Cyprus Is Drowning in an EU Spoon

The Wall Street Journal

U.S. bank bailouts have taken a beating. They were criticized for their excess, uneven distribution and preservation of a status quo that shortchanges the little guy in favor of "stability of the financial system" or, put another way, private gains and socialized losses.

And the bailouts do look pretty awful—until you compare them with what's happening in Europe.

Cyprus seeks Russian rescue, EU threatens cutoff

By Michele Kambas and Lidia Kelly

NICOSIA/MOSCOW | Wed Mar 20, 2013 8:58am EDT

(Reuters) - Cyprus pleaded for a new loan from Russia on Wednesday to avert a financial meltdown, after the island's parliament rejected the terms of a bailout from the EU, raising the risk of default and a bank crash.

Cypriot Finance Minister Michael Sarris said he had not reached a deal at a first meeting with his Russian counterpart Anton Siluanov in Moscow, but talks there would continue.

Κούρεμα καταθέσεων στην Κύπρο

Τι λέει το νέο νομοσχέδιο

Εξαιρούνται από το κούρεμα οι καταθέσεις μέχρι 20 χιλ. ευρώ σύμφωνα με το νέο νομοσχέδιο που κατήρτισε η κυπριακή κυβέρνηση. Όπως αναφέρει το stockwatch, σύμφωνα με το νέο νομοσχέδιο, για καταθέσεις από €0 μέχρι €20 χιλ. η επιβολή τέλους θα είναι μηδενική. Για καταθέσεις από €20 χιλ. μέχρι €100 χιλ. το τέλος θα ανέρχεται στο 6,75%, ενώ για καταθέσεις άνω των €100 χιλ. το τέλος θ’ ανέρχεται στο 9,9%.

EU Member States, Lawmakers Reach Deal on Bank Supervisor

Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/eu-member-states-lawmakers-reach-deal-on-bank-supervisor-20130319-00768#ixzz2O44oyPbu

By Dow Jones Business News,  March 19, 2013, 11:15:00 AM EDT

BRUSSELS--The creation of a single supervisor for European banks moved a step closer Tuesday when European lawmakers struck a deal with member states on the structure of the new agency.

The deal leaves in place most of the main points agreed by European Union finance ministers in December for how the supervisor should function.

Cypriot Lawmakers Reject Deposits Seizure Bill

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS and ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press

NICOSIA, Cyprus March 19, 2013 (AP)

Cypriot lawmakers on Tuesday rejected a critical draft bill that would have seized part of people's bank deposits in order to qualify for a vital international bailout, with not a single vote in favor.

The rejection leaves Cyprus's bailout in question. Without external funds, the country's banks face collapse and the government could go bankrupt. Nicosia will now have to come up with an alternative plan to raise the money: the government could try to offer a compromise bill that would be more palatable to lawmakers.

Seen From Greece, Great Depression Looks Good

By FLOYD NORRIS

Published: March 15, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/business/economy/seen-from-greece-great-depression-data-looks-good.html?_r=0
The New York Times

 FIVE years into the Great Depression, one out of five workers in the United States was unemployed. The economy was nearly 20 percent smaller in 1934 than it had been at the peak, in 1929.

 The Greeks can only wish they had it so good.

 The Greek government this week released its estimate of economic output in the fourth quarter of last year, and also published its unemployment report.

Cyprus reworks divisive bank tax, delays vote

By Michele Kambas and Karolina Tagaris

NICOSIA | Mon Mar 18, 2013 3:56pm EDT

(Reuters) - Cypriot ministers scrambled to revise a plan to seize money from bank deposits before a parliamentary vote on Tuesday that will either secure the island's financial rescue or threaten its default.

The weekend announcement that Cyprus would impose a tax on bank accounts as part of a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout by the European Union broke with previous practice that depositors' savings were sacrosanct. The euro and stock markets fell on concern the euro zone crisis was reigniting.

UPDATE 8-Savers forced to bear costs in Cyprus bailout

Sat Mar 16, 2013 3:08am EDT

* Cypriot bailout of 10 billion euros agreed by euro zone

* One-off levy on bank deposits to raise almost 6 bln euros

* IMF's Lagarde says backs deal, will make contribution soon

* Cypriots incredulity at decision gives way to fury

By Annika Breidthardt and Robin Emmott and John O'Donnell and Jan Strupczewski

National Bank Falls as Investor Faces Hurdles: Athens Mover

By Natalie Weeks - Mar 15, 2013 2:36 PM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

National Bank of Greece SA, the country’s biggest lender, extended this week’s slide after saying an investor’s interest in covering part of NBG Group’s recapitalization needs is facing hurdles.

Italy’s Borrowing Costs Rise at Bond Auction After Downgrade

By Chiara Vasarri - Mar 13, 2013 2:39 PM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

Italian borrowing costs rose in the first bond auction since a credit rating downgrade last week that highlighted the economic risks of the country’s current political stalemate.

Greece Faces 150,000 Job-Cut Hurdle to Aid Payment: Euro Credit

Bloomberg News

By Maria Petrakis and Marcus Bensasson on March 11, 2013

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-03-11/greece-faces-150-000-job-cut-hurdle-to-aid-payment-euro-credit#p1

Greece is locked in talks with international creditors in Athens about shrinking the government workforce by enough to keep bailout payments flowing.

Identifying redundant positions and putting in place a system that will lead to mandatory exits for about 150,000 civil servants by 2015 is a so-called milestone that will determine whether the country gets a 2.8 billion-euro ($3.6 billion) aid instalment due this month. More than a week of talks on that has so far failed to clinch an agreement.

Europe's Rising Social and Political Risks

Posted: 03/11/2013 12:13 pm

Daniel WagnerCEO, Country Risk Solutions
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-wagner/europes-rising-social-and_b_2853191.html

While income inequality has been falling globally since the 1980s, it has been rising in most of Europe. The Gini Coefficient, a widely used measure of income inequality, has risen since that time not only in Eastern Europe, but among Europe's wealthiest societies.

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.