EU Opens Way for Easier Budgets After Austerity Backlash

By James G. Neuger & Svenja O’Donnell - Mar 5, 2013 1:01 AM GMT+0200

European finance ministers opened the way for looser budget policies after a backlash against austerity thrust Italy into political limbo and shattered months of relative stability in European markets.

Italy’s deadlocked election, France’s refusal to make deeper budget cuts and protests against the shrinking of the welfare state across southern Europe escalated the rebellion against the German-led prescription for fighting the debt crisis.

Steinmetz Real Estate Hires RREEF’s Papachristophorou

By Elisa Martinuzzi & Sharon Smyth - Mar 4, 2013 3:53 PM GMT+0200

(Corrects Papachristophorou’s age in fifth paragraph.)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-04/steinmetz-real-estate-hires-rreef-s-papachristophorou-correct-.html

Chris Papachristophorou, former global head of Deutsche Bank AG (DBK)’s RREEF Opportunistic Investments, is joining Beny Steinmetz Group Real Estate to run a private-equity venture that aims to invest $2 billion.

The Second Battle of Marathon

Huffington Post

Evaggelos VallianatosAdjunct professor of environmental analysis, Pitzer College

Posted: 03/01/2013 4:31 pm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/evaggelos-vallianatos/the-second-battle-of-mara_b_2792476.html

The Second World War was the most destructive and bloody conflict of all times. Large and small countries fought bitterly to the end, killing millions of humans and causing immense devastation of both nature and societies. To some degree, WWII was also a holocaust of civilization.

Greece faces bailout review, plays down public sector job losses

Sat Mar 2, 2013 2:14pm EST

* EU/IMF/ECB troika officials visit Athens Sunday

* Will check progress on bailout plan

* Minister plays down fears of public sector job losses

By George Georgiopoulos

ATHENS, March 2 (Reuters) - Officials from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund return to Athens on Sunday to assess Greece's performance under a bailout plan as the government plays down the prospect of public sector job cuts.

Russell Indexes to Reclassify Greece as Emerging Market

By Nina Mehta - Mar 2, 2013 2:43 AM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

Russell Investments, which advises funds with $2.4 trillion in assets, will reclassify Greece from a developed to an emerging market, following a four-year recession in which the country’s economy shrank 20 percent.

Greece, which was raised to developed market status by the New York-based adviser in 2001, has failed one or both of Russell Indexes’ economic and operational risk assessments each year since 2011, according to a note on the company’s website. Relegation to emerging market status will force managers to buy and sell shares to align holdings with their funds’ criteria.

Italy behind rise in eurozone jobless to record

By By Pan Pylas on March 01, 2013

Bloomberg Businessweek

LONDON (AP) — Italy's voters gave their verdict on the austerity medicine they've been forced to take when they went to the polls earlier this week. By Friday, one of the reasons behind the protest was highlighted when the country's unemployment hit its highest level in at least two decades.

UPDATE 1-Greek retailers slump for fourth year in 2012

Thu Feb 28, 2013 6:41am EST

    By Harry Papachristou and Renee Maltezou

    ATHENS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Greek retail sales plunged for a

fourth consecutive year in 2012, dropping by more than a tenth

and highlighting the pain  public sector austerity is inflicting

on household consumption.   

Ex-Mayor in Greece Gets Life in Prison for Embezzlement

By NIKI KITSANTONIS

Published: February 27, 2013

The New York Times

ATHENS — The former mayor of Greece’s second city, Salonika, and two of his top aides were sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday after being found guilty of embezzling almost 18 million euros, or $23.5 million, in public money — a rare conviction in a case involving the political corruption that has contributed to the country’s dysfunction and economic decline.

Italy Election Impasse Negative for Credit Rating, Moody’s Says

By Kevin Buckland - Feb 27, 2013 7:03 AM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

Italy’s inconclusive elections raise the chance for prolonged political uncertainty, putting the country’s sovereign credit rating at risk for a downgrade, Moody’s Investors Service said.

Italy Renews Market Concerns as Voters Reject Monti

By Andrew Frye - Feb 26, 2013 9:24 AM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

Italy’s inconclusive election triggered renewed market convulsions over Europe’s debt crisis as recession-scarred voters repudiated budget rigor and established former comedian Beppe Grillo as a political force.

