There is now a 90 percent chance of Greece leaving the euro zone over the next 12 to 18 months, according to Willem Buiter, chief economist at Citi. “Our base case (for the euro zone) is for prolonged economic weakness and financial market strains in periphery countries, spilling over into renewed recession for the euro area as a whole this year and the next,” Buiter wrote in a research note on Thursday. “We now believe the probability that Greece will leave EMU in the next 12-18 months is about 90 percent, up from our previous 50-75 percent estimate, and believe the most likely date is in the next 2-3 quarters.” ... (full story)