What the Greek crisis means for gold

Greek debt has been officially declared 'junk', sending stockmarkets tumbling. And the fear is spreading. The only assets that are rising are the US dollar and gold. So is gold finally living up to its 'safe haven' billing? Dominic Frisby looks at what this 'perfect storm' means for the price of gold.

Stock markets collapsed yesterday in dramatic fashion as credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) lowered Greece's credit rating from BB+ to BBB+. In other words, Greek debt is now officially junk (according to S&P at least, and the other agencies may not be far behind).

S&P warned that if Greece restructures her debt, bondholders could recover as little as 30% of their initial investment.

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