EU Says Talks With Greece Over Bailout are Nowhere Near Resolution

European Commission’s vice president plays down possibility of major advances at upcoming eurozone meeting

The Wall Street Journal

By VALENTINA POP and  STEPHEN FIDLER

Updated April 15, 2015 8:21 a.m. ET

BRUSSELS—Greece’s negotiations with international creditors are going very slowly and are nowhere near the point where bailout money can be disbursed, a senior European Union official said.

The Greek government has complained that it will soon run out of cash if no bailout money is disbursed, a development that would raise the prospect of a default on its debt and even an exit from the euro.

Greece’s poor are back to where they were in 1980

The Washington Post

By Matt O'Brien April 10

In the last seven years, Greece's economic collapse has wiped out all the progress its poor had made in the 28 years before that.

Now there are a lot of ways to think about how historic Greece's recession has been. Its economy has fallen about as much as the U.S.'s did during the Great Depression. Its unemployment rate peaked at 28 percent. And, as Derek Thompson points out, its cities have become filled with smog during the winters, because its people can't afford to heat their homes any other way than burning whatever they can get their hands on. But think about this last one. It probably gets us the closest to having a real idea what it's been like to live through Greece's slump.

Russia's Gazprom Counting On...Greece?

APR 12, 2015 @ 7:14 PM 11,100 VIEWS

Kenneth Rapoza

CONTRIBUTOR

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2015/04/12/russias-gazprom-counting-on-greece/

Greece’s prime minister Alexis Tsipras has stepped up to help Turkey be the new Ukraine.  Tsipras and his Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis reportedly signed a “memorandum of cooperation” with Gazprom and the Russian government to help with a pipeline to Turkey that will diversify natural gas shipments to Europe away from Ukraine.  Greece will be a transit hub.

Germany and Greece Locked in a Mutual Obsession

By ALISON SMALEAPRIL 14, 2015

The New York Times

BERLIN — Lest Greeks forget, the Germans are watching. Closely.

When the leftist Syriza-led government was elected in Greece on Jan. 25, public broadcasters broke into Germany’s favorite crime series to announce the result. Television stations went live to Athens several times that night.

What a Difference a Year Makes for Greece Left Stranded by Funds

Bloomberg 

by Max JuliusStefania Spezzati

2:01 AM EEST

April 15, 2015

As Greece once again flirts with default, the country’s bonds are trapped in no-man’s land, too risky for most mutual funds and not cheap enough for other investors.

A year ago, money managers championed Greece’s return to international markets from a four-year exile by lapping up an offer of five-year debt. Signs of economic recovery under a government supporting budget cuts drew investors like Invesco Asset Management Ltd. and BlackRock Inc. toward the bonds.

IMF close to giving up on Greece after official admits bail-out negotiations are ‘not working’ and the country ‘prepares to default on next debt repayment’

By CALLUM PATON FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 13:42 GMT, 14 April 2015 | UPDATED: 14:03 GMT, 14 April 2015

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

IMF Europe head says bail-out negotiations with Athens are 'not working'

Some Greek officials appear to be preparing themselves for a default

Eurozone member is beginning to run out of time for making fiscal reforms

Finance Minister said country was committed to changes at last repayment

REPORT: Greece is getting ready to default

MIKE BIRD

APR. 14, 2015, 2:52 AM

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Greece is getting ready to default on at least some of its debt payments, according to the Financial Times.

The country has entered a pretty dire fiscal situation. It desperately needs to unlock bailout funds from its creditors, but progress negotiating that cash is shaky at best.

Reforms Aren’t Going to Save Greece

The Wall Street Journal

Greece has never been a self-sustaining country. Since modern Greece was founded in 1832, the Greek Government has defaulted six times (this will be the seventh).

April 12, 2015 2:04 p.m. ET

Your editorial on Greece assumes that Greece can be saved by “reforms” (“The Case for Letting Greece Go,” April 9). A look at history would show that this isn’t true; Greece has never been a self-sustaining country. Since modern Greece was founded in 1832, the Greek government has defaulted six times (this will be the seventh), and for half of these years was either in default or in reconstruction.

Greece May Have Ruined Its Best Chance

APRIL 13, 2015

Inside Europe

Also published in The New York Times

By PAUL TAYLOR | REUTERS

BRUSSELS — Even if it survives the next three months teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, Greece may have blown its best chance of a long-term debt deal by alienating its eurozone partners when it most needed their support.

National Bank of Greece (ADR): Investigating The Grexit

Weakening talks with creditors raise the possibility of a Grexit

NBG

By: TROY KUHN

Published: Apr 9, 2015 at 9:23 am EST

Greece’s top banks, including National Bank of Greece (ADR) (NYSE:NBG) brace themselves for the battle against default as the $484 million repayment to the International Monetary Fund reaches its deadline today. Despite having promised to meet the IMF obligation, Greece realizes that it could default on a number of payments coming due soon. Failure to reach a compromise over economic reforms and a consequent bailout extension could eventually throw the country out of the EU. While a Grexit is more often dubbed as the last straw for Greece, it could in fact be the most suitable plan of action to recover the country’s economy from contagion.