Austerity, Italian Style

The New York Times

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Published: February 24, 2013

Two months ago, when Mario Monti stepped down as Italy’s prime minister, The Economist opined that “The coming election campaign will be, above all, a test of the maturity and realism of Italian voters.” The mature, realistic action, presumably, would have been to return Mr. Monti — who was essentially imposed on Italy by its creditors — to office, this time with an actual democratic mandate.

Greece Gradually Emerging From Crisis, ECB’s Provopoulos Says

By Christos Ziotis and Marcus Bensasson on February 25, 201

Greece is gradually exiting from its crisis, with confidence building and deposits returning, even as it faces another difficult year in 2013, Bank of Greece Governor George Provopoulos said.

UPDATE 2-Greece's betting monopoly sees plunge in profit

Fri Feb 22, 2013 9:41am EST

* OPAP sees 2013 net profit down by more than two thirds

* Estimate lower than analyst forecasts

* Greece seeking to sell 33 percent stake in OPAP

* Shares down 4 pct (Updates with analyst quote, background, shares)

By Angeliki Koutantou

Qatar Said to Discuss Purchase of Resort From Greek State

By Sharon Smyth on February 21, 2013

Bloomberg business week

Greece has held talks with Qatar over the sale of the Astir Palace in a deal that would mark the first outright sale of a property in the country through the government’s 50 billion-euro ($67 billion) asset disposal program, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

Euro-Area Debt Pooling Abandoned by EU Parliament in Budget Law

By Jonathan Stearns - Feb 20, 2013 11:20 AM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

European Parliament negotiators abandoned a demand for a fast-track move toward debt pooling by euro governments at the insistence of a German-led group of nations opposed to such an anti-crisis step.

Bank of Greece, The : Balance of payments: December 2012

02/19/2013| 04:55am US/Eastern

http://www.4-traders.com/BANK-OF-GREECE-THE-1408793/news/Bank-of-Greece-The-Balance-of-payments-December-2012-16164655/

Current account balance

In December 2012, the current account balance showed a deficit of €534 million, down by 1.6 billion year-on-year.

The trade deficit narrowed by €984 million, as a result of a €627 million decrease in the trade deficit excluding oil and ships, as well as declines of €214 million and €143 million in the net oil import bill and net payments for purchases of ships, respectively. The trade deficit excluding oil and ships shrank due to the reduced import bill by €418 million or 18.9% and the rise in export receipts by €209 million or 19.3%.

UPDATE 2-Greek current account gap shrinks -only one new Ferrari

Tue Feb 19, 2013 6:53am EST

* Greek 2012 current account gap shrinks by more than

two-thirds

    * Deficit at 2.9 percent of GDP, lowest since euro adoption

    * Drop reflects falling imports and debt payments

    * Greece needs more exports to balance its payments in the

long term

    By Harry Papachristou

Hollande to Play Up Euro Recovery Prospects in First Greek Visit

By Mark Deen - Feb 19, 2013 1:01 AM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

Francois Hollande plans to emphasize the prospects of a return to growth in the first visit of a French president to Athens since Greece triggered the European sovereign debt crisis more than three years ago.

Hollande, a Socialist who won last May’s election emphasizing growth over austerity, will repeat his commitment to keeping Greece in the 17-nation euro area and press Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to forge ahead on the revamp of his nation’s economy, said a French government official who briefed reporters.

Greek Heiress Sues as Swiss Chalet's Picassos, Monets Vanish

By Catherine Hickley on February 17, 2013

BloombergBusinessweek

A Greek heiress is fighting a legal battle in Switzerland to find out what has become of a collection of Picasso, Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet, Cezanne and Degas art that she says should be part of her inheritance.

Saxo Bank CEO Says Euro Doomed as Single Currency Woes Resurface

By Mahmoud Kassem - Feb 17, 2013 10:39 AM GMT+0200

Wal-Mart Executives Sweat Slow February Start in E-MailsQ

Saxo Bank CEO Says Euro Doomed as Single Currency Woes Resurface

By Mahmoud Kassem - Feb 17, 2013 10:39 AM GMT+0200

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-17/saxo-bank-ceo-says-euro-doomed-as-single-currency-woes-resurface.html

Bloomberg

Lars Seier Christensen, co-chief executive officer of Danish bank Saxo Bank A/S, said the euro’s recent rally is illusory and the shared currency is set to fail because the continent hasn’t supported it with a fiscal union.