Sat Mar 4, 2017 | 9:17am EST
Reuters
Greece's international lenders should lower the country's fiscal targets from 2021 onwards to help boost its growth potential, central bank governor Yannis Stournaras said on Saturday.
Stournaras told an economic forum in Delphi that primary surplus targets - excluding debt servicing costs - should be lowered to 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) from 2021 onwards from 3.5 percent that is now envisaged.
"Ό,τι η ψυχή επιθυμεί, αυτό και πιστεύει." Δημοσθένης (Whatever the soul wishes, thats what it believes, Demosthenes)
Showing posts with label Grexit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grexit. Show all posts
Monday, March 6, 2017
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Greece Said to Expect Revised Bailout Proposal for Tuesday Talks
by Sotiris Nikas
28 February 2017, 4:03 π.μ. EET
Bloomberg
Greece’s auditors are pulling together a list of policies the country needs to implement to unlock additional bailout funds as they prepare for the resumption of talks with Athens on Tuesday, two people familiar with the matter said.
Greece has asked European lenders for a draft Supplemental Memorandum of Understanding and the International Monetary Fund for a Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies as it braces for details of creditor demands, the people said, declining to be identified as negotiations between the two sides aren’t public. The government expects an accord in March or early April, but the scale of pending issues raises concerns they may be politically hard to sell at home, they said.
Labels:
Austerity measures,
Greek Crisis,
Grexit,
SYRIZA,
Third Memorandum
Friday, February 24, 2017
Half of Germans against debt relief for Greece, survey shows
Fri Feb 24, 2017 | 4:05am EST
Reuters
Around half of Germans are against granting debt relief to Greece and around three in 10 want the debt-laden country to quit the euro zone, a survey showed on Friday.
Reuters
Around half of Germans are against granting debt relief to Greece and around three in 10 want the debt-laden country to quit the euro zone, a survey showed on Friday.
Labels:
Austerity measures,
Debt relief,
Germany,
Grexit,
SYRIZA
Thursday, February 23, 2017
IMF Signals Greek Debt to Be Dealt With at End of Aid Program
by Birgit Jennen
22 February 2017, 8:41 μ.μ. EET
Bloomberg
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde signaled that Greek debt restructuring can wait and the country should focus on overhauling its economy for the duration of its latest bailout, which expires in 2018.
Labels:
Austerity measures,
Debt relief,
Greek Crisis,
Grexit,
SYRIZA
Greece Teeters Back to the Edge of the European Union
The bailout program has fallen far behind schedule and is on the verge of falling apart.
The Wall Street Journal
"It is inconsistent to attack the government both for not completing the review and for the measures needed to complete it."
By YANNIS PALAIOLOGOS
Feb. 21, 2017 4:07 p.m. ET
20 COMMENTS
Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has been in a defiant mood lately. Some say it’s just a ploy, others believe he’s sincere. Either way, he could be pushing his country back to the brink of Grexit.
Speaking to his party’s central committee earlier this month, the prime minister had harsh words for Wolfang Schäuble, speaking of the German finance minister’s “constant aggressiveness” against Greece and his “contemptuous remarks” toward the country.
Labels:
Austerity measures,
Grexit,
SYRIZA,
Third Memorandum
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Save Greece by Saving Its Economy First
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
FEB. 21, 2017
The New York Times
With the Greek government set to run out of cash by the end of July, the country’s main creditors in Europe continue to demand harsh budget cuts as a condition for crucial loans. But after a decade of failing to save Greece, Germany and other European nations, along with the International Monetary Fund, ought to try a different approach, one that makes reviving the economy a priority.
Greece’s creditors appear willing to provide new loans to pay off debts coming due this year as long as the country commits to achieving a fiscal surplus of 3.5 percent of gross domestic product before interest payments by 2018. The I.M.F., more sensibly, has argued for a surplus of 1.5 percent. It also says that European officials should commit to reducing the Greek government’s debt, which is so huge that it equals about 180 percent of the country’s annual economic output. That debt relief could come in various forms, including giving the country more time to repay or reducing the amount owed.
Eurozone Agrees to Greece Talks in Exchange for Bailout Payments
By JAMES KANTER and NIKI KITSANTONISFEB. 20, 2017
The New York Times
BRUSSELS — Eurozone finance ministers agreed on Monday to begin negotiations in Athens as soon as next week over much-needed overhauls in exchange for bailout payments, with Greece appearing to win a reprieve from the crippling austerity that it has faced for years.
The agreement fell short of an all-encompassing deal, with key questions unresolved over the shape of the changes to Greece’s pensions, as well as its tax and labor rules. But it is a positive sign ahead of a meeting this week between Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, who have taken contrasting positions on debt relief toward Athens.
