Greece comes kicking and screaming to reform table

By Neil Unmack APRIL 2, 2015

Reuters

Greece is coming kicking and screaming to the reform table. The Syriza government’s latest proposals include some concessions to its public creditors. The plan still lacks detail, and reneges on past promises. The risk of an accidental euro zone exit is rising.

Samaras Says He’d Join Alliance to Keep Greece in Euro

by James HertlingNikos Chrysoloras

5:00 AM EEST

April 2, 2015

 Bloomberg

As Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras struggles to secure a financial bailout to stay in the euro, his chief rival said he’s open to offering a political rescue.

Opposition leader Antonis Samaras, who was ousted by Tsipras in January elections, signaled his willingness to join a unity government if the concessions required to win emergency loans drive a wedge through the ruling anti-austerity coalition.

Running out of room

The Economist

Greece looks to China and Russia for help but cannot get around its euro zone partners

Apr 1st 2015

ALEXIS TSIPRAS, the Greek prime minister, and his radical Syriza party are beginning to feel the heat. Two months of bluster by Greece’s first left-wing government have failed to produce the results it wanted. Those include an injection of fresh cash from the country’s current €172 billion ($185 billion) bail-out programme, and a new deal with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that would allow Athens, not its creditors, to decide on future economic reforms.

ECB lifts ceiling on Greek emergency loans

Published: Apr 2, 2015 2:58 a.m. ET

By NEKTARIA STAMOULI

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ecb-lifts-ceiling-on-greek-emergency-loans-2015-04-02

ATHENS--The European Central Bank on Wednesday increased the amount of money Greek banks can borrow under an emergency lending program, extending a lifeline for the country's banks as its government continues tense negotiations with its creditors over its bailout program.

Greece sends updated reforms, pledges to pay IMF on time

ATHENS | BY RENEE MALTEZOU AND COSTAS PITAS

(Reuters) - Greece sent an updated list of reforms to lenders on Wednesday to try to unlock financial aid and avoid a default but euro zone officials said more work was needed before new funds could be released.

Greece is weeks away from running out of cash but its euro zone and International Monetary Fund lenders have frozen support payments until it implements reforms, with talks bogged down over what measures the leftist-led government must take.

A Eurozone Without Greece

It’s time to think more seriously about this possibility.

The Wall Street Journal

By RICHARD BARWELL

April 1, 2015 3:48 p.m. ET

The 24-hour news cycle is causing a cacophony of speculation about Greece leaving the euro, the so-called Grexit. Amid all the arguments about whether Greece will or should exit, there has been a lot less thought given to what would happen if Greece does return to the drachma. It’s time to think more seriously about this possibility.

Greek stalemate to last until after Easter as Goldman Sachs warns of costly Grexit

Investment bank says "damage has been done" as creditors continue to squeeze Athens for more reforms in return for cash

The Telegraph 

By Mehreen Khan4:30PM BST 31 Mar 2015

Greece's bail-out stalemate showed no signs of easing after a long weekend of delay and frustration for Athens officials in Brussels.

Representatives of the Greek government returned to the country on Tuesday having failed to seal an agreement on the economic reforms they will need to carry out in order to satisfy the demands of its international lenders and unlock €7.2bn in bail-out funds.

When Will Greece Run Out of Money?

(Opinion)

12:43 PM EST MAR 31, 2015

By Nektaria Stamouli

The Wall Street Journal

Greece’s government is rushing to compile a list of economic overhauls to satisfy its creditors and secure desperately needed bailout aid. The cash-strapped country was hoping for a quick deal and an immediate disbursement, but European officials hint that several weeks might be needed before an agreement is reached.

But does Greece have that much time? Bills and debt repayments are looming, tax revenues have been weak, and every government ministry is looking under every sofa for cash.

Buffett Says Greek Exit From Euro ‘May Not Be a Bad Thing’

by Noah Buhayar, Doni Bloomfield

11:12 PM EEST

March 31, 2015

(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said the euro region could withstand Greece’s departure from the currency union.

“If it turns out the Greeks leave, that may not be a bad thing for the euro,” Buffett told CNBC in an interview Tuesday. “If everybody learns that the rules mean something and if they come to general agreement about fiscal policy among members, or something of the sort, that they mean business, that could be a good thing.”

Here's the 'ugly scenario' that's about to happen if Greece doesn't get a bailout deal

By MIKE BIRD

MAR. 31, 2015, 3:00 AM     

Greece's bailout talks aren't going very well.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addressed Greece's parliament late on Monday, but he gave little new indication on a deal. Greece tentatively agreed back in February to extend its existing bailout, but a lack of technical detail means its creditors still haven't paid up even as the country is fast running out of money.

So what happens if Greece doesn't get the cash?

Greece fails to reach initial deal on reforms with lenders

ATHENS | BY RENEE MALTEZOU AND LEFTERIS PAPADIMAS

(Reuters) - Greece failed to reach an initial deal with the European Union and the IMF to unlock aid after the creditors dismissed a package of reforms from Athens as ideas rather than a concrete plan, officials said on Tuesday.

