Papademos to Ministers: Back Bailout or Quit

Bloomberg

By Maria Petrakis and Simon Kennedy - Feb 10, 2012 9:25 PM GMT+0200

… current plans would leave Greece’s debt as high as 136 percent of GDP by 2020…

… The Greek offer is not sufficient…

… Political uncertainty, Papademos said, was the main reason for finance ministers failing to approve the program…

Greek Finance Minister Heads to Brussels; Loan Talks Stall

The Wall Street Journal

By NEKTARIA STAMOULI, ALKMAN GRANITSAS and STELIOS BOURAS

… slash minimum wages in the private sector by 22%...

… abolish permanent jobs in state enterprises and cut 150,000 jobs in the public sector by 2015…

… parties clashed over whether to enact cuts in primary or supplemental pension benefits…

The “Grexit” taboo has been broken

8 February 2012 DE VOLKSKRANT AMSTERDAM

(From the blog. This article I believe reflects the growing resentment of the Europeans regarding the Greek political class and its manipulating of the debt problem)

Euro zone insists no Greek rescue without reforms

… They think, that we think that the unthinkable cannot be thought. But they better think again,…

5-2-2012

Greece Seeks Second Rescue, Fights for Euro

Bloomberg

By Jonathan Stearns - Feb 3, 2012 1:48 PM GMT+0200

… We can’t pay into a bottomless pit…

… The question is whether they will also leave the euro…

The euro crisis

What to do about Greece

Its insolvent economy needs a bigger debt reduction. A precipitous exit from the euro would be a disaster

The Economist

Jan 28th 2012 | from the print edition

… Discard the veneer of voluntarism and Greece can be tougher on its creditors…

… the real culprit is the Greek government, which has proved singularly incapable of implementing the reforms needed…

… Greece’s European rescuers should offer the country a clear choice…

Greek debt talks resume in race against the clock

By George Georgiopoulos and Lefteris Papadimas

ATHENS | Thu Jan 26, 2012 6:52am EST

… Christine Lagarde put pressure on the ECB on Wednesday, saying it and other public creditors may need to accept losses…

… The interest rate on the new bonds has been the main stumbling block…

… The ECB had ruled out taking voluntary losses on its Greek bond holdings but is now debating how it would handle any forced losses …

EU Ministers Press Greece, Creditors

The Wall Street Journal

By COSTAS PARIS, MATINA STEVIS and RIVA FROYMOVICH

… a crucial chunk of Greece's first bailout was withheld for several weeks, partly because Greece's then-opposition leader, Antonis Samaras, refused to commit to the austerity policies…

… EU ministers indicated they had lost faith in Greece's ability or will to implement the overhauls…

Greek Debt-Swap Talks Set for Second Day

Bloomberg

By Maria Petrakis, Marcus Bensasson and Natalie Weeks - Jan 19, 2012 12:00 AM GMT+0200

… the discussions were at a “very fine point.”…

… all variables” are being taken into consideration…

…. Collective action clauses, which would ensure creditors take part in the swap, could be legislated…

… Negotiations since then have centered on the interest rate…

… The new bonds will probably pay annual interest of 4 percent to 5 percent and have a maturity of 20 years to 30 years…

Fitch says Greece to default, believes will be orderly

STOCKHOLM | Tue Jan 17, 2012 6:15am EST

… It is going to happen. Greece is insolvent so it will default…

… PSI is the way to go and we would treat it as a default…

46 Days to Avoid Greek Default

The Wall Street Journal

JANUARY 16, 2012, 5:22 AM

… news from Athens that the debt-restructuring talks there have been suspended should really be of bigger concern…

… Greece has a €14.4 billion bond maturing on March 20 that it can’t afford to pay in full,…

… We’ll go through those steps one by one…

… It first has to come to an agreement with its private-sector creditors…

… For the deal to be consummated, Greece’s not-too-happy euro-zone peers have to sign off on sending some €60 billion its way…

… it will need €30 billion to recapitalize its own banks… and another €30 billion to give to the wounded bondholders as an upfront cash sweetener…

Gross: Greece to Default Following Downgrades

Bloomberg

By Wes Goodman - Jan 16, 2012 5:34 AM GMT+0200

… though the two sides haven’t been able to agree…

… efforts to address Europe’s financial problems are falling short…

… The bulk of sovereign-bond holdings should be in the U.S….

Greece Euro Exit Less Risky Now, Two Merkel Lawmakers Say

Bloomberg

By Brian Parkin and Patrick Donahue - Jan 12, 2012 6:37 PM GMT+0200

… The whole reason why we jumped into action wasn’t necessarily out of sympathy with Greece…

… For Greece, “the problem is not whether they are capable of paying their loans -- they will not, not at all, never”…

… The comments by Merkel allies break a taboo…

… a Greek exit from the single currency is a matter of arithmetic…

Greek Bailout in Peril

France, Germany Press Athens, Bondholders to Reduce Debt

The Wall Street Journal

… Greece's bailout loans from the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund are on hold until a deal is reached…

… concerns in financial markets that Greece's bailout program is in danger of unraveling…

… France and Germany have also failed so far to offer a convincing path back to economic growth…

… European Central Bank's overnight deposit facility reached a high on Friday…

… The chancellor also backed the French president's call for a financial-transaction tax…

Greece’s Least Bad Option Looks to Be Internal Devaluation: View

Bloomberg editorial view

… because the immediate costs of an exit would be enormous…

… resurrecting national currencies and regaining control of monetary policy would create as many problems as they solved….

… chronic trade deficits, which must be financed through continued borrowing…

… leaving the euro would be an even bigger economic disaster…

… the new drachma would instantly depreciate…

… A combination of increased value-added tax and lower payroll tax (Greece could easily do both) mimics a currency devaluation…

… They must hold growth in wages to the euro area’s rate of inflation plus any increase in national productivity…

Greece’s Creditors Resist Push From IMF for More Losses

Bloomberg

By Christos Ziotis, Marcus Bensasson and Jesse Westbrook - Dec 22, 2011 2:01 AM GMT+0200

… Lenders want the 70 billion euros ($91 billion) of new bonds …to carry a coupon of about 5 percent,…

… Greece’s debt will balloon to almost twice the size of its economy next year without a write-off…

… the new bonds should be governed by British law…

… Vega Asset Management LLC resigned this month from a committee of Greek creditors…

… private bondholders should have the same seniority after the swap as the IMF …

Merkel Risks the European Union to Save ECB Credibility: View

By the Editors Nov 18, 2011 2:12 AM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

As the euro area walks step by sickening step toward an avoidable economic catastrophe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel continues to oppose forthright action by the European Central Bank.

She argues that it would be wrong to guarantee sovereign debt -- with printed money, no less -- and would wreck the bank’s credibility. It would also be illegal, she insists: The relevant EU treaty forbids it.

She’s wrong. The ECB can and must play the decisive role

How might Greece leave the euro?

By Kabir Chibber

Business reporter, BBC News

Greece's latest woes have raised something that was previously unthinkable - the possibility of the Greek people rejecting the euro.

Greeks Hit Blocks in Bid to Name Government

The Wall Street Journal

By COSTAS PARIS and ALKMAN GRANITSAS

ATHENS—Greek politicians hit new roadblocks in their race to name an interim administration, tempering optimism that the country's main parties would name a new government by Monday.

Greece Faces Grilling at G-20

Fears of Political Chaos Tank Global Markets as Europe's Bailout Plan Teeters

The Wall Street Journal

By MARCUS WALKER And ALKMAN GRANITSAS

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, fighting for political survival at home, faced a grilling from euro-zone leaders over his plan to put Greece's international bailout to a referendum.