Labels:
Austerity measures,
Grexit,
SYRIZA,
Third Memorandum
Monday, February 20, 2017
Greece needs 'far less' money than agreed in third bailout: ESM head
Mon Feb 20, 2017 | 3:20am EST
Reuters
Greece will need less in emergency loans from international lenders than originally agreed in its third bailout program due to a better-than-expected budgetary developments, the head of the euro zone bailout fund was reported on Monday as saying.
Klaus Regling told German newspaper Bild that at the end of Greece's money-for-reforms package in August 2018, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) will "probably have paid out far less than the agreed maximum amount of 86 billion euros" because the Greek budget was developing better than expected.
Reuters
Greece will need less in emergency loans from international lenders than originally agreed in its third bailout program due to a better-than-expected budgetary developments, the head of the euro zone bailout fund was reported on Monday as saying.
Klaus Regling told German newspaper Bild that at the end of Greece's money-for-reforms package in August 2018, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) will "probably have paid out far less than the agreed maximum amount of 86 billion euros" because the Greek budget was developing better than expected.
Labels:
Austerity measures,
Grexit,
SYRIZA,
Third Memorandum
Schaeuble denies 'Grexit' threat, says Greece on right pathGre
Sun Feb 19, 2017 | 12:13pm EST
Reuters
By Erik Kirschbaum | BERLIN
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble denied on Sunday that he had said Greece would have to leave the euro zone if it failed to implement economic reforms.
Schaeuble said in an ARD television interview that Greece would not have problems if it implemented agreed reforms, but would if it fails to carry these out.
"I never made any ('Grexit') threats," Schaeuble told ARD's Bericht aus Berlin program just before the network played recent comments in which he said Greece was "not yet over the hill" and the "pressure needed to stay on" Greece or it "couldn't stay in the currency union".
Reuters
By Erik Kirschbaum | BERLIN
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble denied on Sunday that he had said Greece would have to leave the euro zone if it failed to implement economic reforms.
Schaeuble said in an ARD television interview that Greece would not have problems if it implemented agreed reforms, but would if it fails to carry these out.
"I never made any ('Grexit') threats," Schaeuble told ARD's Bericht aus Berlin program just before the network played recent comments in which he said Greece was "not yet over the hill" and the "pressure needed to stay on" Greece or it "couldn't stay in the currency union".
Labels:
Austerity measures,
Grexit,
SYRIZA,
Third Memorandum
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Swift deal on Greece needed to avert fresh uncertainty: EU's Dombrovskis
Thu Feb 16, 2017 | 4:45am EST
Reuters
There are costs in delaying agreement on Greece's bailout review, the European Commission's vice president responsible for the euro was quoted as saying on Thursday, and a solution needs to be found swiftly.
Inconclusive talks between Greece and its international creditors on economic reforms and debt relief have cast doubt over the future of Greece's 85 billion euro bailout program.
"There is a common understanding that time lost in reaching an agreement will have a cost for everyone," Valdis Dombrovskis told Greek news portal Euro2day.
Reuters
There are costs in delaying agreement on Greece's bailout review, the European Commission's vice president responsible for the euro was quoted as saying on Thursday, and a solution needs to be found swiftly.
Inconclusive talks between Greece and its international creditors on economic reforms and debt relief have cast doubt over the future of Greece's 85 billion euro bailout program.
"There is a common understanding that time lost in reaching an agreement will have a cost for everyone," Valdis Dombrovskis told Greek news portal Euro2day.
EU Sends Envoy to Salvage Greece Deal as February Date Looms
by Eleni Chrepa and Marcus Bensasson
15 February 2017, 2:00 π.μ.
Greece and its creditors are intensifying efforts to complete a stalled review of the nation’s bailout that would unlock much-needed aid before more than 6 billion euros ($6.3 billion) in obligations come due in July.
EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs Pierre Moscovici met with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos in Athens Wednesday to try to reconcile differences over what reforms are needed to stabilize the country’s economy. European rescue monitors had wanted a deal reached by Feb. 20 when euro-area finance ministers gather in Brussels.
Labels:
Austerity measures,
Grexit,
IMF,
SYRIZA,
Third Memorandum
Thursday, February 9, 2017
The IMF Staff Has It Right on Greece
FEB 8, 2017 2:00 AM EST
By Mohamed A. El-Erian
Bloomberg
When the International Monetary Fund’s board met Monday to discuss Greece, it was heartening to read that “most Executive Directors” agreed with the staff’s view that the country’s debt, at 179 percent of gross domestic product at the end of 2015, was “unsustainable.” Yet “some directors had different views on the fiscal path and debt sustainability.” This division within the board also applied to what Greece still needs to do with its budget. With the medium-term primary fiscal surplus heading to 1.5 percent of GDP, “most Directors agreed that Greece does not require further fiscal consolidation at this time.” But, again, “some Directors favored a surplus of 3.5 of GDP by 2018.”