The lack of a deal further raises pressure on Athens, which faces the prospect of running out of money in a few weeks unless it can convince lenders to dole out more financial help.

Crunch time: Greece risks rising once again

Holly Ellyatt

A detailed list of concrete reforms from Greece had yet to be submitted to the country's international creditors Monday, prompting analysts to warn that Greece risks are rising – again.

The country's leftwing government outlined some reforms on Friday, but officials from the bodies overseeing its bailout – the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Commission and European Central Bank (ECB) – were not convinced by its latest attempt to get a final – and desperately needed – tranche of aid.

One euro zone official told Reuters that the list resembled more of a "collection of ideas," than something to be presented to the Eurogroup of finance ministers, while another said a more technical list could be received Monday. The measures have to be approved by the euro zone ministers before more financial aid is released to Greece.

Greek PM says wants 'honest compromise' but not at any cost

ATHENS | BY LEFTERIS PAPADIMAS AND RENEE MALTEZOU

(Reuters) - Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday appealed for an "honest compromise" with lenders but warned Greece would not agree to an "unconditional" one, after its biggest creditor demanded it do more to show commitment to reform.

Greece Looks to Russia as Deal With Europe Stumbles

By LIZ ALDERMANMARCH 30, 2015

ATHENS — With the prospect of a default looming in Greece, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is preparing to meet next week with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as a European deal to give more aid to Athens falters.

The timing has raised questions of whether the visit is an ordinary component of the new Greek government’s multipronged foreign policy, or a pivot toward Russia for financial aid in the event that Greece’s talks with European officials collapse.

ECB Nerves Fray on Greece as Supervisors Rile Central Bankers

by Jeff Black

2:01 AM EEST

March 30, 2015

(Bloomberg) -- Inside the five-month-old union between monetary policy and financial oversight at the European Central Bank, nerves are beginning to fray.

As officials under ECB President Mario Draghi seek to replace deposits fleeing Greek banks without blatantly financing the state, the efforts of the institution’s new Single Supervisory Mechanism to do its part are irking the old guard. Central bankers say they are concerned that overly-strict orders to lenders could worsen the Greek turmoil.

Greek Markets Show All at Risk Should Mistake Trigger a Default

by Lukanyo Mnyanda

3:01 AM EEST

March 30, 2015

(Bloomberg) -- In Athens, the unspeakable is at risk of becoming the inevitable.

Market metrics show Greece is in danger of sinking under the burden of its debt, putting repayments of about 500 billion euros ($546 billion) owed to European taxpayers, rescue funds, banks and bondholders in jeopardy.

Greece Discloses Expected Proceeds From Planned Piraeus Sale

Greece expects to raise at least $545 million from sale

By COSTAS PARIS

Updated March 29, 2015 10:31 a.m. ET

The Wall Street Journal

LONDON—Greece has told creditors it expects to raise at least €500 million ($545 million) from the privatization of the Piraeus port, according to Greek officials.

The privatization plan has been controversial, and politicians in Greece’s new leftist-led government have publicly expressed conflicting signals about whether it would go ahead, spooking creditors. Privately, however, senior Greek officials have said it would proceed.

Greek Economic Reform Proposals Don't Make The Grade: Grexident Edges Closer

Tim Worstall Contributor

Forbes

We’ve at least one report that the proposals that the Greek Government has put forward over economic reforms to unlock more aid have been found, well, not quite enough. The way that this is going is simply confirming my long held opinion that the most likely way of Greece defaulting and leaving the euro is Grexident: that is, not by any sort of plan, but almost by accident as the various negotiators fail to reach agreement. At the heart of my view over this is the thought that the Greek negotiators, Tsipras, Varoufakis and others from Syriza, think they can get more from the troika (and, in reality, the Germans) than they actually can. Their offers thus fall short as they offer what they think they can get, rather than what is likely to be accepted.

Greece’s Fate Lies in Athens’ Hands, Not Berlin’s

Athens needs to carefully craft ways to comply with the bailout process, not try to change it

By SIMON NIXON

March 29, 2015 4:10 p.m. ET

5 COMMENTS

One of the Greek government’s biggest mistakes since taking office in January has been to assume that its fate lay in German hands. For the first two months, it refused to deal with the “troika” of international lenders—comprising the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund—since renamed “the institutions,” now known as “the Brussels Group.” It was reluctant even to negotiate with the Eurogroup of European finance ministers, which has had political responsibility for overseeing all eurozone bailouts.

How Greece pushed Europe's creditors to the edge

After weeks of ugly threats and stalling tactics from both sides, Athens is approaching crunch time in deciding its economic fate

The Telegraph

By Mehreen Khan8:30AM BST 29 Mar 2015

Arriving for his first official visit to Berlin last week, Greece's Prime Minister would have been forgiven for thinking his maiden trip had not come at a better point in the eurozone's debt drama.

The boyish Leftist academic turned politician was regaled with red carpet treatment by host Angela Merkel.