UPDATE 1-Rain dampens latest Greek strike against austerity

Wed Nov 6, 2013 7:53am EST

* Greek labour unions hold 24-hour strike against austerity

* Lower turnout at rallies due to heavy rain, resignation

* Thousands march to parliament after troika resumes review

By Renee Maltezou

ATHENS, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Thousands of striking Greek workers marched to parliament in pouring rain on Wednesday to protest against measures imposed by foreign lenders, whose inspectors are in Athens to review the country's bailout.

Anti-austerity strike brings Greece to a halt during troika visit

By Renee Maltezou

ATHENS | Wed Nov 6, 2013 6:57am GMT

(Reuters) - Greek schools shut and flights were disrupted as workers held a general strike on Wednesday to protest austerity imposed by foreign lenders, whose inspectors were in Athens to review the country's performance under its bailout.

The 24-hour walkout by Greece's largest public and private sector unions brought much of the crisis-hit country to a standstill a day after officials from the "troika" of European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund resumed their latest bailout review.

Rehn Confident Greece to Meet Targets as Troika Talks Resume

By Marcus Bensasson & Christos Ziotis - Nov 5, 2013 3:20 PM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said he’s confident Greece can meet its fiscal targets as Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said the country can’t accept across-the-board wage and pension cuts.

Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras met today with the troika, comprising representatives of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, who are back in Athens following a five-week hiatus. As he seeks to convince them that Greece is complying with its bailout terms, one disagreement involves the extent of fiscal measures needed to achieve Greek budget-deficit targets.

Athens's Love Affair With the Euro Persists

The Wall Street Journal

Nov 3 2013

“…The current crisis may be Greece's last opportunity to turn itself into an effective modern state…”

After Delay, Lenders Set To Visit Greece for Audit

November 3, 2013

REUTERS

BRUSSELS — Inspectors from Greece’s international lenders have put a postponed visit to the country back on the agenda and will return early this week after Athens made a new proposal on filling a gap of 2 billion euros in the 2014 budget, the European Commission has said.

Greece nominates new privatization agency chief, third in seven months

ATHENS | Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:36am EDT

(Reuters) - Greece has nominated a new chairman to take over at its privatization agency after the dismissal of its previous head last month, the finance ministry said on Saturday.

Constantine Maniatopoulos was named to head privatization agency HRADF, where asset sale delays and shortfalls in targeted revenues have been a source of headaches for Greece's international lenders overseeing the country's 240 billion euro bailout program.

Why Greece Is Not Weimar

By ROGER COHEN

Published: September 19, 2013

The New York Times

ATHENS — The perfect political storm for violent extremism has descended on Greece. It consists of national humiliation, economic disaster, high immigration, political division and international tutelage. Look no further than Weimar Germany to understand its ingredients

In the subdued streets of the Greek capital, where a vague menace hangs like a pall, tempers are frayed. The economy is turning slowly, after draconian cuts and two bailouts totaling €240 billion, but not enough yet to be felt. The cry of the extreme right resounds: We, the fathers of civilization, have been sold out by the international loan sharks!

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 will need third aid deal, German Finance Minister admits

By Gernot Heller

AHRENSBURG, Germany | Tue Aug 20, 2013 8:20am EDT

(Reuters) - Germany's finance minister admitted for the first time on Tuesday that Greece would need a third aid package, as a source in Athens said the sums involved in any new deal would be far smaller than previous rescues.

"There will have to be another program in Greece," Wolfgang Schaeuble told a campaign audience in northern Germany, in comments that raised prospect of a step that could be deeply unpopular domestically just five weeks before national elections.

German Finance Ministry Rules Out New Debt Writedown for Greece

August 12, 2013, 6:48 a.m. ET

By Harriet Torry

BERLIN--Germany's finance ministry on Monday stuck with its steadfast rejection of further debt relief for Greece, despite a weekend news report suggesting even the country's central bank expects a new Greek aid package will be necessary by the beginning of next year at the latest.

Greece beats January-July budget target, helped by EU funds

ATHENS | Mon Aug 12, 2013 5:09am EDT

(Reuters) - Greece easily beat its fiscal targets in the first seven months of the year, propped up by aid from euro zone central banks and European Union funds, finance ministry figures showed on Monday.