Labels:
Greek Crisis,
Grexit,
IMF,
SYRIZA,
Third Memorandum
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
IMF says Greece should meet lower fiscal surplus target
Mon Feb 6, 2017 | 9:36pm EST
Reuters
By David Lawder | WASHINGTON
The International Monetary Fund said on Monday that Greece's economy would only grow by just under 1.0 percent in the long run given the constraints of its bailout program, but should meet the fiscal surplus target preferred by most IMF directors.
In its annual review of Greece's economic policies, the IMF said most of its board directors favor a Greek fiscal surplus target of 1.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2018, while some directors favor the higher 3.5 percent target sought by Greece's European lender group.
Reuters
By David Lawder | WASHINGTON
The International Monetary Fund said on Monday that Greece's economy would only grow by just under 1.0 percent in the long run given the constraints of its bailout program, but should meet the fiscal surplus target preferred by most IMF directors.
In its annual review of Greece's economic policies, the IMF said most of its board directors favor a Greek fiscal surplus target of 1.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2018, while some directors favor the higher 3.5 percent target sought by Greece's European lender group.
Labels:
Austerity measures,
Debt crisis,
Grexit,
IMF,
Third Memorandum
Monday, February 6, 2017
Greece’s Response to its Resurgent Debt Crisis: Prosecute the Statistician
Andreas Georgiou, who became Athens’s statistics chief in 2010 to fix data fraud, now faces repeated accusations he manipulated figures to help impose austerity programs
By MARCUS WALKER
Feb. 6, 2017 10:53 a.m. ET
38 COMMENTS
ATHENS—Greece is struggling under its austerity regime and new questions are mounting as to whether it can satisfy its bailout terms. Some people in high places know just whom to blame—a statistician in rural Maryland.
Before Greece’s debt crisis, its governments manipulated statistics and masked the size of budget deficits, waste and patronage. The statistician, Andreas Georgiou, moved from the U.S. to become Greece’s first independent head of statistics in 2010. The European Union certified he subsequently fixed the omissions and reported the deficit in full.
On the contrary, Mr. Georgiou’s foes claim, he manipulated the deficit figures as part of a plot to force severe austerity on Greece under the 2010 bailout “Memorandum” imposed by the EU and International Monetary Fund.
By MARCUS WALKER
Feb. 6, 2017 10:53 a.m. ET
38 COMMENTS
ATHENS—Greece is struggling under its austerity regime and new questions are mounting as to whether it can satisfy its bailout terms. Some people in high places know just whom to blame—a statistician in rural Maryland.
Before Greece’s debt crisis, its governments manipulated statistics and masked the size of budget deficits, waste and patronage. The statistician, Andreas Georgiou, moved from the U.S. to become Greece’s first independent head of statistics in 2010. The European Union certified he subsequently fixed the omissions and reported the deficit in full.
On the contrary, Mr. Georgiou’s foes claim, he manipulated the deficit figures as part of a plot to force severe austerity on Greece under the 2010 bailout “Memorandum” imposed by the EU and International Monetary Fund.
Labels:
Greek Crisis,
Grexit,
Politics,
SYRIZA,
Third Memorandum
Friday, February 3, 2017
Germany's Gabriel condemned Berlin's handling of Greece in letter: report
Thu Feb 2, 2017 | 3:31pm EST
Reuters
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel criticised the German government's handling of Greece in a letter he wrote to Chancellor Angela Merkel last month, a newspaper reported on Thursday.
Handelsblatt newspaper said Gabriel - who swapped the Economy Ministry for the Foreign Ministry last week - had expressed his "great concern" about the talks on Greece's financial rescue and thought the government in Berlin should play a "more constructive role".
Germany wants the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to have a stake in Greece's bailout to give the rescue plan greater credibility, but also opposes granting Athens significant debt relief. The IMF says it will only join in if this rescue is the country's last and it includes significant debt relief.
Reuters
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel criticised the German government's handling of Greece in a letter he wrote to Chancellor Angela Merkel last month, a newspaper reported on Thursday.
Handelsblatt newspaper said Gabriel - who swapped the Economy Ministry for the Foreign Ministry last week - had expressed his "great concern" about the talks on Greece's financial rescue and thought the government in Berlin should play a "more constructive role".
