Greece's deputy finance minister gets bullet, threatening letter in post

Mon Oct 26, 2015 4:58pm EDT 

ATHENS

Reuters

Greece's deputy finance minister on Monday got a letter in the post with a bullet in it and a note comparing him to a collaborator with Germany's Nazi forces who occupied the country in World War Two, the Greek finance ministry said.

Many Greeks blame Germany, Europe's biggest economy, for the austerity programs linked to the country's 86 billion euro ($95 billion) international bailout agreed in August.

Greece needs to recapitalize its banks by year end: Dombrovskis

Tue Oct 27, 2015 5:53am EDT

ATHENS

Reurers

reece needs to have its biggest lenders recapitalized by the end of the year, EU Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Tuesday.

"We all agree to finalize bank recapitalization by end of this year," Dombrovskis said after meeting Greece's central bank governor Yannis Stournaras.

Dombrovskis is in Athens for talks on reforms Greece needs to complete before a review which would unlock new aid for the country under an 86 billion euro bailout.

Greece’s Long Road From ‘No’ to ‘Yes’

OCT. 26, 2015

Nikos Konstandaras

New York Times

ATHENS — Greeks will commemorate the Oct. 28 national holiday in a very different country from what it was a year ago. The anniversary marks the day in 1940 when a Greek government rejected an ultimatum from Fascist Italy to allow its troops to enter the country. The “No” (“Ochi” in Greek) united a deeply divided country behind a right-wing dictatorship and thrust Greece into World War II on the side of the Allies. “No” is a symbol of defiance. But now Greeks must decide what they want, rather than what they reject.

Greece, lenders assess bailout compliance; Finance Minister says economy healthier

Wed Oct 21, 2015 11:17am EDT

ATHENS | BY RENEE MALTEZOU AND LEFTERIS PAPADIMAS

Greece and its international lenders began talks on Wednesday to test its compliance with terms of an 86 billion-euro bailout deal, as authorities said a recession this year would be milder than expected.

Athens got its third multi-billion euro lifeline from creditors this year, pulling it back from the brink of crashing out of the euro. But it needs to fix a creaking pensions system, raise taxes and plug capital gaps in its banks this year.

Team leaders from three European Union institutions and the International Monetary Fund are reviewing reforms Athens adopted on Oct. 16 and future "milestones" Greece must pass soon to be eligible for a loan payment of 3 billion euros.

Euro Falls Against Dollar

ECB’s Nowotny suggests officials should use more policy instruments to raise competitiveness

The Wall Street Journal

By IRA IOSEBASHVILI

Oct. 15, 2015 2:14 p.m. ET

0 COMMENTS

The euro fell against the dollar Thursday, after a member of the European Central Bank suggested officials should use more policy instruments to raise the region’s competitiveness.

The euro was recently down 0.7% at $1.1392, giving back most of the previous day’s gains. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which gauges the buck against a basket of 16 currencies, was unchanged at 86.62.

The Hidden Debt Burden of Emerging Markets

OCT 9, 2015 8

Carmen Reinhart

Carmen Reinhart is Professor of the International Financial System at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Read more at https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/hidden-debt-burden-emerging-markets-by-carmen-reinhart-2015-10#FXJpvBLv1lmqBq1A.99

LIMA – As central bankers and finance ministers from around the globe gather for the International Monetary Fund’s annual meetings here in Peru, the emerging world is rife with symptoms of increasing economic vulnerability. Gone are the days when IMF meetings were monopolized by the problems of the advanced economies struggling to recover from the 2008 financial crisis. Now, the discussion has shifted back toward emerging economies, which face the risk of financial crises of their own.

EU to Assess Greek Debt Burden, Servicing Costs After Review

 Rebecca Christie

Bloomberg

The European Commission said it will assess Greece’s debt burden and servicing costs once Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras shows his nation will meet the commitments under its new bailout program.

For debt relief talks to proceed, Greece needs to implement the reforms it has already passed, enact further required measures and pass its first program review, European Union Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told reporters Monday in Brussels. At that point, he said, authorities can review “under what conditions the Greek debt will be sustainable” and how to “reduce the servicing of the debt.”

Greece’s Parliament Begins Debating First Austerity Bill

Ministers to vote Friday on further economic overhauls agreed in new bailout program

The Wall Street Jornal

By NEKTARIA STAMOULI

Oct. 12, 2015 12:29 p.m. ET

ATHENS—Greece’s parliament Monday began debating the first bill containing tough austerity measures and economic overhauls agreed under its new bailout program.

The bill, which is expected to go to a vote on Friday, includes stricter pension rules, tax hikes and tougher fines for tax evasion.

Under the deal Greece struck with its international creditors, which foresees up to €86 billion ($96 billion) in fresh loans, the omnibus bill—so-called because it wraps a number of proposed reforms into one bill—will pave the way for the disbursement of the next €2 billion in bailout funds.

The Case for Euro-Optimism

By ULRICH SPECKOCT. 6, 2015

The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Europe is declining, disintegrating, collapsing — for many observers, the only question left is how long this ugly drama will last. Across the Continent, optimism about the future of the European project is in short supply.

Perhaps the lone holdout is Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel continues to tell her critics that, from the Greek financial meltdown to the refugee crisis, a common solution is at hand. “We can achieve that,” she has said.

Quarterly review: Grexit and China fears drain investor confidence

Chris Flood

Sunday, 4 Oct 2015 | 5:57 AM ET

Financial Times

The threat of a Greek exit from the eurozone drained investors' confidence in the second quarter of this year, causing fund sales in Europe and the US to falter.

