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.

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.

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.

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.”

This Ancient City Would Still Be Among The Wealthiest In The World Today

By Sovereign Man on February 1, 2017 2:02 pm

Value Week

In the year 440 BC, more than two decades into the reign of Pericles, an audit of treasury in Athens showed a massive surplus of more than 9700 “talents”.

A talent was a common unit of measurement in the ancient world, especially for gold and silver.

And, based on today’s precious metals prices and the traditional gold/silver ratio (14:1) used by the ancient Greeks, 9700 talents is equivalent to about $700 million today.

At the time, Athens boasted a population of around 43,000 citizens and 28,500 foreign residents… so on a “per capita” basis, the ancient Athenian surplus amounted to just under $10,000 per person in today’s money.

Η Επιστολή Τσακαλώτου

 "Σε απάντηση της προκαταρκτικής αξιολόγησης των θεσμών για το επίδομα για τις συντάξεις και τν ΦΠΑ που ψηφίστηκαν από την ελληνική Βουλή και εφαρμόστηκαν από τις ελληνικές αρχές αλλά και τις απόψεις που εκφράστηκαν στην έκτακτη τηλεδιάσκεψη του Eurogroup στις 20 Δεκεμβρίου, θα ήθελα να καταστήσω σαφές τα ακόλουθα:

Σε ό,τι αφορά το μέτρο για τις συντάξεις, παρακαλώ να σημειωθεί ότι τόσο ο πρωθυπουργός όσο και εγώ ο ίδιος καταστήσαμε δημοσίως ξεκάθαρο, και θα συνεχίσουμε να το πράττουμε, ότι πρόκειται για ένα εφάπαξ ποσό που δεν θα έχει μόνιμη επίδραση στην πρόσφατη μεταρρύθμιση για τις συντάξεις. Σχετικά με την προσωρινή αναστολή της αύξησης του ΦΠΑ στα νησιά για συγκεκριμένα νησιά του Αιγαίου το μέτρο θα εφαρμοστεί μόνο για το 2017 και χρηματοδοτείται πλήρως από τον προϋπολογισμό του 2017.

Οι ελληνικές αρχές δεσμεύονται πλήρως να ακολουθήσουν το δημοσιονομικό πλαίσιο που έχει συμφωνηθεί και που βασίζεται στους στόχους για πρωτογενές πλεόνασμα 0,5%, 1,75% και 3,5% για το 2016, 2017 και 2018 αντίστοιχα. Οι ελληνικές αρχές θα ενεργοποιήσουν τον «δημοσιονομικό κόφτη» που θεσμοτήθηκε στο πλαίσιο της πρώτης αξιολόγησης όπως προβλέπεται στο νόμο 4389/16, σε περίπτωση που τα αποτελέσματα που θα επικυρωθούν από την Eurostat αποδεικνύουν ότι δεν έχουν επιτευχθεί οι στόχοι.

New loans for Greece depend on IMF participation: German Finance Ministry

Tue Jan 31, 2017 | 5:13am EST


Reuters

Further financial assistance for Greece depends on the successful completion of a review of its bailout program and the participation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a spokesman for the German Finance Ministry said on Tuesday.

"Further payments depend on the successful completion of the program's review and the participation of the IMF," the spokesman said.

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.

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.

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'".

Greece and Creditors Fail to Make Progress on Bailout Deal

Eurozone finance ministers met in Brussels as a possibly troublesome election season looms in Europe

The Wall Street Journal

By VIKTORIA DENDRINOU and  NEKTARIA STAMOULI
Updated Jan. 26, 2017 4:00 p.m. ET


BRUSSELS—Greece and its creditors failed to resolve their differences Thursday during talks held in hopes of finding a solution for the country’s deadlocked bailout before Europe’s coming election season dominates the Continent’s agenda.

A meeting of eurozone finance ministers here didn’t reach a breakthrough that would clear the way for the conclusion of negotiations on the current review of Greece’s aid package of as much as €86 billion. But there is pressure to get a deal by February, because after that, a series of elections in the Netherlands, France, Germany and possibly Italy could distract attention and reduce governments’ interest in making any unpopular concessions on Greece.

Greece Bailout Deadline Looms Ahead of Busy EU Election Schedule

by Eleni Chrepa  and Nikos Chrysoloras
26 Ιανουαρίου 2017, 2:00 π.μ. EET

Bloomberg

Greece has less than a month to iron out disagreements with its creditors over how to move forward with a rescue package that has been keeping the country afloat since 2010.

Euro-area finance ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday will discuss how to complete a stalled bailout review, assure the involvement of the International Monetary Fund and unlock additional financial aid. A deal must be struck by the end of February, before as many as five European nations hold elections that will make negotiations politically difficult, according to an EU official familiar with the talks.