Tsipras Tells Russia Greece Helped Prevent Broader EU Sanctions

Greek prime minister is on a two-day visit to Moscow

The Wall Street Journal

By LAURA MILLS

Updated April 9, 2015 1:57 p.m. ET

MOSCOW—Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told senior Russian lawmakers here that Athens had played an active role in preventing an expansion of European Union sanctions against Russia earlier this year.

The euro-zone revival

Don’t get europhoric

The Economist

Investors are becoming excited about Europe again—too excited

Apr 11th 2015 |

RECOVERY (noun): restoration to a former or better condition. The euro zone is at last enjoying an upturn. Economists are savouring the unaccustomed pleasure of revising their growth forecasts up, rather than down. Surveys of business activity have reached a four-year high and euro-area consumers are feeling a lot more confident. Investors are excited, too. Money is rushing into the region’s stockmarkets. In March European equity funds notched up record inflows.

Greece makes IMF payment, gets bank funds, but doubts remain

BRUSSELS/ATHENS | BY JAN STRUPCZEWSKI AND GEORGE GEORGIOPOULOS

(Reuters) - Greece made a crucial payment to the International Monetary Fund and won extra emergency lending for its banks on Thursday but it remained unclear whether Athens can satisfy skeptical creditors on economic reforms before it runs out of money.

Euro zone partners gave Greece six working days to improve a package of proposed reforms in time for finance ministers of the currency bloc to consider whether to release more funds to keep the country afloat when they meet on April 24.

Swiss, Mexican Bond Deals Represent Milestones for Debt

Switzerland is first with 10-year bond at negative yield as Mexico lines up 100-year euro bond

 The Wall Street Journal

By EMESE BARTHA in Frankfurt, CHIARA ALBANESE in London and ANTHONY HARRUP in Mexico City

Updated April 8, 2015 9:10 p.m. ET

62 COMMENTS

Until Wednesday, no country had ever sold 10-year debt that gives investors a yield of below 0%. And no country had ever issued a 100-year bond denominated in euros.

Piketty Says EU Politics Risks Driving Greece Out of Euro

by Mark DeenManus Cranny

10:14 PM EEST

April 8, 2015

 Bloomberg

Thomas Piketty, the French economist whose 2013 book on wealth inequality became an international bestseller, said he sees a risk of politicians in the European Union forcing Greece out of the euro area.

The Case for Letting Greece Go

The risk now is political contagion from rewarding non-reform.

The Wall Street Journal

April 8, 2015 7:31 p.m. ET

"...What’s not sustainable is allowing euro members to bully their way into deals in which they reap the rewards of a currency union without living by its rules...."

Thursday marks another deadline in Greece’s struggle to avoid default, as a €450 million payment to the International Monetary Fund comes due. Athens says it will meet this obligation, but sooner or later Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his government will miss a payment to someone if it doesn’t agree with creditors on a new bailout. An exit from the euro would then be a real possibility.

Greek leader courts Russia but seeks no direct aid

MOSCOW | BY RENEE MALTEZOU AND DENIS PINCHUK

(Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras won pledges of closer cooperation from Russia at talks in the Kremlin on Wednesday but President Vladimir Putin said Athens had not asked for money to ease its debt crisis.

The visit, as Athens seeks funds to make debt repayments, caused concern in some European Union states that Greece could break ranks over economic sanctions on Russia to secure aid or use the trip to pressure its EU allies to release financing.

Greece Should Be Wary of Mr. Putin

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

APRIL 7, 2015

The New York Times

The Greek government is facing a series of daunting challenges. It has to come up with money to pay off maturing debts, revive its devastated economy and renegotiate its loan agreements with other countries in the eurozone. Given those difficulties, it might be tempting — though misguided — for Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to seek financial or other support from President Vladimir Putin of Russia, whom he is scheduled to meet in Moscow on Wednesday.

Mr Tsipras goes to Moscow

Greece and Russia

The Economist

Playing the Russia card cannot solve Greece's euro zone woes

Apr 7th 2015 | Europe

ALEXIS TSIPRAS, Greece's prime minister (pictured), heads to Moscow this week with his country's future in the euro zone hanging in the balance. Greece's negotiations with its creditors over the release of €7.2 billion ($7.8 billion) of bail-out money are still going nowhere, even as its coffers run dry. The government is raiding state kitties and delaying payments to suppliers in order to meet its obligations to creditors, most urgently a €458m payment due to the IMF on April 9th and €700m in treasury bills held by foreign investors, which are unlikely to be rolled over at maturity next week. But before long it will need a proper financing strategy.

Greece is probably already defaulting on its debt. Here’s why

Forbes 

by Geoffrey Smith  @Geoffreytsmith 

APRIL 7, 2015, 12:53 PM EDT

Avoiding a ‘hard’ default doesn’t rule out the softer forms, and there seems little reason to suppose that they won’t become visible soon.

The bad news is that Greece is already (probably) defaulting.

The good news is that it’s not going to be on you, dear taxpayer (and indirect contributor to the International Monetary Fund).