Cypriots Cast Blame as Banks Open

Capital is Surprisingly Orderly as Branches Restart; President Calls for Probe Into Economic Crisis

NICOSIA—Cyprus's banks reopened from a nearly two-week hiatus on Thursday with little sign of disorder among depositors, even as the country's politicians pointed fingers over who was to blame for the financial sector's meltdown.

The Cyprus bail-out

This septic isle

Being tough on bank creditors could prove costly for northern European taxpayers

The Economist

Mar 30th 2013 |From the print edition

THE second deal to bail out Cyprus was much better than the first. For one thing, there was actually a deal: with the €10 billion ($13 billion) loan the prospect of the euro zone’s first exit has receded. An agreement among euro-zone finance ministers to wind up Laiki Bank, Cyprus’s second-biggest bank, and restructure Bank of Cyprus, the largest lender on the island, undid the worst elements of the initial botched agreement. Savers with accounts below the €100,000 deposit-guarantee threshold will be spared. Losses will hit creditors of weak banks in line with the normal hierarchy: shareholders and junior bondholders first, followed by senior bondholders and uninsured depositors.

The Euro Zone’s Slinky Economy

March 27, 2013, 11:32 AM EST

ByAlen Mattich

The Wall Street Journal

Remember the Slinky, the toy spring that compresses and extends to walk down stairs, bounce off tables and generally amuse children for minutes at a time?

Well, the Slinky is a fair mechanical approximation of the euro zone economy.

Except it’s not so entertaining.

Cyprus, Seriously

The New York Times

MARCH 26, 2013, 4:42 PM

Paul Krugman

A correspondent whom I respect has (gently) challenged me to say plainly what I think Cyprus should do — leaving aside all questions about political realism. And he’s right: while I think it’s OK to spend most of my time on this blog working within the limits of the politically possible, and relying on a combination of reason and ridicule to push out those limits over time, once in a while I should just flatly state what I would do if given a chance.

So here it is: yes, Cyprus should leave the euro. Now.

Draghi Wins Cyprus Chicken Game in Bailouts Test Run

By Jeff Black - Mar 26, 2013 3:42 PM GMT+0200

Mario Draghi’s brinkmanship has worked -- for now.

The European Central Bank’s ultimatum to Cyprus to commit to a 10 billion-euro ($12.9 billion) rescue showed Draghi playing a harder and more public game than in any bailout before. While that’s easy enough with a country like Cyprus, officials may shirk from such tactics with bigger nations, said economists from Citigroup Inc. to ABN Amro Bank NV.

UPDATE 3-Oil pressured by Cyprus worries

Tue Mar 26, 2013 5:34am EDT

* Euro zone faces tough banking regime after deal -official

* Brent-WTI spread over $13, up from narrowest since July

* Coming Up: API oil inventory data; 2030 GMT (Updates throughout, changes dateline from SINGAPORE)

By Simon Falush

LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - Brent oil fell slightly on Tuesday, remaining within its range of the past two weeks, as the effect of the Cyprus bailout faded and traders saw little direction for the market.

Brent crude futures slipped 8 cents to $108.08 a barrel by 0932 GMT, in the middle of its recent $107 to $109 range. U.S. crude gained 40 cents to $95.21.

Some facts about Cyprus crisis.

25-3-2013

From the press.

• Total deposits in banks in Cyprus ~ 68 bn Euros

Cyprus Refuses to Learn From Its Mistakes

By HUGO DIXON | REUTERS

Published: March 24, 2013

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/business/global/25iht-dixon25.html?_r=0

The New York Times

Cyprus will pay dearly for its sins. The Mediterranean island has committed many follies over the years — and is still making mistakes.

The Cypriots always seem to overestimate their negotiating position. In recent years, their first big mistake was to reject in 2004 the U.N. plan for uniting their island. That irritated their E.U. partners, put Cyprus in a weak strategic position vis-à-vis Turkey and left a jagged scar across the island.

