In Greece Syriza Is Still, After Three Months, Insisting On The Same Red Lines

MAY 4, 2015 @ 1:12 PM

By Tim Worstall

CONTRIBUTOR

Forbes

We were all rather hoping that the intensive negotiations over the weekend would produce something of a breakthrough in the Greek debt deadlock. But if today’s reports are to be believed that’s not quite what has happened. Syriza, negotiating for Greece, is still insisting upon the same red lines that must not be crossed they were insisting upon three months ago. And those are the very red lines that the Eurogroup, negotiating on behalf of the creditors, insists must be crossed. Specifically, they are insisting that the welfare state must be made more generous, something entirely unacceptable to the creditor side.

Greece Hurtles Toward IMF Deadline as EU Demands Concessions

by Anabela ReisFrancine Lacqua

1:55 PM EEST

May 5, 2015

Bloomberg

Euro-area finance chiefs urged Greece to bow to their terms for releasing aid within days to avert a cash crunch.

With Greek officials fanning out across the continent to plead their case, Portuguese Finance Minister Maria Luis Albuquerque warned Tuesday that the currency bloc won’t make contingency plans to prepare for a possible breakdown in talks and encouraged Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to take the offer on the table.

As the Euro Slides, a Coin Meets Its Waterloo

By DANNY HAKIMMAY 4, 2015

New York Times

BRUSSELS — Here at the Belgian Royal Mint, machines called giraffes spit out as many as 850 euros a minute.

At times during the summer of 2008, that many shiny coins would have been worth $1,360. Now it is just under $950, a symptom of Europe’s inability to navigate through crisis. Even as the region’s outlook improves ever so slightly, the currency just cannot shake the specter of moribund growth and the troubles of Greece.

But at the mint, there were more immediate concerns during a recent visit. Like the Battle of Waterloo.

Greece's undeclared domestic default takes hold

By Giorgos Christides

Thessaloniki, Greece

4 May 2015

BBC

When will Greece run out of money? The question has been vexing European capitals and the markets for months, as the stand-off between the new government in Athens and its eurozone creditors remains unresolved.

So far, Greece has managed to both service its external debt and pay for wages and pensions.

But the worst kept secret in the country is that for thousands of people, businesses and institutions relying on government pay cheques, in every practical sense, Greece is already out of money.

Greece has not received any loans from the eurozone or the IMF since August 2014.

There is €7.2bn (£5.3bn;$8bn) left in the country's bailout program, but creditors refuse to release the money before their demands for further reforms, spending cuts and tax increases are satisfied by Athens.

The Greek government, led since January by the leftist Syriza party of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, is refusing to "violate its anti-austerity mandate".

Greece aims for deal with lenders, IMF hard on reforms: minister

Mon May 4, 2015 4:52am EDT Related: GREECE, IMF

Greece aims for deal with lenders, IMF hard on reforms: minister

ATHENS

(Reuters) - Greece intends to meet debt payments this month and reach a deal with its international lenders to unlock remaining bailout aid, but the International Monetary Fund insists on tough labor reforms, the country's labor minister said on Monday.

Struggling amid a cash crunch, Athens faces debt repayments to the IMF totaling nearly 1 billion euros this month. It has been borrowing from municipalities and government entities to meet obligations.

Greece's Firebrand Finance Minister Deserves to Be Heard

MAY 4, 2015 2:00 AM EDT

By Mohamed A. El-Erian

Bloomberg view

I have never met or spoken to Yanis Varoufakis, Greece's finance minister. Yet I feel I have gotten to know him through his writing and interviews, and by reading about his interactions with both the official and private sectors in Europe. That's why -- though I understand the rationale for the decision -- I was saddened last week when Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sidelined Varoufakis from Greece’s complicated and consequential negotiations with its European creditors and the International Monetary Fund.

Greece Targets May Deal as Breakthrough Remains Elusive

Bloomberg 

by Nikos ChrysolorasJeff BlackMarcus Bensasson

4:02 PM EEST

May 3, 2015

Greece said it would push for an agreement with its creditors on a reforms agenda in May amid signs that the two sides are still far apart after four days of intensive negotiations.

