NATO says Russia has big force at Ukraine's border, worries over Transdniestria

BRUSSELS Sun Mar 23, 2014 7:25am EDT

(Reuters) - NATO's top military commander said on Sunday that Russia had a large force on Ukraine's eastern border and said he was worried it could pose a threat to Moldova's mainly Russian-speaking separatist Transdniestria region.

UPDATE 1-Greece's biggest bank turns to profit in 2013 on lower bad-loan provisions

Thu Mar 20, 2014 12:23pm EDT

Reuters

* National Bank posts net profit of 809 mln euros in 2013

* Bad-loan provisions drop 36 pct from previous year

* National reiterates it plans no equity offering to plug capital shortfall (Adds CEO comment, details)

Greek Sovereign Debt Rating Held at B- by S&P

By Marcus Bensasson  Mar 21, 2014 8:16 AM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

Greece’s credit rating was maintained at six steps below investment grade by Standard & Poor’s, which said the country’s debt remains large even as its government’s fiscal performance improves.

The country’s long-term local currency debt was kept at B-, with a stable outlook, S&P said in a statement.

China’s Rapid Growth Hits the Brakes

By NEIL GOUGHMARCH 18, 2014

The New York Times

HONG KONG — New pockets of economic weakness in China emerged on Tuesday, as the collapse of a highly indebted real estate developer and weak home sales pointed to a slowdown in the sprawling property sector.

The latest batch of difficulties add to the continuing debate over China’s commitment to economic reforms. While Beijing is pushing through initiatives to reform its economy, the worry is that the country’s slowing economy will prompt it to reverse course.

Greece Reaches Deal to Release Foreign Rescue Funds

By NIKI KITSANTONISMARCH 18, 2014

The New York Times

ATHENS — After seven months of faltering negotiations, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Tuesday that Greece had reached a deal with its foreign lenders on economic reforms necessary to unlock billions of euros in crucial rescue funding. He also pledged to distribute 500 million euros to one million Greeks hit hardest by the country’s economic crisis.

Greek Bonds Lead Euro-Area Periphery Rally on Recovery Optimism

By Neal Armstrong and Lukanyo Mnyanda  Mar 18, 2014 6:24 PM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

Greece’s government bonds led gains among Europe’s higher-yielding sovereign securities as optimism that the country is set to sell coupon-bearing debt for the first time in four years boosted demand for its assets.

Ten-year bonds rose for a second day after Infrastructure Minister Michalis Chrisochoides said Greece will probably sell securities before May. Greece reached an agreement with its creditors after a review of its adjustment program, a European Union spokesman said. Athens-based Piraeus Bank SA (TPEIR) sold non-investment grade debt. German bunds erased a gain as President Vladimir Putin said Russia won’t further split up Ukraine, damping demand for the euro area’s safest assets.

Russia Sounds Alarm on Economic Crisis as West Imposes Sanctions

By Olga Tanas and Anna Andrianova  Mar 17, 2014 11:00 PM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

Russia’s economy is showing signs of a crisis, the government in Moscow said as the U.S. and the European Union announced sanctions over the country’s support for the Crimea region breaking away from Ukraine.

“The situation in the economy bears clear signs of a crisis,” Deputy Economy Minister Sergei Belyakov said in Moscow yesterday. The cabinet needs to refrain from raising the fiscal burden on companies, which would be the “wrong approach,” he said. “Taking money from companies and asking them afterward to modernize production is illogical and strange.”

From Russia, with Lavrov

Mar 17th 2014, 14:53 by Buttonwood

The Economist

           

THE big question for investors after the Crimean referendum (which in its one-sided result, only added to the 1930s parallels of the crisis) is what will be the extent of Western sanctions against Russia, and what will be Mr Putin's response. The latest figures from the Fed suggest that the Russians have been following the famous rugby tactic of "getting their retaliation in first". The Fed's custody holdings of Treasury securities fell by $104 billion in the week to March 12, with the sell-off generally attributed to Russian actions.

Portuguese Bonds Advance With Italy, Spain After Crimea’s Vote

By Lukanyo Mnyanda and Neal Armstrong  Mar 17, 2014 6:30 PM GMT+0200

Portugal’s government bonds rose as investors bet Crimea’s vote to leave Ukraine and join Russia won’t lead to serious conflict, boosting demand for the euro area’s higher-yielding assets.

Italian and Spanish securities also gained even as the U.S. and the European Union condemned the referendum and imposed sanctions on individuals in Russia. Greek bonds advanced as the nation was said to be approaching agreement with its creditors. German 10-year bunds, which rose last week by the most since September, declined. Portugal’s bonds have also been supported as the nation moves toward exiting a bailout program.

Τρεις επέτειοι

16.03.2014 : 16:17

Καθημερινή

Α Παπαχελάς

Εμείς οι Ελληνες δεν γνωρίζουμε σε βάθος την Ιστορία μας, παρά την υπερηφάνεια που νιώθουμε γι’ αυτήν. Ενα μεγάλο κομμάτι των συμπολιτών μας την έχει μάθει, κυρίως τη σύγχρονη Ιστορία, μέσα από ένα πολύ συγκεκριμένο πρίσμα, που παρουσιάζει την Ελλάδα πάντοτε κυνηγημένη και τους Ελληνες μονίμως αλάθητους. Αυτό το θεμελιώδες έλλειμμα ιστορικής γνώσης δικαιολογεί πολλά, μα πάρα πολλά, από τα ιδεολογήματα, τα στερεότυπα και τις θεωρίες συνωμοσίας που καταδυναστεύουν τον δημόσιο διάλογο και σκοτώνουν την κοινή λογική.

