Onc thing that has puzzled me Marc, is that the football players...

Onc thing that has puzzled me Marc, is that the football players are paid millions in those countries. Bread and circuses? One wonders where priorities lie. If they default however, I can see them backing their currencies with precious metals which is also a cultural thing in those countries and not illusory demand. Modern floating currencies are a barter swap of goods and services in the current context IMO. They still have to feed their populations. So I think currencies will be once again re-unitised by precious metals at some near point which I think they have been accumulating at the low end for some time as a future countermeasure. Don't forget the Germans wanted their gold taken back to Germany from the USA. Nothing is certain but what happens when there is nothing left to lose is a big concern when the world appears to becoming infected by polarized isolationist views. Bushfires are everywhere from Brexit to the Middle East and the USA has a huge debt as a consequence of their monetry easing policies. Australia has a huge private debt despite a recent improvement in the terms of trade. People are concerned about Chinese tentacles in the Pacific.