There’s a Reason for Deposit Insurance

By ROGER LOWENSTEIN

Published: March 23, 2013

The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/business/deposit-insurance-and-the-historical-reasons-for-it.html?src=recg#h[Fatpfd,2]

  FOR all the criticism of bailouts since the financial crisis struck, virtually no one has suggested that depositors in banks be made to suffer along with their investors, employees and customers. Until this week, when the euro zone proposed that, in return for a bailout of the failing banking system in Cyprus, depositors pay a “tax” of 6.75 percent of their deposits — 9.9 percent for deposits above 100,000 euros.

Anxious, angry Cypriots face uncertain future

By Karolina Tagaris and Costas Pitas

NICOSIA | Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:12pm EDT

(Reuters) - Dora Giorgali says she has to go back almost 40 years, when Cyprus was at war, to recall such a feeling of anxiety.

Cyprus seeks 11th-hour deal to avert meltdown

By Michele Kambas and Karolina Tagaris

NICOSIA | Sun Mar 24, 2013 5:14am EDT

(Reuters) - Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades was expected in Brussels on Sunday to seek an 11th-hour reprieve from financial meltdown, with a bailout from the European Union and the island's place in Europe's single currency bloc hanging in the balance.

Underlining the gravity of Cyprus' position, the EU's economic affairs chief said there were now "only hard choices left" for the latest casualty of the euro zone crisis.

Cyprus weighs big bank levy; bailout goes down to wire

By Karolina Tagaris and Laura Noonan

NICOSIA | Sat Mar 23, 2013 4:34pm EDT

(Reuters) - Cyprus conceded on Saturday to a one-off levy on deposits over 100,000 euros in a dramatic U-turn as it raced to satisfy European partners and seal an 11th-hour bailout deal to avert financial collapse.

Opinion: Why the EU is right on Cyprus

Peter Gumbel

Reuters

5:52 a.m. CDT, March 22, 2013

The reaction to this weekend's European Union bailout deal for Cyprus has gone from initial shock to rather predictable condemnation. "Europe botches another rescue," ran the headline on an editorial in the Financial Times. "It's as if the Europeans are holding up a neon sign, written in Greek and Italian, saying ‘time to stage a run on your banks,' " Paul Krugman, the economist and New York Times columnist wrote on his blog.

Cyprus lawmakers work on economy-saving plan

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS, Associated Press – 2 minutes ago 

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cypriot authorities were putting the final touches to a plan they hope will convince international lenders to provide the money the country needs to avoid bankruptcy within days.

As well as trying to forge an overall financing package, lawmakers were meeting to decide the fate of the country's second largest lender Laiki which was hardest hit from its exposure to bad Greek debt.

Europe sets Cyprus bailout deadline, banks face cutoff

By Michele Kambas and Lidia Kelly

NICOSIA/MOSCOW | Thu Mar 21, 2013 5:32am EDT

(Reuters) - The European Central Bank gave Cyprus until Monday to raise billions of euros to clinch an international bailout or face losing emergency funds for its crippled banks and inevitable collapse.

The warning came with the island's leaders locked in talks on a "Plan B" to raise 5.8 billion euros demanded by the EU under a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) rescue, after angry lawmakers threw out a tax on deposits as "bank robbery".

Cyprus Is Drowning in an EU Spoon

The Wall Street Journal

U.S. bank bailouts have taken a beating. They were criticized for their excess, uneven distribution and preservation of a status quo that shortchanges the little guy in favor of "stability of the financial system" or, put another way, private gains and socialized losses.

And the bailouts do look pretty awful—until you compare them with what's happening in Europe.

Cyprus seeks Russian rescue, EU threatens cutoff

By Michele Kambas and Lidia Kelly

NICOSIA/MOSCOW | Wed Mar 20, 2013 8:58am EDT

(Reuters) - Cyprus pleaded for a new loan from Russia on Wednesday to avert a financial meltdown, after the island's parliament rejected the terms of a bailout from the EU, raising the risk of default and a bank crash.

