Canada's Eldorado does not see Perama approved before elections

Thu, Jan 16 2014

(Reuters) - Eldorado Gold Corp's Perama Hill project in Greece is not likely to be approved before local elections scheduled for mid-year, the gold miner said on Thursday.

The last time the Vancouver-based company gave an estimate for the project's environmental impact assessment, their timetable was the second half of 2013.

In Greece, Elites Are Starting to Feel the Pain

By NIKI KITSANTONIS  
JAN. 16, 2014

The New York Times

ATHENS — Since the country’s financial meltdown, Greeks have protested what many here criticize as the unfairness of the biting austerity measures that have raised taxes and trimmed salaries and benefits for average Greeks, while the elite escaped similar burdens or being held accountable for their part in creating the mess in the first place.

Suddenly, to the satisfaction of many here, that dynamic has begun to change. With new vigor, Greek prosecutors working independently of politicians — and sometimes in the face of passive resistance from them — are pursuing corruption cases against a widening pool of current and former high-ranking state officials and members of the business elite once deemed untouchable.

Greek shipping magnate ordered to pay $1.5M to IRS

(Published by the Washington Post)

By Associated Press, Thursday, January 16, 12:18 AM

NEW ORLEANS — A Greek shipping magnate who remained a fugitive for more than a decade was ordered Wednesday to pay more than $1.5 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service after pleading guilty in New Orleans to filing a false tax return.

U.S. District Judge Helen Berrigan also on Wednesday sentenced 78-year-old Lucas Ktistakis to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay a $10,000 fine. Ktistakis had faced up to three years in prison, but Berrigan sentenced him to time he already has served in custody since his February 2013 arrest in Germany.

German Turns Near Record Trade Surplus in November

By AP / David Rising Jan. 08, 2014Add a Comment

(BERLIN) — Germany’s trade surplus widened to a near record in November, official figures showed Wednesday in a development that may add potential fuel to critics’ concerns that the country is not spending enough to help out its struggling partners in the eurozone.

The figures could well form the backdrop to discussions later between U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble. Lew has voiced his opinion that Germany should be looking to get its current account more into balance as a means of shoring up the eurozone’s stragglers.

World Bank Raises Growth Forecasts as Richest Nations Strengthen

By Sandrine Rastello - Jan 15, 2014

Bloomberg

The World Bank raised its global growth forecasts as the easing of austerity policies in advanced economies supports their recovery, boosting prospects for developing markets’ exports.

The Washington-based lender sees the world economy expanding 3.2 percent this year, compared with a June projection of 3 percent and up from 2.4 percent in 2013. The forecast for the richest nations was raised to 2.2 percent from 2 percent. Part of the increase reflects improvement in the 18-country euro area, with the U.S. ahead of developed peers, growing twice as fast as Japan.

Irish industrial production growth highest in EU

Pamela Newenham

Last Updated: Tuesday, January 14, 2014, 10:41

Ireland recorded 13.2 per cent growth in industrial production between November 2012 and November 2013, according to the latest figures from the EU’s statistics office Eurostat.

This is the highest increase in the EU ahead of Slovakia (+12.7 per cent), the Czech Republic (+8.8 per cent) and Romania (+8.7 per cent).

Ireland also had the highest month on month increase between October and November last year, rising 11.7 per cent, compared to EU average growth of 1.5 per cent and a Euro Area average of 1.9 per cent.

Insight: Gold mine stirs hope and anger in shattered Greece

Mon, Jan 13 2014

By Deepa Babington and Lefteris Papadimas

OURANOUPOLI, Greece (Reuters) - A Canadian quest to mine for gold in the lush forests of northern Greece is testing the government's resolve to prove Europe's most ravaged economy is open again for business.

The Skouries mine on Halkidiki peninsula - a landscape of pristine beaches and rolling hills dotted with olive groves - is among the biggest investments in Greece since it sank into a debt crisis four years ago.

But it has set Greece's desperate need for finance to rebuild the economy against the interests of its vital tourism industry, and aroused anger on the peninsula - site of the famed Mount Athos monasteries - over the environmental cost.

Italian Bonds Gain After Nation Sells Most Debt Since May 2011

Bloomberg Businessweek

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-01-13/italian-bonds-gain-after-nation-sells-most-debt-since-may-2011

By Eshe Nelson and David Goodman January 13, 2014

Italy’s government securities advanced for a second day as the nation raised the largest amount from an auction of bonds in a single day since May 2011.

The nation’s two-year note rose for the first time in four days as the government sold three-year notes at a record-low yield. German bunds gained for a second day, with 10-year yields falling to match the lowest level in four weeks, after a U.S. report last week showed companies added workers at the slowest pace since January 2011. Bonds from Spain to Greece have rallied this year amid signs the European debt crisis is easing.

Is China Really The World's No. 1 Trader?

1/12/2014  6:37PM |2,220 views

by Gordon G Chang

Forbes

“It is very likely that China has overtaken the U.S. to become the world’s largest trading country in goods in 2013 for the first time,” said Zheng Yuesheng, spokesman for China’s General Administration of Customs, on Friday while announcing December—and therefore full year—exports and imports.

China’s trade volume, he said, was $389.8 billion in December, a monthly record.  Exports, by the way, accounted for a spectacular $207.7 billion.

Deflation is deflation even if you deserve it

BY JAMES SAFT

Thu Jan 9, 2014 5:06pm EST

(Reuters) - Here is some unwelcome news for the likes of Greece, Ireland and Cyprus: Apparently it isn't really deflation if you deserve it.