The central government had a primary budget surplus - before interest payments - of 2.57 billion euros ($3.4 billion). That compares with an interim target for a deficit of 3.14 billion euros, it said.

Obama to Show Support for Greece as Samaras Visits White House

By Margaret Talev - Aug 8, 2013

Bloomberg

President Barack Obama will show U.S. support for Greece at a meeting today with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras as Greece prepares for more talks with creditors on additional debt relief.

Cyprus unification, trade and counterterrorism initiatives also are on the agenda, the White House said in a statement ahead of the visit.

The IMF's blunt assessment

Aug 1st 2013, 14:09 by K.H. | ATHENS

Charlemagne

European politics

The Economist

WITH Greece enjoying the best year for tourism since its six-year recession began, it has become easier to believe in official forecasts of a mild recovery next year. But the green shoots of optimism may soon fade if European leaders are unwilling to plug a widening gap in bailout funding for Athens over the next two years and help make its debt burden sustainable by writing off a chunk of bail-out loans.

Lagarde counting on Europeans to keep promises toward Greece

The Washington Post

By Katerina Sokou, Friday, August 2, 4:18 PM

Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, said Thursday that she counted on euro-zone countries to support the Greek effort to bring down its debt to sustainable levels.

Talking to reporters in Washington, Lagarde said the Europeans have promised to “consider any additional measures and assistance needed” as long as that Greece delivers on its commitments.

Greece privatisation: Myth or reality?

BBC

15 July 2013 Last updated at 23:17 GMT

By Nigel Cassidy

Business correspondent, BBC News, Athens

Visit any one of the Greek state's Opap betting shops and it's pretty hard to fathom quite what is going on.

Groups of mainly men who can probably ill afford the price of a lottery ticket sit around staring at electronic screens showing grids of random figures, all hoping against hope that their numbers will come up.

It's a fine metaphor for Greece's wider - and so far wildly unsuccessful - drive to raise billions of euros to help offset the country's punishing debt repayments.

Wrong Prescription for Greece

The New York Times

July 9, 2013

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

Greece and its financial overseers agreed on terms for continued bailout payments on Monday. The agreement is cause for relief — without it Greece would go bankrupt. But, at the same time, it is no cause for celebration — indeed, quite the opposite. Greece must eventually carry out painful reforms. But the precondition for these reforms is not the austerity demanded by the agreement but economic revival.

EU Agrees to Keep Aid Flowing to Greece

By MATINA STEVIS, MATTHEW DALTON and FRANCES ROBINSON CONNECT

The Wall Street Journal

BRUSSELS—Greece's international creditors reported Monday that all isn't well with the country's mammoth bailout program, but euro-zone finance ministers decided the problems weren't enough for them to stop the flow of financial aid to Athens.

Euro zone grants multi-billion euro lifeline for Greece

By Annika Breidthardt and Martin Santa

BRUSSELS | Mon Jul 8, 2013 4:27pm EDT

(Reuters) - Greece secured a lifeline from the euro zone and the IMF on Monday but was told it must keep its promises on cutting public sector jobs and selling state assets to get all the cash.

The 6.8 billion euro ($8.7 billion) deal, which spares Greece defaulting on debt in August, will see Athens drip fed support under close watch from the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund to ensure implementation of unpopular reforms.

Greece, Troika Optimistic on Reaching Deal Before Meeting

By Paul Tugwell & Tom Stoukas - Jul 8, 2013 1:01 AM GMT+0300

Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said the government probably will reach a deal with international creditors before today’s Eurogroup meeting to keep bailout funds flowing to the country.

“I’m optimistic that we will close a deal,” Stournaras said yesterday in Athens after a seventh day of talks with representatives of the so-called troika of the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Commission.

Greece, foreign lenders close in on deal to unlock aid

By Lefteris Papadimas and Ingrid Melander

ATHENS/AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France | Sun Jul 7, 2013 4:41pm EDT

(Reuters) - Greece is likely to reach a deal with foreign lenders on its latest bailout review before a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Monday to decide on further aid, EU and Greek officials said on Sunday.