Wednesday, October 10, 2012

IMF Singles Out European Debt Crisis as Key Threat


source: Reuters
The International Monetary Fund urged European policymakers to deepen the financial and fiscal ties within the euro area with some urgency to restore sagging confidence in the global financial system.

Nobel for quantum "parlour trick" that could make super computers


(Reuters) - A French and an American scientist won the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for finding ways to measure quantum particles without destroying them, which could make it possible to build a new kind of computer far more powerful than any seen before.

Greece’s biggest cheerleader: Angela Merkel


Posted by Anthee Carassava on October 9, 2012 at 3:53 pm
 The Washington Post
ATHENS, Greece – Last summer, as a team of top European leaders huddled in a Brussels ballroom to discuss the continent’s deepening debt crisis, Antonis Samaras walked into a hostile reception.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Greek anti-fascist protesters 'tortured by police' after Golden Dawn clash


Fifteen people arrested in Athens says they were subjected to what their lawyer describes as an Abu Ghraib-style humiliation

Fifteen anti-fascist protesters arrested in Athens during a clash with supporters of the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn have said they were tortured in the Attica General Police Directorate (GADA) – the Athens equivalent of Scotland Yard – and subjected to what their lawyer describes as an Abu Ghraib-style humiliation.

Athens Braces for Visit by Merkel


Security Is Boosted as Authorities Fear Protests Could Grow and Overshadow Mission to Show Unity
By PHILIP PANGALOS and JAMES ANGELOS
ATHENS—The Greek capital was bracing for a security clampdown as Prime Minister Antonis Samaras welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday on her first visit to Athens since the debt crisis began.

IMF, EU Press Greece on Reforms


The Wall Street Journal
Updated October 9, 2012, 5:41 a.m. ET
By RIVA FROYMOVICH, MATINA STEVIS and GEOFFREY T. SMITH

LUXEMBOURGGreece's official creditors failed to make any visible headway Monday in averting the country's looming debt crunch, drawing a diplomatic veil over suggestions of heated exchanges at their latest meeting.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Euro Finance Chiefs to Give Positive Greece View, Rehn Says


By Kati Pohjanpalo on October 08, 2012

Euro-zone finance ministers meeting today are likely to make a positive statement on Greece’s progress toward meeting austerity targets needed to free the nation’s next bailout payment, European Union Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn said.

Sima Qian: China's 'grand historian'


By Carrie Gracie
BBC News, Beijing
Speaking truth to power has always been a high-risk strategy in China. Its rulers tend to prefer flattery, and writers who forget this do so at their peril. China's "grand historian" - 2,000 years ago - was one of many who have paid a terrible price.

Eurozone rescue fund launch due


The eurozone's new permanent fund to bail out struggling economies and banks will be launched later at a meeting of finance ministers.

Greece: Merkel's euro headache returns

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19868571
The moment will be watched closely. On Tuesday the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, will visit Athens. It will be her first visit to Greece since the crisis erupted nearly three years ago.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Greece says still seeking more time to pay off debt


PARIS | Thu Oct 4, 2012 2:32pm EDT
(Reuters) - Greece is still hoping the European Central Bank will agree to give it more time to repay debt and allow euro zone rescue funds to be used to recapitalize its banks, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Thursday.

Farmers, Shipyard Workers Protest in Greece


ATHENS, Greece October 4, 2012 (AP)
Greek police clashed with shipyard workers protesting pay arrears Thursday after they broke into the Defense Ministry grounds, while hundreds of farmers on tractors tried to invade the country's second-busiest airport on Crete during an anti-austerity protest.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Greece looks out to sea for gas wealth salvation


By Oleg Vukmanovic and Stephen Jewkes
LONDON/MILAN | Wed Oct 3, 2012 8:15am EDT
(Reuters) - Offshore natural gas could dramatically change Greece's fortunes, should early estimates of $600 billion worth of reserves be confirmed, according to a study presented to Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in June and seen by Reuters.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Greece's Piraeus Bank reaches deal to buy Geniki: sources


By Lefteris Papadimas and George Georgiopoulos
ATHENS | Tue Oct 2, 2012 2:42pm EDT
(Reuters) - Greece's Piraeus Bank (BOPr.AT) has struck a preliminary deal to buy French lender Societe Generale's (SOGN.PA) loss-making Greek unit Geniki (GHBr.AT) to strengthen its position amid a brutal debt crisis, two sources close to the talks told Reuters.

UPDATE 1-Greece pushes for austerity deal as time runs short


Tue Oct 2, 2012 3:22pm EDT
By Renee Maltezou
Oct 2 (Reuters) - Greece held a new round of talks with foreign lenders to bridge differences over 2 billion euros of disputed austerity cuts on Tuesday, with time running short to clinch a deal before a meeting of euro zone ministers next week.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Mitt Romney's Terrible Wall Street Journal Op-Ed


It's official: The Republican nominee has no new ideas for the Middle East.

Greece to stay in recession for 6th year, 2013 draft budget shows


The Washington Post
By Associated Press, Published: October 1

ATHENS, GreeceGreece’s brutal recession is set to extend into a sixth year in 2013, when the economy will contract by another 3.8 percent, according to forecasts in the draft budget submitted to Parliament on Monday.

Global Factory Weakness Spreads as Debt Crisis Persists


By Simone Meier and Michelle Jamrisko on October 01, 2012 
From Bloomberg Buisinessweek
 (Corrects euro-area unemployment rate in third paragraph.) For more on Europe’s debt crisis, see TOP CRIS.)
Manufacturing from Europe to China contracted in September as the euro region’s fiscal crisis eroded investor confidence and clouded global growth prospects.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Greek Economy to Shrink More Than Expected Next Year


By STELIOS BOURAS
The Wall Street Journal
ATHENSGreece's economy will contract more than projected in 2013, its sixth year of recession, under the weight of the next round of austerity measures demanded by international creditors, according to a draft budget the government will submit to parliament Monday, two senior officials said.

Μίσος σε φόντο σκοτεινό


20/09/2012
του Γ. Σιδέρη
Ήταν δραματική η περιγραφή του αντισυμβατικού βουλευτή, ενός από τα δύο μικρότερα κόμματα τα οποία στηρίζουν την κυβέρνηση Σαμαρά. Βρέθηκε σε μπαράκι, στέκι από τα παλιά, με δυο φίλους, τους οποίους γνώριζε τουλάχιστον από εικοσαετίας.