Greece’s Tsipras Insists on ‘Not One Euro More’ of Austerity

by Marcus Bensasson
25 January 2017, 11:40 π.μ. EET 25 Ιανουαρίου 2017, 12:59 μ.μ. EET

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras dug in against creditor demands for more pension cuts and tax increases before a meeting of euro-area finance ministers to unblock the country’s bailout review.

“There is no way we are going to legislate even one euro more than what was agreed in the bailout,” Tsipras said in an interview with Efimerida ton Syntakton, to mark the two-year anniversary since he was elected on an anti-austerity platform. “The demand to legislate more measures, and contingent ones, no less, is alien not just to the Greek Constitution but to democratic norms.”

Greece sells state-owned railway operator to Italian firm

By Associated Press January 18 at 6:42 AM

The Washinghton Post

ATHENS, Greece — Greece’s privatization agency has signed a deal to sell the country’s state-owned Trainose railway operator to Italian state’s Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane for 45 million euros ($48 million).

The agency says the sale of its 100 percent stake to the Italian railway company is subject to approval by European Union authorities.

Desperate Eurozone to borrow BILLIONS to fund Greece rescue amid fears of crash

THE eurozone's bailout fund is borrowing tens of billions so it can fund a rescue plan for Greece, amid fears the country's debt crisis could once again send shockwaves through the bloc.

By LANA CLEMENTS
PUBLISHED: 13:53, Tue, Jan 10, 2017 | UPDATED: 17:48, Tue, Jan 10, 2017

Express

The Luxembourg agency responsible for doling out rescue money - the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) - is turning to markets to raise the extra cash needed for the Greek debt relief programme.

The ESM is now issuing €57billion (£49.5bn) in long-term bonds - up 14 per cent from original plans - to cover the bail-out programme.

Greece wants to sell smaller stake in gas grid operator - paper

Wed Jan 11, 2017 | 2:47am EST

Jan 11 Greece wants to keep a majority stake in its gas grid operator DESFA and sell only a small holding to investors after a previous plan to sell a 66 percent stake collapsed, a Greek newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Under its privatisation programme, a key part of its international bailout, Greece and its biggest oil refiner Hellenic Petroleum had agreed to sell the DESFA stake to Azerbaijan's SOCAR for 400 million euros ($422 million).

Greece Heads Into Another Economic Crisis: Time To Finally Exit The European Union?

JAN 5, 2017 @ 06:00 AM 15,499 VIEWS
Fortune

Doug Bandow ,   CONTRIBUTOR
I write about international politics, economics, and development.

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

ATHENS, GREECE—Constitution Square has been uncommonly quiet. When looking at the parliament building from my hotel window last month all I could see were cars and pedestrians. The crowds of demonstrators, so common in recent years as the Euro crisis enveloped one of Europe’s poorer states, were absent.

But maybe not for long. Athens and its creditors are at loggerheads again.

When I spoke with the Defense and Foreign Ministers in early December, the conversations focused on Turkey’s crisis, negotiations to reunify Cyprus, and security cooperation with America. The first was beyond Greece’s control. The second has been a political football for more than four decades. The third has been a positive constant for years, with the current left-wing Syriza Party government as friendly to the U.S. as any right-leaning administration.

How Greece’s Troubled Economy Could Turn Around in 2017

Nicholas Economides
Updated: Jan 03, 2017 8:48 PM UTC
Fortune

Violating the terms of its bailout program, the Greek government recently announced that it will distribute a sizeable “Christmas gift” to Greek pensioners even though this requires additional borrowing from the EU since the Greek budget is not balanced and Greece cannot borrow from money markets. The move has prompted the EU finance ministers to freeze implementation of debt restructuring. Greece is at the brink again.

Greece’s New Year of Living Dangerously

Tsipras is antagonizing creditors again, setting the stage for a new bailout showdown and an election.

The Wall Street Journal

By YANNIS PALAIOLOGOS
Dec. 21, 2016 3:05 p.m. ET
4 COMMENTS
If last year was the year of upheaval and survival for Alexis Tsipras, this year has been the year of the slow grind. As we near the end of 2016, Mr. Tsipras finds himself squeezed—by Germany and the International Monetary Fund, by Turkey and the refugee crisis, by his false promises and collapsing popularity—to the point of political extinction.

Euro zone lenders confident on quick solution on Greek debt spat: source

Wed Dec 21, 2016 | 1:57pm EST

 Reuters

Greece's euro zone lenders are confident a solution can be found shortly on reactivating short-term debt relief measures that were suspended after Athens decided to make an unexpected payout to poor pensioners, a euro zone source said on Wednesday.

Lenders said last week they were suspending a deal clinched earlier this month to offer Greece short-term debt relief after leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he would grant low-income pensioners a pre-Christmas payout.