GREECE - Factors to Watch on December 3

Tue Dec 3, 2013 1:05pm IST

ATHENS, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press

reports and events, which may affect Greek financial markets on

Tuesday:

   

    GREEK DEPUTY PM SAYS LENDERS "FOOTDRAGGING" ON BAILOUT

REVIEW

    Greece's deputy prime minister accused its lenders of Monday

of obstructing bailout talks after inspectors from the EU and

IMF postponed a visit over a lack of progress on reforms.

   

"Light at the end of the tunnel" for Greece?

Deutsche Welle

Greece is on the right track, said Chancellor Merkel after meeting with Greek Prime Minister Samaras in Berlin. Samaras used the occasion to hold the EU, ECB and IMF Troika to past promises of relief.

Things are going forward in highly indebted Greece, at least that's the way Germany's chancellor saw it. "The prime minister was able to present a series of impressive facts to me, and Greece has made significant progress," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras at the Chancellery in Berlin. "A lot has been accomplished there in the last few years."

The extent of the praise is surprising given Germany's recent disagreement with European partners regarding Greece's next tranche from its second aid package. The Troika, comprised of the EU, ECB and IMF, has been seeking Greek clarification of a 1.5 billion euro ($2 billion) gap in the country's 2014 budget plans. EU countries had also criticized Greece for its lack of progress with regard to reforms.

Record tourist receipts next year may help end Greece's long recession

BY RENEE MALTEZOU

ATHENS Tue Nov 19, 2013 6:26am EST

(Reuters) - Greek tourism revenues should rise 13 percent to a record 13 billion euros in 2014, the head of the main industry body said on Tuesday, boosting chances the country will finally emerge from its deep recession next year.

Tourism is the biggest cash earner for Greece's economy, accounting for about 17 percent of its 185 billion-euro economic output. It employs one in five Greeks.

Previously Unknown Group Says It Shot Greek Extremists

By Alkman Granitsas

The Wall Steet Journal

Urban Guerrillas Say They Killed Two and Injured One in Retaliation for Rap Artist's Murder

A previously unknown urban guerrilla group has claimed responsibility for the shooting of three alleged members of Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party earlier this month outside local party offices in a suburb north of Athens.

Greece's Eurobank announces 2 billion euro share issue

ATHENS Thu Nov 14, 2013 12:56pm EST

(Reuters) - Eurobank, Greece's No. 3 lender, said on Thursday it would sell 2 billion euros ($2.7 billion) worth of new shares at the end of the year as part of a plan to return to private ownership after a bailout in 2012.

Greece must step up effort to find 2014 budget gap financing: Eurogroup head

BRUSSELS Thu Nov 14, 2013 4:44am EST

(Reuters) - Greece must step up efforts to reach an agreement with international lenders on how to close a 2 billion euro ($2.68 billion) financing gap in its 2014 budget, the head of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Thursday.

Greece’s reform job isn’t even half done

By Hugo Dixon NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Reuters

Greece’s reform job is not even half finished. The government hasn’t done enough to root out the vested interests that strangle the economy. Nor has it cracked down fully on tax evasion or pushed hard enough to privatise state-owned properties.

On the other hand, Antonis Samaras’ coalition is so fragile that it could collapse if the troika – the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund – forces it to impose more austerity. That could lead to a new phase in the Greek crisis. The government’s best bet is to make a sharp distinction between structural reform and austerity – and persuade its lenders that it’s so serious about the former that more cuts and taxes aren’t required.

Germany's Surplus Isn't the Problem

By SIMON NIXON

Nov. 10, 2013 9:06 p.m. ET

The Wall Street Journal

On almost any measure, the euro zone is in better shape than a year ago—and much better shape than many expected, not least those who were predicting its imminent collapse.

The currency bloc is out of recession; Spain and Portugal are growing; the Greek government expects growth to return next year. Yields on peripheral government bonds have fallen sharply. And the euro zone is embarking on a major integration project—banking union—that it hopes will restore confidence in the region's banking system and allow credit to flow again.

Hard-Wired for Tension in Greece

November 11, 2013

By NIKOS KONSTANDARAS

The New York Times

The brutality of the crime would be shocking anywhere: the gunman walked up to three young men, all members of Golden Dawn, on a busy neighborhood sidewalk and fired 12 bullets in seven seconds, finishing off two victims with bullets to the head and leaving the third seriously wounded before escaping on a motorcycle driven by an accomplice.

At least two killed in shooting outside Athens Golden Dawn office

ATHENS | Fri Nov 1, 2013 2:24pm EDT

(Reuters) - At least two people were killed in a drive-by shooting outside the offices of Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party in Athens on Friday, police sources said.