China's yuan dips in widened band, but scope for big swings seen limited

BY LU JIANXIN AND SAIKAT CHATTERJEE

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG Mon Mar 17, 2014 5:46am EDT

(Reuters) - China's yuan eased against the dollar on Monday after the central bank doubled the currency's daily trading band as part of its commitment to let markets play a greater role in the economy.

Yet the currency moved in a relatively narrow range reflecting market views that the People's Bank of China will seek to limit currency swings at a time when markets fret over China's cooling growth and the quality of corporate debt.

Crimea Votes to Secede From Ukraine as Russian Troops Keep Watch

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORNMARCH 16, 2014

The New York Times

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — With thousands of heavily armed Russian troops occupying this perennially embattled peninsula, an overwhelming majority of Crimeans voted on Sunday to secede from Ukraine and join Russia, resolutely carrying out a public referendum that Western leaders had declared illegal and vowed to punish with economic sanctions.

With Takeover Of Natural Gas Station, Russia Ratchets Up Tension With Ukraine

Forbes

By Doug Schoen

Since the protests in Kiev turned bloody weeks ago, there has been one question on my mind: when will Russia invade Ukraine?

And now I have my answer: yesterday.

Η πικρή ιστορία της «λίστας των 1.700»

ΓΙΑΝΝΗΣ ΠΑΛΑΙΟΛΟΓΟΣ

Καθημερινή

Η Κατερίνα Φραντζεσκάκη δείχνει να έχει βρει την ησυχία της. Βετεράνος 32 χρόνια στο υπουργείο Οικονομικών, τα 25 από αυτά στις ελεγκτικές υπηρεσίες, τον Νοέμβριο του 2012 παραιτήθηκε από τη θέση της διευθύντριας Ελέγχων του υπουργείου. Ενα χρόνο νωρίτερα, είχε εκπληρώσει το νεανικό της όνειρο: πέτυχε στις εξετάσεις της Ιατρικής και φοιτούσε ήδη ως πρωτοετής φοιτήτρια στο Πανεπιστήμιο της Πάτρας. «Τον τελευταίο χρόνο, δεν μπορώ καν να ακούω ειδήσεις για τα οικονομικά. Παθαίνω αλλεργία», δηλώνει στην «Κ», ένα ηλιόλουστο απόγευμα του Φεβρουαρίου.

«Αν ήξερα τι θα έβρισκα, μπορεί και να μη δεχόμουν»

ΜΑΡΙΑΝΝΑ ΚΑΚΑΟΥΝΑΚΗ

Καθημερινή

Μετά την εξάωρη «κατάθεσή» του στην Επιτροπή Θεσμών και Διαφάνειας της Βουλής, ο κ. Παναγιώτης Νικολούδης μίλησε με στενούς συνεργάτες του. «Χαμός έγινε», του είπαν. «Τι χαμός; Επανάσταση θα έπρεπε να έχει γίνει. Να έχει κατέβει κόσμος στο Σύνταγμα», απάντησε εκείνος. Ο πρόεδρος της Αρχής με τον τίτλο που μοιάζει σαν τρένο, όπως είπε χαριτολογώντας στους βουλευτές, παρουσίασε τα αποτελέσματα της τελευταίας χρονιάς στις τρεις μονάδες της υπηρεσίας του: στην Καταπολέμηση της Νομιμοποίησης Εσόδων από Εγκληματικές Δραστηριότητες, της Χρηματοδότησης της Τρομοκρατίας και στον Ελεγχο των Δηλώσεων Περιουσιακής Κατάστασης, δηλαδή το «πόθεν έσχες».

Putin Declares War

Will Obama and Europe let him get away with carving up Ukraine?

March 2, 2014 10:11 a.m. ET

The Wall Street Journal

Vladimir Putin's Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean peninsula by force on the weekend and now has his sights on the rest of his Slavic neighbor. The brazen aggression brings the threat of war to the heart of Europe for the first time since the end of the Cold War. The question now is what President Obama and free Europe are going to do about it.

Russia holds war games near Ukraine; Merkel warns of catastrophe

BY STEPHEN BROWN AND TIMOTHY HERITAGE

BERLIN/MOSCOW Fri Mar 14, 2014 2:53am EDT

(Reuters) - Russia launched new military exercises near its border with Ukraine on Thursday, showing no sign of backing down on plans to annex its neighbor's Crimea region despite a stronger than expected drive for sanctions from the EU and United States.

India Looking for Malaysian Jet as U.S. Sees Air Piracy

By Alan Levin, Kartikay Mehrotra and Anurag Kotoky  Mar 14, 2014 5:37 AM GMT+0200

India’s navy set up a search zone for the missing Malaysian airliner in the Andaman Sea, hundreds of miles off the course of Flight 370, as evidence mounted that the plane may have flown long after controllers lost contact.

Challenges Ahead in Crimea

Brookings

By: Steven Pifer

Editor’s Note from Lawfare: The Russian military occupation of the Crimea and Russian president Vladimir Putin’s attempts to railroad a political settlement that would separate Crimea from the rest of Ukraine is the latest, and perhaps the most formidable, foreign policy test for the Obama administration. Events on the ground are fast-moving and defy easy categorization, further complicating policymaking. Steven Pifer, a senior fellow here at Brookings as well as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine during several pivotal years in the Clinton administration, offers his perspective on the challenges ahead and the best approach for the United States and its allies.

Greek journalist-turned-politician rides anti-establishment wave

BY DEEPA BABINGTON AND RENEE MALTEZOU

ATHENS Thu Mar 13, 2014 8:11am EDT

(Reuters) - A television journalist-turned-political crusader promising to shake up Greek politics is winning unexpectedly strong support from voters in the run-up to European elections in May.

Tapping into the disgust felt by many Greeks against established politicians with a call for a grassroots, youth-led movement to solve Greek problems, Stavros Theodorakis has quickly snapped up followers from both the left and the right.