IMF OKs Greek next aid tranche; Lagarde sees progress

By Lesley Wroughton

WASHINGTON | Wed Jan 16, 2013 6:18pm EST

(Reuters) - Greece's bailout program is moving in the right direction, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday after the IMF board agreed to pay the next aid tranche to Athens under the country's 240-billion-euro international bailout.

The year ahead in the euro zone: Lower risks, same problems

By Nouriel Roubini JANUARY 14, 2013

Reuters

Financial conditions in the euro zone have significantly improved since the summer, when euro zone risks peaked because of German policymakers’ open consideration of a Greek exit, and the sovereign spreads of Italy and Spain reached new heights.

The Wall Street Journal's Bad Plan for Greece

By Josh Barro Jan 14, 2013 11:46 PM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

The Wall Street Journal ran a staff editorial in today's newspaper urging Greece to adopt a flat tax as a road out of its economic troubles. This is a demonstration of the first rule of the Journal's editorial writing: Whatever your problem is, it can be fixed with a flat tax.

Number of U.S. working poor families grows as wealth gap widens

By Susan Heavey

WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The number of U.S. families struggling with poverty despite parents being employed continued to grow in 2011 as more people returned to work but mostly at lower-paying service jobs, an analysis released on Tuesday shows.

Gun attack on PM's party HQ escalates Greek violence

By Dina Kyriakidou and George Georgiopoulos

ATHENS | Mon Jan 14, 2013 5:21am EST

(Reuters) - Unidentified attackers opened fire on the headquarters of Greece's governing New Democracy party with a Kalashnikov assault rifle early on Monday, in what the government said was a worrying escalation in political violence.

Journalists in Greece Are Becoming Targets

By LIZ ALDERMAN

Published: January 12, 2013

The New York Times

¶ The Greek police on Saturday were looking for the people responsible for detonating makeshift bombs at the homes of five journalists in Athens, the latest in a series of actions taken against reporters in Greece who have raised questions about a deteriorating climate for media freedom.

Η στοχοποίηση ενός μάρτυρα

του Π. Μανδραβέλη

Τετάρτη, 09 Ιανουάριος 2013 10:58

«Αυτή είναι μια τακτική που ακολουθεί ο ΣΥΡΙΖΑ εδώ και πολλά χρόνια... κατηγορώντας άπαντες ως φασίστες για να καλύψει τις δικές του φασιστικές συμπεριφορές...»

Greeks Raid Forests in Search of Wood to Heat Homes

The Wall Street Journal

EGALEO, Greece—While patrolling on a recent cold night, environmentalist Grigoris Gourdomichalis caught a young man illegally chopping down a tree on public land in the mountains above Athens.

Greek budget deficit improves but savings cuts push jobless rate to new high

By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, January 10, 7:27 PM

Nikolas Giakoumidis/Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece — Greece’s coalition government on Thursday reported a steep drop in the budget deficit in 2012, but unemployment rose again at an alarming rate as state savings cuts continued to hurt the economy and erode living standards.

Economic change depends on culture and society

By Anne Applebaum, Thursday, January 10, 6:31 PM

Washington Post 

PARIS — For a brief moment before Christmas, self-doubt gripped France. The beloved French actor Gerard Depardieu — who recently played Obelix, an even more beloved French comic book character — announced he was moving to Belgium because President Francois Hollande had threatened to tax millionaires at 75 percent of their income.

TEXT-S&P: eurozone could start to overcome debt crisis in 2013

Reuters

Jan 9 - This could be a decisive year in determining whether the eurozone

(European Economic and Monetary Union) can emerge from its sovereign debt

troubles, says Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today in the report: "The

Eurozone Debt Crisis: 2013 Could Be A Watershed Year."

A surprising map of the best and worst countries to be born into today

Posted by Max Fisher on January 7, 2013 at 9:00 am

If you came into the world today and could pick your nationality, there are at least 15 better choices than to be born American, according to a study by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The firm looked at 80 countries, scoring them across 11 variables to determine “which country will provide the best opportunities for a healthy, safe and prosperous life in the years ahead.” The results, mapped out above, are both surprising and not.

The Big Fail

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Published: January 6, 2013

The New York Times

And this year, as in past meetings, there is one theme dominating discussion: the ongoing economic crisis.

Greece’s Rotten Oligarchy

By KOSTAS VAXEVANIS
Published: January 6, 2013
The New York Times
Unfortunately, the bicycle of Greek democracy has long been broken. After the military junta collapsed in 1974, Greece created only a hybrid, diluted form of democracy. You can vote, belong to a party and protest. In essence, however, a small clique exercises all meaningful political power.

Why Paul Krugman should be President Obama's pick for US treasury secretary

Not only is he the world's best-known economist, Krugman has the intellect and integrity to resist Wall Street's calls for austerity

Mark Weisbrot

guardian.co.uk, 
Saturday 5 January 2013 13.00 GMT

President Obama hasn't picked a treasury secretary yet for his second term, so he has a chance to do something different.

New Year Resolutions

Posted: 01/04/2013 2:57 pm

Marian Wright EdelmanPresident, Children's Defense Fund

http://www.huffingtonpost.com

As New Year’s Eve countdowns wound down, many people turned to the familiar ritual of taking stock of where they are now to make resolutions for what they can do better in the new year. We all measure our accomplishments and shortcomings in different ways. Some people count numbers on a scale or in a savings account. But what if we decided to take stock as a nation by measuring how we treat our children?

IMF Officials: We Were Wrong About Austerity

By Mark Whitehouse Jan 4, 2013 9:51 PM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

Sharp spending cuts and tax increases have long played a central role in the International Monetary Fund's prescriptions for governments in financial distress -- most recently for the struggling members of the euro area. Now, officials at the world's primary arbiter of fiscal prudence are recognizing that such austerity can do a lot more damage than previously thought.

Clock ticking for resolution of Greece's Postbank

By George Georgiopoulos

ATHENS | Fri Jan 4, 2013 6:44am EST

Jan 4 (Reuters) - Greek banks eyeing state-controlled Hellenic Postbank (TT) are expected to express initial interest by Friday, marking the next stage of the sector's consolidation designed to help cope with the debt crisis.

Greece's only certainty in 2013? Predictions are futile

Forecasts of collapse, 'Grexit' and even civil war proved unfounded but Greek society is under immense pressure

Nick Malkoutzis

The Guardian, Thursday 3 January 2013 19.30 GMT

Greek bank deposits up in November, but credit shrinks

(Reuters) - Greek business and household bank deposits rose again in November as doubts over the country's euro zone membership eased, but credit to the private sector continued to contract, official data showed on Thursday.