Thursday, December 6, 2012

For Greece, Oligarchs Are Obstacle to Recovery


By RACHEL DONADIO and LIZ ALDERMAN
The New York Times
ATHENS — A dynamic entrepreneur, Lavrentis Lavrentiadis seemed to represent a promising new era for Greece. He dazzled the country’s traditionally insular business world by spinning together a multibillion-dollar empire just a few years after inheriting a small family firm at 18. Seeking acceptance in elite circles, he gave lavishly to charities and cultivated ties to the leading political parties.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Greece takes bottom EU spot in global corruption index


Greece replaces Bulgaria as lowest-ranking EU state
* Italy below ex-communist Romania in global league table
* China realises tackling graft in its own interests-TI
* Russian NGO curbs make it harder to check corruption -TI

By Gareth Jones

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

History Shows Why Germany Should Help Greece


By John Sfakianakis Dec 4, 2012 1:37 AM GMT+0200
Bloomberg
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel has at last opened the door to the possibility of writing off Greek debts, but only several years from now. As they decide on the right thing to do, Germans should take a close look at their own history.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Merkel says understands Germans' frustration over Greece: paper



                     
              FILE - In this Nov. 30, 3012 file picture German Chancellor Angela Merkel casts her vote at the German federal parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. The German Parliament has given its overwhelming backing to a deal aimed at trimming Greece's debt load and keeping the country financially afloat. Lawmakers voted 473-100 on Friday to back the complex deal reached by European finance ministers earlier this week. Germany's chancellor says in an interview published saturday Dec. 1, 2012  she understands the frustration felt by many Germans over the repeated bailout programs for Greece.  But Angela Merkel also insists that helping debt-ridden Greece is in her country's self-interest because it helps stabilize the 17-nation eurozone on which Germany's prosperity depends.  (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)
 (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)
BERLIN| Fri Nov 30, 2012 6:01pm EST
(Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she understood her compatriots' doubts about a bailout deal for Greece, but insisted in an interview that aid for Athens was in the interests of Berlin and all euro zone members.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Greece says voluntary debt buy back must succeed


(Reuters) - Greece's debt buyback plan, a key element of the cash-strapped country's bailout deal, will be voluntary but must succeed, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said on Wednesday.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Europe’s Plan C for Greece Is No Better Than Plans A or B


Bloomberg
Europe’s leaders have reached Plan C in their efforts to rescue Greece. Unfortunately, it lacks a crucial element also absent in Plans A and B: adequate debt relief.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Greece, markets satisfied by EU-IMF Greek debt deal


(Reuters) - The Greek government and financial markets were cheered on Tuesday by an agreement between euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund to reduce Greece's debt, paving the way for the release of urgently needed aid loans.

Monday, November 26, 2012

GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares, euro fall on Greece, U.S. fiscal talks


Mon Nov 26, 2012 2:48pm EST
* U.S. stocks fall as fiscal talks set to resume
 * Market focus on outcome of Greece aid negotiations
 * Euro edges down vs dollar
 NEW YORK, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Stocks around the globe and the euro were mostly lower on Monday, with investors cautious over whether Greece will receive emergency aid to keep it financially afloat and no signs of progress by U.S. lawmakers to avoid the U.S. "fiscal cliff."

Friday, November 23, 2012

Analysis: Greek economy pays high price for its high prices


By Alan Wheatley and Karolina Tagaris
ATHENS | Thu Nov 22, 2012 12:02pm EST
(Reuters) - Signs across Athens advertise property for rent or sale. One in three shops has closed. At those still open for business, turnover has slumped.

So it is one of the mysteries of Greece's economic depression that prices of some things - milk and the new iPhone, for example - are among the highest in Europe.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Standoff on Greece Driven by Short-Sighted Europolitics



Forbes
Karl Whelan, Contributor
Economist focused on European macro issues
As Greece comes ever-closer to running out of money, the Eurozone finance ministers and the IMF have now met for two weeks in a row and failed to agree a new deal to loan Greece any additional funds.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Your Cheat-Sheet to Greece


By Matina Stevis
The Wall Street Journal
Another week, another euro-zone finance ministers’ meeting on Greece. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has flown back from Asia to attend the meeting starting later today, while European Central Bank president Mario Draghi and the European Union’s economics commissioner Olli Rehn are also due to be there.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Euro zone, IMF make progress on Greece: Juncker


By Matthias Inverardi
BIELEFELD, Germany | Sat Nov 17, 2012 9:12am EST
(Reuters) - Euro zone governments and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are making headway in settling a row over how to make Greece's debt manageable, Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Saturday.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Greece: It’s Not About the Numbers


The Wall Street Journal
http://blogs.wsj.com/eurocrisis/2012/11/16/greece-its-not-about-the-numbers/
The spreadsheets spell it out clearly. Billions of euros of austerity measures on top of an already fast shrinking economy have made the country’s growing debt pile unsustainable.

IMF's Lagarde says important for euro zone to forge deal on Greece


(Reuters) - A crucial Eurogroup meeting next week on Greece should forge a deal that will put the insolvent country's economy on a sustainable path, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Friday.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

On Greece, Christine Lagarde Is the Grown-Up at the Table


By the Editors Nov 14, 2012 1:30 AM GMT+0200
One way or another, the governments and other official lenders that have bailed out Greece and now hold its debt are going to lose some or all of that money.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Europe Gives Greece 2 More Years to Reach Deficit Targets


By James G. Neuger and Stephanie Bodoni - Nov 13, 2012 5:09 AM GMT+0200
Bloomberg
Euro-area finance ministers gave Greece two extra years to wrestle down its budget deficit, pledging to plug the resulting financing gaps in order to keep the country in the single currency and prevent a renewed flareup of the debt crisis.

Friday, November 9, 2012

UPDATE 2-Greece will roll over T-bills due to aid delay


Fri Nov 9, 2012 8:06am EST
* More than 5 bln euros in T-bills due on Nov. 16

* Greece expects aid tranche only after bills mature

* ECB expected to let Greece raise ceiling on amount of T-bills allowed

By Lefteris Papadimas

Greece Drinks the Hemlock


EDITORIAL
The International Herald  Tribune
Published: November 8, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/09/opinion/greece-drinks-the-hemlock.html#h[]
Greece’s Parliament did what it had to do on Thursday. Despite some defections from the ruling centrist coalition, lawmakers narrowly approved a $23 billion package of new austerity measures, including further spending cuts to social services, pensions and public salaries, as well as tax increases demanded by Greece’s European lenders.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Barack Obama's second term


Now, hug a Republican
A budget deal makes sense for the re-elected president, his opponents, his country and the world
Nov 10th 2012
The Economist