Differences remain on issues ranging from fiscal assumptions to asset sales and labor and pension reforms, according to three people familiar with the negotiations. Still, progress has been made in a much improved atmosphere, they said. Another official said that Greece should have enough cash to get through the week and make a 200-million-euro payment to the International Monetary Fund on May 6. The people spoke on condition of anonymity as the talks are confidential. Negotiations resume Monday.

Greek Aid Talks Gain Urgency as Breakthrough Remains Elusive

 Bloomberg

by Nikos ChrysolorasJeff Black

4:02 PM EEST

May 3, 2015

Greece and its international creditors are still far apart on key elements of the country’s bailout agenda after four days of intensive negotiations.

Differences remain on issues ranging from fiscal assumptions to asset sales and labor and pension reforms, according to three people familiar with the negotiations. Still, progress has been made in a much improved atmosphere, they said. Another official said that Greece should have enough cash to get through the week and make a 200-million-euro payment to the International Monetary Fund on May 6. The people spoke on condition of anonymity as the talks are confidential. Negotiations resume Monday.

Is GREXIT a threat to Greece’s security?

By Nicholas Sambanis and Ioannis Galariotis May 3 at 10:16 AM

The Washington Post

Greeks wave their national flag. (Petros Giannakouris/AP)

As the threat of GREXIT looms, it is fair to ask what, if any, consequences such an event would have for Greece’s security.  In recent statements published in the news daily Kathimerini, European Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said Greece’s remaining in the euro zone constitutes a security guarantee. That message, which was also conveyed by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in recent statements, was given in the context of a conversation about the security implications of the illegal immigration problem in Greece. Rising numbers of illegal and undocumented migrants with ethno-religious differences from the generally homogenous Greek population is a problem that has been used successfully as a mobilization device by parties nursed by extreme ideological positions. Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) leader Giorgos Karatzaferis skillfully brought the issue to the forefront of political debates in the country in early 2000s, and the neo-fascist party Golden Dawn built its electoral success on extremist anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Five Years After First Bailout, Greece Back on the Brink

Athens and its creditors reach another impasse, with time running out to avoid bankruptcy

The Wall Street Journal

By MARCUS WALKER and  NEKTARIA STAMOULI

May 1, 2015 2:20 p.m. ET

ATHENS—Five years into the biggest bailout of a debtor in history, Greece is closer to the brink than ever, with time running out to avert a bankruptcy that could destabilize not only the eurozone, but the global economy as well.

When Europe and the International Monetary Fund first agreed to bail Greece out on May 2, 2010, the plan was to return Greece to growth and bond markets within three years.

Greece Races to Bridge Gap With Creditors Before Debt Bill

by Nikos ChrysolorasCorina Ruhe

7:33 PM EEST

May 1, 2015

Greece is locked in negotiations with international creditors as the country races against the clock to avert a default as early as this month.

While talks have picked up pace in recent days, the two sides are still trying to bridge differences on stalled reforms. It isn’t yet clear that there will be enough progress to clinch a deal in time for the planned May 11 meeting of euro-area finance ministers, some officials warned.

“They’re working hard now and that’s what we’ve gained,” Dutch Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem told reporters in the Hague. “But in the end we only look at the results and we’re not that far yet.”

Ratings agencies say no default if Greece misses ECB, IMF payments

Fri May 1, 2015 7:11am EDT Related: GREECE, IMF

LONDON | BY MARC JONES

(Reuters) - Most top credit rating agencies say they would not cut Greece's rating to default if it misses a payment to the International Monetary Fund or European Central Bank, a stance that could keep vital ECB funding flowing into the financial system.

Greece owes nearly 1 billion euros to the IMF in May and almost 7 billion euros to the ECB over July and August and there are concerns that the government, stuck in funding talks with official lenders, will miss the payments.

Greece Is Stuck With the Euro, and Vice Versa

APR 29, 2015 12:01 AM EDT

Bloomberg

By The Editors

“…Changing currencies is no small matter. It requires organization on a military scale, from both elected officials and civil servants. Neither group, to put it kindly, has shown that degree of competence. A lasting recovery would require precisely the kind of fiscal discipline and structural reforms that Tsipras is resisting.

