UPDATE 1-Suffering Greece's economy shrank again at end of last year

Mon Mar 11, 2013 7:15am EDT

* Q4 GDP shrinks 5.7 pct, less than previous flash estimate

    * Slump in consumption continues, imports fall

    * GDP seen contracting by 4.5 pct this year

    ATHENS, March 11 (Reuters) - Greece's economy shrank at an

annual 5.7 percent in the last quarter of 2012, combining for a

20 percent slump in real terms

since 2008.

Greek privatisation chief quits after graft charges filed

ATHENS, March 9 | Sat Mar 9, 2013 1:00pm EST

(Reuters) - Greece's privatisation chief and a senior finance ministry official resigned on Saturday after they were charged with breach of duty over their former role as board members of a state utility.

Greece set for comeback as tourist destination

Fri Mar 8, 2013 2:46am EST

* European tourism seen up 2-3 pct in 2013

* Greece bookings rebound, Alltours sees 30 pct rise

* Emerging markets to be main driver of global tourism

By Michelle Martin and Victoria Bryan

BERLIN, March 8 (Reuters) - Tourism in Greece is bouncing back this year in an otherwise flat European market, held back by the weak economic climate, travel industry executives said.

Greece confident aid tranche to be paid, denies talks deadlocked

By Lefteris Papadimas

ATHENS | Wed Mar 6, 2013 1:30pm EST

(Reuters) - Greece is confident of getting an aid tranche due this month, its finance minister said on Wednesday, dismissing speculation that talks with foreign lenders on cutting its bloated public sector were deadlocked.

UPDATE 1-Greek unemployment falls for first time since 2008

Thu Mar 7, 2013 5:55am EST

* Jobless rate slightly down to 26.4 percent from revised 26.6 pct in Nov

* First monthly drop since May 2008

* Bailout deal may have given short-term boost to hirings-economist

* Greek unemployment still highest in euro area

ATHENS, March 7 (Reuters) - Greece's jobless rate fell in December for the first time since a crippling recession began five years ago, helped by a bailout deal that propped up companies' willingness to hire in the short-term.

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez dies from cancer

By Andrew Cawthorne and Daniel Wallis

CARACAS | Tue Mar 5, 2013 6:35pm EST

(Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died on Tuesday after a two-year battle with cancer, ending 14 years of tumultuous rule that made the socialist leader a hero for the poor but a hate figure to his opponents.

The flamboyant 58-year-old had undergone four operations in Cuba for a cancer that was first detected in his pelvic region in mid-2011. His last surgery was on December 11 and he had not been seen in public since.

Greece charges three ex-ministers over income declarations

ATHENS | Wed Mar 6, 2013 12:42pm EST

(Reuters) - A Greek prosecutor charged three former ministers on Wednesday for failing to declare the source of their wealth, the latest high-profile politicians in legal trouble as public anger rises at a political class widely seen as corrupt.

Greek court jails former top politician for graft

ATHENS | Mon Mar 4, 2013 10:47am EST

(Reuters) - A Greek court sentenced a former defense minister to eight years in prison on Monday for failing to disclose the source of lavish wealth that made him a symbol of the corruption that has plagued the country.

Once a powerful Socialist politician who almost became prime minister in the 1990s, Akis Tsohatzopoulos has been in jail pending trial since April last year as prosecutors probed allegations of fraudulently acquired wealth.

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.