That's the takeaway from remarks by ECB chief Mario Draghi, who despite persistently falling prices in some euro zone peripheral economies, was at pains on Thursday to define the problem away.

Greece Takes EU Helm, Still Focused on Self

Six-Month Presidency Could be Overshadowed by Demands of Bailout

By MATINA STEVIS

Updated Jan. 9, 2014 2:26 p.m. ET

Greece's turn at the helm of the European Union, a largely administrative role that rotates every six months, could find itself overshadowed by something close to home: Greece's own bailout.

According to EU etiquette, the country holding the presidency is expected to leave aside its national agenda and focus on managing legislative drafts and negotiations, wearing a neutral, EU hat. That option isn't available to Athens.

Greece Dreams of Bond Sale in Rally From Ireland to Portugal

By Neal Armstrong and David Goodman - Jan 9, 2014

Europe’s financial markets are picking up where they left off 2013, extending a rally in bonds and stocks that’s making the region’s sovereign debt crisis little more than a fading memory.

Ireland sold bonds this week, returning to financial markets after completing a three-year bailout program. Portugal -- another aid recipient -- is holding a sale today. Banks in Spain and other periphery countries have never been able to borrow as cheaply as they can now. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index of stocks closed at its highest level since May 2008 yesterday and the euro is about its strongest since 2011 against the dollar.

Greek Police Hunt for Convicted Terrorist Who Disappeared on Furlough

January 7, 2014

The New York Times

By NIKI KITSANTONIS

ATHENS — The Greek authorities on Tuesday began a nationwide search for a convicted member of the dismantled November 17 group, once the country’s deadliest guerrilla organization, after he failed to report to the police during a prison furlough, fueling fears of a resurgence of political violence.

Fresh Signs of a Cooling Economy in China

January 6, 2014

By REUTERS

BEIJING — Growth in China’s services industries slowed in December, separate surveys have found, echoing a slowdown in manufacturing and confirming views that the economy lost steam at the end of last year.

HSBC on Monday released its purchasing managers’ index for services, compiled by Markit Economics, showing a drop to 50.9 in December, its lowest level since August 2011, from 52.5 in November. But the figure remained above the 50-point level that indicates expansion in activity. New business growth was the slowest in six months.

Strategies for sustainable growth

The Washington Post

By Lawrence Summers, Published: January 6

Lawrence Summers is a professor and past president at Harvard. He was Treasury secretary from 1999 to 2001 and economic adviser to President Obama from 2009 through 2010.

Last month I argued that the U.S. and global economies may be in a period of secular stagnation in which sluggish growth and output, and employment levels well below potential, might coincide for some time to come with problematically low real interest rates. Since the start of this century, annual growth in U.S. gross domestic product has averaged less than 1.8 percent. The economy is now operating nearly 10 percent, or more than $1.6 trillion, below what the Congressional Budget Office judged to be its potential path as recently as 2007. And all this is in the face of negative real interest rates for more than five years and extraordinarily easy monetary policies.

Greece to overhaul defense buying after scandal

BY HARRY PAPACHRISTOU

ATHENS Fri Jan 3, 2014 12:15pm EST

(Reuters) - Greece will overhaul arms procurement to make it more transparent, Defense Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos said on Friday, after a wide-ranging corruption inquiry led to the arrest of a former defense official and two arms dealers.

Heavy arms spending was one of the reasons Athens piled up debt and had to be rescued with European Union and IMF bailouts totaling 240 billion euros ($328 billion) in 2010 and 2012.

These were accompanied by strict conditions that have increased poverty and unemployment, so the scandal has touched a raw nerve with many Greeks.

GREECE - Factors to Watch on January 3

Fri Jan 3, 2014 8:44am GMT

ATHENS, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press

reports and events, which may affect Greek financial markets on

Friday:

   

    EUROBANK PROPERTIES BUYS COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE IN ATHENS,

THESSALONIKI

Can Greece repair its reputation?

Is Greece, the country that nearly brought Europe to its knees, fit to take over the EU presidency?

By Colin Freeman7:49PM GMT 02 Jan 2014

The Guardian

Brussels bureaucrats are not known for their humorous side, nor indeed are German politicians or Eurozone finance chiefs. But anyone wandering through Syntagma Square in Athens these days could be forgiven for thinking that someone in the EU hierarchy clearly has a sense of mischief.

In recent weeks, after five years as a battleground between Greek police and anti-austerity protesters, the square has been undergoing repairs to its marble. The refurb marks not the end of Greece’s austerity years – far from it – but the start of what many might otherwise assume was a drunken New Year’s prank by someone in Brussels’ protocol and scheduling department.

Greece takes charge of the European Union

For the next six months, Greece holds the presidency of the European Union. The country is virtually bankrupt, and has been bailed out several times by the EU. Now it's in charge of the EU's daily agenda.

Greece is still in serious economic crisis. Unemployment is at a record high of 27 percent. Taxes are rising, and public spending is down. The country is hundreds of billions of euros in debt. Konstantinos Karagkounis, a member of the Greek parliament, describes the situation as a "humanitarian catastrophe," and the situation is improving only very slowly.

Happy New Year Euro Zone. Now Reform.

December 31, 2013, 5:07 AM ET

ByDavid Cottle

It’s been quite some time since the euro zone could look a New Year in the eye with quite the straight and level gaze it can in dawning 2014.

Chatter about the currency’s implosion has been largely stilled in the mainstream of market discourse, largely restricted once again to dark corners from whence perma-skeptics have always prophesied eurogeddon. Bailed-out Ireland is returning to the bond markets, proving that redemption is possible even for grievous former sinners.  The long-vexed question of what to do about future failed banks even has a blueprint for resolution.