Greek Prime Minister Papandreou Wins Vote of Confidence

Tomorrow now starts a negotiation to form a new coalition government for Greece. This buys Greece further time to handle the ongoing crisis. Papandreou will exit once the new government is in place. He is willing to step down, which should occur in 24 or 48 hours, in exchange for receiving the vote of confidence. The vote represesents a step back from the brink but the situation remains clouded. Greece will run out of money in December, some analysts are using 12/19/11 as a drop dead date, if not sooner.

Greece needs to vote on the austerity package presented by the European leaders but the austerity package requires further details. Greece will need to vote on the package once the new government takes shape. The worry is that time will work against Greece. They must move thru this political turmoil as quickly as possible in the coming days to resolve the situation before they run out of money.  View tonight's vote as only the first step in a continuing soap opera. Italy and Spain remain the large worries due to contagion.