Cyprus has the third smallest economy in the EU. They didn't need a bailout, they could've asked for a whip-round.
Just to put it in perspective, Cyprus has the third smallest economy, but Jimmy Carr has the fourth.
Their president went to great lengths to say his country is "not for sale". I don't blame him. This is no time to sell in the property market.
They have asked for 10bn euros to tide them over, which on the grand scale of things is a pay day loan, but while the numbers are smaller than the big worries of Spain and Italy, the concern here is the reason Cyprus needs money. They say it is because they were exposed to the Greek economy. And it's the Greek issue that is threatening to spread across Europe.
I suppose we're lucky that Greece has only recently had its financial troubles. It if was like a while back history would've been very different.
Trojan Guard 1: "The Greeks have given us this massive horse as a gift."
Trojan Guard 2: "What, they could afford all this solid wood?"
Trojan Guard 1: "Hmm..."
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