Cypriot Finance Minister Michael Sarris said he had not reached a deal at a first meeting with his Russian counterpart Anton Siluanov in Moscow, but talks there would continue.

Κούρεμα καταθέσεων στην Κύπρο

Τι λέει το νέο νομοσχέδιο

Εξαιρούνται από το κούρεμα οι καταθέσεις μέχρι 20 χιλ. ευρώ σύμφωνα με το νέο νομοσχέδιο που κατήρτισε η κυπριακή κυβέρνηση. Όπως αναφέρει το stockwatch, σύμφωνα με το νέο νομοσχέδιο, για καταθέσεις από €0 μέχρι €20 χιλ. η επιβολή τέλους θα είναι μηδενική. Για καταθέσεις από €20 χιλ. μέχρι €100 χιλ. το τέλος θα ανέρχεται στο 6,75%, ενώ για καταθέσεις άνω των €100 χιλ. το τέλος θ’ ανέρχεται στο 9,9%.

EU Member States, Lawmakers Reach Deal on Bank Supervisor

Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/eu-member-states-lawmakers-reach-deal-on-bank-supervisor-20130319-00768#ixzz2O44oyPbu

By Dow Jones Business News,  March 19, 2013, 11:15:00 AM EDT

BRUSSELS--The creation of a single supervisor for European banks moved a step closer Tuesday when European lawmakers struck a deal with member states on the structure of the new agency.

The deal leaves in place most of the main points agreed by European Union finance ministers in December for how the supervisor should function.

Cypriot Lawmakers Reject Deposits Seizure Bill

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS and ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press

NICOSIA, Cyprus March 19, 2013 (AP)

Cypriot lawmakers on Tuesday rejected a critical draft bill that would have seized part of people's bank deposits in order to qualify for a vital international bailout, with not a single vote in favor.

The rejection leaves Cyprus's bailout in question. Without external funds, the country's banks face collapse and the government could go bankrupt. Nicosia will now have to come up with an alternative plan to raise the money: the government could try to offer a compromise bill that would be more palatable to lawmakers.

Seen From Greece, Great Depression Looks Good

By FLOYD NORRIS

Published: March 15, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/business/economy/seen-from-greece-great-depression-data-looks-good.html?_r=0
The New York Times

 FIVE years into the Great Depression, one out of five workers in the United States was unemployed. The economy was nearly 20 percent smaller in 1934 than it had been at the peak, in 1929.

 The Greeks can only wish they had it so good.

 The Greek government this week released its estimate of economic output in the fourth quarter of last year, and also published its unemployment report.

Cyprus reworks divisive bank tax, delays vote

By Michele Kambas and Karolina Tagaris

NICOSIA | Mon Mar 18, 2013 3:56pm EDT

(Reuters) - Cypriot ministers scrambled to revise a plan to seize money from bank deposits before a parliamentary vote on Tuesday that will either secure the island's financial rescue or threaten its default.

The weekend announcement that Cyprus would impose a tax on bank accounts as part of a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout by the European Union broke with previous practice that depositors' savings were sacrosanct. The euro and stock markets fell on concern the euro zone crisis was reigniting.

UPDATE 8-Savers forced to bear costs in Cyprus bailout

Sat Mar 16, 2013 3:08am EDT

* Cypriot bailout of 10 billion euros agreed by euro zone

* One-off levy on bank deposits to raise almost 6 bln euros

* IMF's Lagarde says backs deal, will make contribution soon

* Cypriots incredulity at decision gives way to fury

By Annika Breidthardt and Robin Emmott and John O'Donnell and Jan Strupczewski

National Bank Falls as Investor Faces Hurdles: Athens Mover

By Natalie Weeks - Mar 15, 2013 2:36 PM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

National Bank of Greece SA, the country’s biggest lender, extended this week’s slide after saying an investor’s interest in covering part of NBG Group’s recapitalization needs is facing hurdles.