The attack comes amid a crackdown by the government on the party after a self-proclaimed Golden Dawn sympathizer stabbed an anti-fascism rapper to death in September.

Golden Dawn, Greece's third most popular party according to opinion polls, said on its website that the victims were aged 20 and 23 years old. Police had not yet verified their identities and details on the shooting were not immediately available.

Greek Police Say 10 Officers Have Links to Golden Dawn

By NIKI KITSANTONIS

ATHENS — The Greek police on Wednesday announced the findings of an internal investigation into suspected links between the force and the neo-fascist Golden Dawn party, which is the focus of a criminal investigation, saying that 10 officers had been linked to the party but that no signs of “organized cells” affiliated with the group had been discovered.

U.S. ships head towards migrant vessel in distress off Greece

ATHENS | Mon Oct 28, 2013 2:54pm EDT

(Reuters) - The U.S. navy on Monday sent two guided missile destroyers to help a boat apparently carrying migrants and in distress off southern Greece.

No details of the operation were immediately available but a Greek defense official said a commercial vessel had reported sighting a migrant vessel in international waters, heading towards Italy, about 116 nautical miles off the coast of Kalamata.

Hooded assailants start fire at Greek minister's office

ATHENS | Wed Oct 9, 2013 4:52pm EDT

(Reuters) - Six hooded assailants doused the office of Greece's merchant marine minister with gasoline on Wednesday and set it on fire, causing only minor damage to the entrance, police said.

Ex-Minister in Greece Is Found Guilty in Bribery Case

October 7, 2013

By NIKI KITSANTONIS

ATHENS — In a landmark verdict, a former Greek defense minister and co-founder of the country’s once-mighty Socialist Party, Akis Tsochatzopoulos, was found guilty on Monday of setting up a complex money-laundering network to cover the trail of millions of dollars in bribes that he is said to have pocketed from government weapons purchases.

Paulson hedge funds backing recovery in Greek banks

ATHENS | Mon Oct 7, 2013 4:21am EDT

(Reuters) - Funds run by billionaire investor John Paulson see Greece's recapitalised banking sector as an attractive investment play on the country's recovery after a deep six-year slump.

Encouraged by Greece's rising exports and a rebounding tourism sector, U.S. hedge fund group Paulson & Co expects the protracted recession to bottom out this year and begin recovery in 2014.

Greece Plots ’14 Budget Course to Secure More Debt Relief

By Marcus Bensasson & Christos Ziotis - Oct 7, 2013 1:50 PM GMT+0300

Greece will have a budget surplus before interest costs in 2013, a year ahead of schedule, giving Prime Minister Antonis Samaras leverage to prod euro-area creditors for more help in lowering its debt burden.

The primary surplus will rise to 2.8 billion euros ($3.8 billion) in 2014, or 1.6 percent of gross domestic product, after a surplus of 340 million euros this year, according to the 2014 draft budget, Alternate Finance Minister Christos Staikouras told reporters in Athens. The overall deficit will be 2.4 percent of GDP both this year and next, according to the budget, which was submitted to parliament today.

Working hours: Get a life

Sep 24th 2013, 12:19 by C.W. and A.J.K.D. | LONDON

The Econimist

BERTRAND RUSSELL, the English philosopher, was not a fan of work. In his 1932 essay, “In Praise of Idleness”, he reckoned that if society were better managed the average person would only need to work four hours a day. Such a small working day would “entitle a man to the necessities and elementary comforts of life.” The rest of the day could be devoted to the pursuit of science, painting and writing.

Greece says primary budget surplus means it on track to hit EU-IMF targets

By Harry Papachristou and Lefteris Papadimas

ATHENS | Tue Sep 10, 2013 5:53am EDT

(Reuters) - Greece said on Tuesday its budget was in surplus, not counting interest payments, and that it was on course to hit fiscal targets and fulfill conditions to seek additional debt relief from its international lenders.

The central government had a primary budget surplus of 2.92 billion euros ($3.87 billion) between January and August, the finance ministry said.

Greece could return to debt market in late 2014, Stournaras says

BERLIN | Mon Aug 26, 2013 2:11am EDT

(Reuters) - Greece could return to debt markets to test the water in the second half of 2014 if his country returns to growth in the first half of next year and manages a primary surplus, its finance minister said in a German media interview out on Monday.

Greece Needs a 21st Century Marshall Plan

By Dimitri B. Papadimitriou Aug 12, 2013 1:00 AM GMT+0300

At their White House meeting last week, U.S. President Barack Obama assured Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras of his support as Greece prepares for talks with creditors on additional debt relief amid record-high unemployment.