Germany wants the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to have a stake in Greece's bailout to give the rescue plan greater credibility, but also opposes granting Athens significant debt relief. The IMF says it will only join in if this rescue is the country's last and it includes significant debt relief.
Labels:
Debt crisis,
Debt relief,
Greek default,
Grexit,
SYRIZA,
Third Memorandum
The IMF Should Get Out of Greece
FEB 3, 2017 1:00 AM EST
Bloomberg
By
Ashoka Mody
The International Monetary Fund's involvement in Greece has been an unmitigated disaster: Time and again, its failure to heed crucial lessons has visited suffering upon the Greek people. When the fund's directors meet on Monday, they should agree to forgive the country's debts and get out.
The IMF should never have gotten into Greece in the first place. As late as March 2010, with concerns about the Greek government's ability to pay its debts roiling markets, Europe's leaders wanted the IMF to stay away. Europeans feared that the fund’s financial assistance to one of their own would signal broader weakness in the currency union. As Jean-Claude Juncker famously put it: “If California had a refinancing problem, the United States wouldn’t go to the IMF.”
Labels:
Debt crisis,
Greek Crisis,
Grexit,
IMF,
SYRIZA,
Third Memorandum
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
IMF Warns Eurogroup Loan Measures Not Enough for Greek Debt
by Eleni Chrepa and Andrew Mayeda
28 January 2017, 4:07 μ.μ. EET
Bloomberg
Greece’s public debt and financing needs will prove “explosive” in decades to come unless Europe overhauls its bailout program to ease the load, the International Monetary Fund says in a draft report as the country seeks a fresh loan payout.
In the IMF’s baseline scenario, Greece’s government debt will reach 275 percent of its gross domestic product by 2060, when its financing needs will represent 62 percent of GDP, the report obtained by Bloomberg says. The government estimates public debt around 180 percent of GDP at present.
28 January 2017, 4:07 μ.μ. EET
Bloomberg
Greece’s public debt and financing needs will prove “explosive” in decades to come unless Europe overhauls its bailout program to ease the load, the International Monetary Fund says in a draft report as the country seeks a fresh loan payout.
In the IMF’s baseline scenario, Greece’s government debt will reach 275 percent of its gross domestic product by 2060, when its financing needs will represent 62 percent of GDP, the report obtained by Bloomberg says. The government estimates public debt around 180 percent of GDP at present.
Labels:
Austerity measures,
Grexit,
IMF,
SYRIZA,
Third Memorandum
Greek Markets Tumble as EU Holds Up Payment Amid IMF Doubts
by Sotiris Nikas and Nikos Chrysoloras
30 January 2017, 3:44 μ.μ.
Government said to admit most bailout actions still pending
IMF says reforms still needed, debt is highly unsustainable
Bloomberg
Greek stocks and bonds fell on Monday after the government in Athens failed to bridge differences with European creditors over the conditions attached to the country’s latest bailout review and the International Monetary Fund warned that its debt is on an unsustainable path.
Almost two-thirds of the actions creditors have demanded for the disbursement of the next tranche of emergency loans have yet to be completed, the government conceded in a memo discussed between Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and bailout auditors last week in Brussels, a person familiar with the matter said.
Labels:
Austerity measures,
Grexit,
IMF,
SYRIZA,
Third Memorandum
This could be Greece’s last chance to save itself
Nasos Koukakis, special to CNBC.com
Friday, 27 Jan 2017 | 3:01 PM ET
CNBC
Despite decisive action proposed by the International Monetary Fund to ease Greece's financial burden, more turbulence lies ahead for the debt-ridden European nation, reveals the latest IMF report, which was delivered to the Fund's board members for consultation. CNBC has received the report through a close source to the IMF.
According to IMF deputy spokesman William Murray, the report will be discussed at the IMF's board meeting on Feb.6.
Germany says expects IMF to participate in Greece's bailout
Mon Jan 30, 2017 | 8:28am EST
Reuters
Germany believes the International Monetary Fund will participate in Greece's bailout and it is too early to start thinking about other arrangements should the IMF bow out, a spokesman for the German finance ministry said on Monday.
The IMF said around two years ago that it would take part in Greece's aid package, the spokesman said at a regular government news conference, and added: "Nothing has changed about that and it's much too early to think about 'what if'".
Reuters
Germany believes the International Monetary Fund will participate in Greece's bailout and it is too early to start thinking about other arrangements should the IMF bow out, a spokesman for the German finance ministry said on Monday.
The IMF said around two years ago that it would take part in Greece's aid package, the spokesman said at a regular government news conference, and added: "Nothing has changed about that and it's much too early to think about 'what if'".
Labels:
Austerity measures,
Grexit,
IMF,
SYRIZA,
Third Memorandum
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