Italy’s Borrowing Costs Rise at Bond Auction After Downgrade

By Chiara Vasarri - Mar 13, 2013 2:39 PM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

Italian borrowing costs rose in the first bond auction since a credit rating downgrade last week that highlighted the economic risks of the country’s current political stalemate.

Greece Faces 150,000 Job-Cut Hurdle to Aid Payment: Euro Credit

Bloomberg News

By Maria Petrakis and Marcus Bensasson on March 11, 2013

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-03-11/greece-faces-150-000-job-cut-hurdle-to-aid-payment-euro-credit#p1

Greece is locked in talks with international creditors in Athens about shrinking the government workforce by enough to keep bailout payments flowing.

Identifying redundant positions and putting in place a system that will lead to mandatory exits for about 150,000 civil servants by 2015 is a so-called milestone that will determine whether the country gets a 2.8 billion-euro ($3.6 billion) aid instalment due this month. More than a week of talks on that has so far failed to clinch an agreement.

Europe's Rising Social and Political Risks

Posted: 03/11/2013 12:13 pm

Daniel WagnerCEO, Country Risk Solutions
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-wagner/europes-rising-social-and_b_2853191.html

While income inequality has been falling globally since the 1980s, it has been rising in most of Europe. The Gini Coefficient, a widely used measure of income inequality, has risen since that time not only in Eastern Europe, but among Europe's wealthiest societies.

UPDATE 1-Suffering Greece's economy shrank again at end of last year

Mon Mar 11, 2013 7:15am EDT

* Q4 GDP shrinks 5.7 pct, less than previous flash estimate

    * Slump in consumption continues, imports fall

    * GDP seen contracting by 4.5 pct this year

    ATHENS, March 11 (Reuters) - Greece's economy shrank at an

annual 5.7 percent in the last quarter of 2012, combining for a

20 percent slump in real terms

since 2008.

Greek privatisation chief quits after graft charges filed

ATHENS, March 9 | Sat Mar 9, 2013 1:00pm EST

(Reuters) - Greece's privatisation chief and a senior finance ministry official resigned on Saturday after they were charged with breach of duty over their former role as board members of a state utility.

Greece set for comeback as tourist destination

Fri Mar 8, 2013 2:46am EST

* European tourism seen up 2-3 pct in 2013

* Greece bookings rebound, Alltours sees 30 pct rise

* Emerging markets to be main driver of global tourism

By Michelle Martin and Victoria Bryan

BERLIN, March 8 (Reuters) - Tourism in Greece is bouncing back this year in an otherwise flat European market, held back by the weak economic climate, travel industry executives said.

Greece confident aid tranche to be paid, denies talks deadlocked

By Lefteris Papadimas

ATHENS | Wed Mar 6, 2013 1:30pm EST

(Reuters) - Greece is confident of getting an aid tranche due this month, its finance minister said on Wednesday, dismissing speculation that talks with foreign lenders on cutting its bloated public sector were deadlocked.

UPDATE 1-Greek unemployment falls for first time since 2008

Thu Mar 7, 2013 5:55am EST

* Jobless rate slightly down to 26.4 percent from revised 26.6 pct in Nov

* First monthly drop since May 2008

* Bailout deal may have given short-term boost to hirings-economist

* Greek unemployment still highest in euro area

ATHENS, March 7 (Reuters) - Greece's jobless rate fell in December for the first time since a crippling recession began five years ago, helped by a bailout deal that propped up companies' willingness to hire in the short-term.

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez dies from cancer

By Andrew Cawthorne and Daniel Wallis

CARACAS | Tue Mar 5, 2013 6:35pm EST

(Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died on Tuesday after a two-year battle with cancer, ending 14 years of tumultuous rule that made the socialist leader a hero for the poor but a hate figure to his opponents.