…”

Greece prepares reform bill, lenders seek concessions

Wed Apr 29, 2015 6:39pm EDT Related: WORLD, GREECE

ATHENS/BRUSSELS | BY RENEE MALTEZOU AND JAN STRUPCZEWSKI(Reuters) - Euro zone officials sought to wring policy concessions from Greece on Wednesday to unlock urgently needed aid after Athens said it would present a list of reforms for legislation to show it is serious about implementing its promises.

The draft bill was not expected to include major novelties beyond measures already discussed with EU and IMF lenders, but Athens is hoping it will speed up slow-moving talks and permit at least an initial deal to ease its searing cash crunch.

Eurogroup's Dijsselbloem says Greece will not make it without aid

Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:58am EDT Related: WORLD, GREECE

AMSTERDAM | BY TOBY STERLING AND THOMAS ESCRITT

(Reuters) - The head of the Eurogroup said on Tuesday that a recent shakeup of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' negotiating team would not by itself resolve the impasse between Greece and its creditors, and Athens would need new loans to stay afloat.

The fast and the slow route to a ‘Grexit’

Published: Apr 28, 2015 5:09 a.m. ET

By SARA SJOLIN

MARKETS REPORTER

With the risk of Greece running out of cash looming larger by the day, investors are grappling with a key question — what are the consequences of a Greek default?

The fallout really depends on which bond, loan or interest the government fails to repay and to whom, leaving open an array of default scenarios, as UBS sketches out in a note published on Monday. The worst-case outcome has widely been described as a “Grexit”, shorthand for Greece leaving the eurozone, and according to the UBS economists there is a fast and slow path to exit.

Greece's finance minister (Sent off)

The Economist

Yanis Varoufakis is pushed out of the Eurogroup negotiations

Apr 28th 2015 | ATHENS | Europe

AT LAST, Greece may be about to step back from a potentially disastrous default. The sudden demotion of Yanis Varoufakis, the argumentative finance minister, suggests a last-minute policy switch by Alexis Tsipras, the Greece's left-wing prime minister—one which could re-invigorate fractious bail-out negotiations with the country's international creditors. A deal would unlock €7.2 billion ($7.9 billion) of much-needed bail-out aid. The government is already struggling to pay pensions and state subsidies for April (it has scratched together enough money for salaries) and has strong-armed local authorities to hand over €2 billion of spare cash to cover payments until mid-May. Without an agreement with its European creditors and the IMF, Greece faces a near-certain default in June.

BlackRock Sells Euro Bonds

Fund manager taking advantage of cheap borrowing costs, thanks to ECB’s quantitative-easing program

 The Wall Street Journal

By JOSIE COX

Updated April 28, 2015 3:00 p.m. ET

BlackRock Inc. has sold euro-denominated bonds for the first time ever, joining a wave of U.S. firms that have already taken advantage of rock-bottom borrowing costs in the region, thanks to the European Central Bank’s massive quantitative-easing program.

The New York-based fund manager, which has close to $5 trillion in assets under management, met with investors in several European cities last week and started marketing the new bonds in early European trade Tuesday.

Greece hopes keep euro near 3-week high vs stalling dollar

Tue Apr 28, 2015 4:07am EDT

LONDON | BY JEMIMA KELLY

(Reuters) - The euro hovered near a three-week peak on Tuesday, boosted by renewed hopes that cash-strapped Greece could secure extra funding and as the dollar remained weak ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that starts later in the day.

The euro rose late on Monday on news that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had reshuffled his team handling talks with European and IMF lenders. The move was widely seen as an effort to reduce embattled Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis's role in the negotiations.

Uncertainty Over Impact of a Default by Greece

By LANDON THOMAS Jr.

APRIL 27, 2015

The New York Times

When it comes to assessing the consequences of a messy Greek default on global markets, two views have vied for supremacy in the minds of investors.

First, there was the chaos theory of imploding European banks and a spreading bond market panic. Then, after aggressive action from the European Central Bank, a calamity in Greece — be it a default or an exit from the euro — came to be seen as manageable. Investors, hungry for yield, in turn piled into European stocks and bonds.