The cost of protecting Greek government debt from default rose to a record, Bloomberg News reported last week. According to CMA DataVision there is now a 68.5% of default. Greece's probability of default rose from 48.5% on June 15 when Moody's downgraded Greek debt to junk.

The main fear is that the imposition of austerity programs throughout the eurozone will hamper growth, especially for weaker countries like Greece. CMA estimates that holders of Greek debt could end up with only 50 cents on a dollar.

Do Hewlett Packard (HPQ) printers tell the truth or lie? Do they print out what is actually there or what we actually want to be there?

In fact, HP printers do not print out what they are given; they make the image deeper, darker and richer than it really is. I was a little surprised when I read that. When asked, HP admitted they improve the photos and they are giving the customers what they want.

European Union leaders have agreed to set up an emergency fund to stop the spread of the Greek crisis and shore up the euro. The amount of the fund was not disclosed, but leaders say it will be in place before Asia starts trading.

The catalyst for setting up the fund was the collapsing euro, which fell 4.3% last week. In addition, spreads on Greek, Spanish and Portuguese bonds widened last week, further indicating a lack of confidence in the EU. European banks have suffered big losses, especially those with exposure to Greece, Portugal and Spain.

With reference to the Greek debt crisis, Moody's said: "banking systems faced very real common threats if doubts were raised about their governments' abilities to pay debts."

Moody's was referring specifically to the UK, Irish, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish banking systems. Banks shares have fallen sharply across Europe. In France, Societe Generale (SCGLY) was the biggest loser, with its share price falling 7%. It holds $3.8 billion of Greek government debt.

The Greek and German parliaments approved the Greek rescue package. Nevertheless, the spreads on Greek, Spanish and Portuguese debt are widening, which indicates that the crisis is deepening.

Unlike the US where the Federal Reserve can act alone on behalf of the country, the European model is quite different. There is a European Central Bank that has limited powers. The EU cannot act alone on behalf of the eurozone. Each country's parliament must approve of the EU actions.

On Friday I sat at my desk ranting that Germany must help Greece without the International Monetary Fund. And over the weekend, the European Union finally drew up a plan to support its Greek brothers and sisters. This time, Germany is on board, bending to the ever-increasing pressure to do the right thing. However, the IMF was not left entirely out of the picture.

On April 11, the EU agreed to a Greek rescue package to subsidize Greek bonds at a 5% rate, about 20% less than current floating rates. The plan could cost 45 billion euros ($61 billion).

When I read that economically troubled Greece has 10-year bonds currently yielding between 6.32% and 6.44%, I wondered why these have any worth at all given the many alternatives offering a better return and greater liquidity? This baffled me.

Only Tuesday, I wrote about Telecom Corp New Zealand (NZT), a stock paying over 10% yield. The story also mentions that AT&T, Inc. (T) is currently paying a 6.4% yield and Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) is offering 6.25%. From my perspective, these are far better bets, safer and with some upside too than Greek debt.

The economic debate among the European Union nations about how to handle the turmoil in the Greek economy and, subsequently, the Greek bond market casts greater doubt on the value of the euro and the EU with each passing day -- and they know it!

While the economic benefits of the Union are obvious and highly valuable the turmoil has turned a giant spotlight on the problems and conflicts that exist and will continue to exist for another century or more if not solved in a way that not only works for the EU but does not diminish the Euro in the slightest way.