The flamboyant 58-year-old had undergone four operations in Cuba for a cancer that was first detected in his pelvic region in mid-2011. His last surgery was on December 11 and he had not been seen in public since.

Greece charges three ex-ministers over income declarations

ATHENS | Wed Mar 6, 2013 12:42pm EST

(Reuters) - A Greek prosecutor charged three former ministers on Wednesday for failing to declare the source of their wealth, the latest high-profile politicians in legal trouble as public anger rises at a political class widely seen as corrupt.

Greek court jails former top politician for graft

ATHENS | Mon Mar 4, 2013 10:47am EST

(Reuters) - A Greek court sentenced a former defense minister to eight years in prison on Monday for failing to disclose the source of lavish wealth that made him a symbol of the corruption that has plagued the country.

Once a powerful Socialist politician who almost became prime minister in the 1990s, Akis Tsohatzopoulos has been in jail pending trial since April last year as prosecutors probed allegations of fraudulently acquired wealth.

EU Opens Way for Easier Budgets After Austerity Backlash

By James G. Neuger & Svenja O’Donnell - Mar 5, 2013 1:01 AM GMT+0200

European finance ministers opened the way for looser budget policies after a backlash against austerity thrust Italy into political limbo and shattered months of relative stability in European markets.

Italy’s deadlocked election, France’s refusal to make deeper budget cuts and protests against the shrinking of the welfare state across southern Europe escalated the rebellion against the German-led prescription for fighting the debt crisis.

Steinmetz Real Estate Hires RREEF’s Papachristophorou

By Elisa Martinuzzi & Sharon Smyth - Mar 4, 2013 3:53 PM GMT+0200

(Corrects Papachristophorou’s age in fifth paragraph.)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-04/steinmetz-real-estate-hires-rreef-s-papachristophorou-correct-.html

Chris Papachristophorou, former global head of Deutsche Bank AG (DBK)’s RREEF Opportunistic Investments, is joining Beny Steinmetz Group Real Estate to run a private-equity venture that aims to invest $2 billion.

The Second Battle of Marathon

Huffington Post

Evaggelos VallianatosAdjunct professor of environmental analysis, Pitzer College

Posted: 03/01/2013 4:31 pm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/evaggelos-vallianatos/the-second-battle-of-mara_b_2792476.html

The Second World War was the most destructive and bloody conflict of all times. Large and small countries fought bitterly to the end, killing millions of humans and causing immense devastation of both nature and societies. To some degree, WWII was also a holocaust of civilization.

Greece faces bailout review, plays down public sector job losses

Sat Mar 2, 2013 2:14pm EST

* EU/IMF/ECB troika officials visit Athens Sunday

* Will check progress on bailout plan

* Minister plays down fears of public sector job losses

By George Georgiopoulos

ATHENS, March 2 (Reuters) - Officials from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund return to Athens on Sunday to assess Greece's performance under a bailout plan as the government plays down the prospect of public sector job cuts.

Russell Indexes to Reclassify Greece as Emerging Market

By Nina Mehta - Mar 2, 2013 2:43 AM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

Russell Investments, which advises funds with $2.4 trillion in assets, will reclassify Greece from a developed to an emerging market, following a four-year recession in which the country’s economy shrank 20 percent.

Greece, which was raised to developed market status by the New York-based adviser in 2001, has failed one or both of Russell Indexes’ economic and operational risk assessments each year since 2011, according to a note on the company’s website. Relegation to emerging market status will force managers to buy and sell shares to align holdings with their funds’ criteria.

Italy behind rise in eurozone jobless to record

By By Pan Pylas on March 01, 2013

Bloomberg Businessweek

LONDON (AP) — Italy's voters gave their verdict on the austerity medicine they've been forced to take when they went to the polls earlier this week. By Friday, one of the reasons behind the protest was highlighted when the country's unemployment hit its highest level in at least two decades.