens from default with $157 billion in loans, Greece is slipping into crisis again.

After seeing its credit rating sharply downgraded on Monday, and unable to meet deficit-reduction targets laid down by Germany and others, Greece is getting desperate–and Europe is getting anxious.

Officials are floating euphemistic phrases like “voluntary restructuring,” but make no mistake: The painful concessions Greece would probably require from creditors amount to a default. If that happens, the broader European economy will be on its knees, its credibility shattered. So what should Greece do?

The only real solutions are for Greece and other low-income countries to abandon the euro and for Europe as a whole to rethink its welfare state.

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   By Bradley Davis
   A DOW JONES NEWSWIRES COLUMN 

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–With the euro marching higher since hitting last week its lowest level since 2006, some investors wonder whether the common currency has put its worst days behind it.

Don’t bet on it, most say.

The common currency posted strong gains Tuesday, advancing around 1% on the dollar, even as euro-zone data sharply missed expectations and yields of government bonds tied to some fiscally stressed countries ticked higher.

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These are the personal views of Peter Morici, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission:

Greece is insolvent. No austerity or new taxes will pay its debts.

Like a homeowner owing four times income, belt tightening and a longer repayment period are not enough. Either, the house is sold to clear the debt or the bank takes back the house.

Greek bondholders don’t have that choice–they can’t repossess the Parthenon.

Greece is a sovereign country, and either it will be the recipient of endless German largess–an unlikely scenario–or European creditors, banks among them, will take a loss.

Now, the International Monetary Fund bluntly warns Spain, to avoid becoming the next Greece, that it must radically overhaul labor laws, pensions and consolidate banks–that’s tough for a sovereign that doesn’t print money in the midst of a market panic.

Germany and European banks can’t take that hit.

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These are the personal views of David Gilmore, partner at Foreign Exchange Analytics:

For some in the market the Greek debt crisis has always been about the European banking system…collateralized by “risk-free” sovereign paper from some less than “risk-free” sovereign credits. Tons of debt issued by Greece, Spain, Portugal (not too different from AAA rates subprime MBS) and yes Italy support the banking system in the Euro Zone as collateral for borrowing from the ECB and from other banks, as well as a place to capture yield. Well when markets discern that “risk-free” sovereign debt is not really “risk-free” the inevitable run on weak credits starts. And like the subprime-driven run on banks in 2008, officials only add to downside risk as they assume the problem is contained.

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SANTANDER (Dow Jones)–Telefonica SA’s (TEF) chief operating officer, Julio Linares, said Monday the European Commission has a unique opportunity to change its regulatory policies.

“The European Commission is renewing the mandate of its telecommunications directorate… it’s an opportunity to reorient (the regulatory model) in favor of different objectives,” Linares said in a telecommunications conference.

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