Investors' appetite for new fund allocations was also blunted by a sharp correction in China's stock market and uncertainty about the timing of a US interest rate rise.

Greece Aims to Return to Capital Markets Within Next 20 Months

Prime Minister Tsipras said Greece would return to growth in the first half of 2016

The Wall Street Journal

By NEKTARIA STAMOULI ,  STELIOS BOURAS and  VIKTORIA DENDRINOU

Updated Oct. 5, 2015 3:55 p.m. ET

2 COMMENTS

ATHENS—Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras affirmed his commitment to the country’s new bailout program and said Greece could return to capital markets within the next two years.

In his first speech to Parliament since winning September’s elections, the Greek premier said his government would press ahead with its austerity plan, and pledged to soften some of the policies demanded by international creditors.

“We are fully aware that despite the positive aspects of the agreement, it also contains tough points,” he said.

Greece Unveils Tough Draft Budget for 2016

By NIKI KITSANTONISOCT. 5, 2015

The New York Times

ATHENS — As Greece’s economy remains on shaky ground, its government unveiled on Monday a tough draft budget for 2016, heralding a series of tax increases and spending cuts to comply with creditors’ demands for a third bailout.

CORRECTED-Greece to unveil painful 2016 draft budget

Mon Oct 5, 2015 5:41am EDT

Reuters

By Renee Maltezou and Lefteris Papadimas

ATHENS, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Greece will unveil a painful 2016 draft budget on Monday meant to satisfy international creditors, projecting the economy will stay in recession next year before returning to growth in 2017, in line with the estimates by the country's lenders.

After seven months of heated negotiations with its EU/IMF creditors, Athens agreed in July to implement spending cuts and economic reforms in exchange for an 86 billion euro bailout that kept it in the euro zone under strict supervision.

Greece's Euro-Area Ties Risk More Strain Amid Refugee Crisis

By Ian Wishart Nikos Chrysoloras

Bloomberg

First overwhelmed by debt and now overwhelmed by refugees, Greece offers a tempting target for European leaders left to handle the fallout.

With wounds only just healing after the euro area agreed to throw Greece another financial lifeline, the country’s inability to process tens of thousands of refugees turning up at its doorstep threatens to reopen them all over again. Local Greek authorities are inundated by some 3,000 arrivals a day, most of whom are allowed to head north through the Balkans toward Germany and Scandinavia, sewing political tensions as they go.

Greece’s Battered Conservatives Square Off in Leadership Fight

Incumbent Vagelis Meimarakis faces rivals for job of raising New Democracy party from Sept. 20 election defeat to Alexis Tsipras’s left-wing Syriza

The Wall Street Journal

By STELIOS BOURAS

Updated Oct. 2, 2015 5:24 p.m. ET

0 COMMENTS

ATHENS—Greece’s opposition conservative party, New Democracy, launched a leadership contest on Friday after its recent heavy election defeat to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s Syriza.

Rival candidates nominated themselves to lead New Democracy’s challenge against the ruling left-wing Syriza in a party vote expected by mid-November. The contest could determine how strongly Greece’s conservatives push for market-oriented overhauls to free up the sclerotic Greek economy.

Greece must stick to program to exit bailout: PM

Sat Oct 3, 2015 10:14am EDT Related: WORLD, GREECE

ATHENS | BY RENEE MALTEZOU

Reuters

Greece must implement its bailout program fast to achieve its main aim of regaining access to market financing and escaping international supervision, re-elected leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Saturday.

Speaking to lawmakers of his Syriza party on the day a new parliament was sworn in, the premier said he aimed to complete the first review of a 86 billion euro bailout agreed in August as soon as possible so Athens could open negotiations with its euro zone partners on debt relief.

UPDATE 1-Greece seeks alternative to power grid sale-energy minister

Mon Sep 28, 2015 6:35am EDT Related: STOCKS, M&A, BONDS, MARKETS

 (Reuters) - Greece wants to make its power grid operator ADMIE independent instead of privatising it, its energy minister said on Monday ahead of an expected bailout review by the country's international lenders next month.

Under its latest EU/IMF bailout, Athens has agreed to start the privatisation of ADMIE in October or find alternative ways to open up its electricity market. ADMIE is owned by dominant power utility PPC.

The country has also agreed to sell a 17 percent stake in PPC, potentially in 2016.

For thousands fleeing war, transit through Greece continues unabated

Fri Sep 25, 2015 10:25am EDT Related: WORLD, AFGHANISTAN, GREECE, SYRIA

PIRAEUS, GREECE | BY KAROLINA TAGARIS

They cheered, waved and flashed the victory sign when their boat, packed with thousands of mainly Afghan, Syrian and Iraqi refugees, docked at Greece's main port of Piraeus on Friday.

As the stream of arrivals from Turkey across to Greece's islands continued unabated, nearly 4,000 people were ferried from the eastern islands of Lesbos and Chios to the mainland on Friday morning on two government-chartered ships.

The New "Syriza" Unmasked!

Justine Frangouli-Argyris Become a fan

Journalist and writer

Huffington Post

Posted: 09/23/2015 5:42 pm EDT Updated: 09/23/2015 5:59 pm EDT

Opinion polling in Greece throughout the recent pre-election period pointed to a close outcome, indicating that, perhaps, the leftist "Syriza" party may be tied to the right-wing "New Democracy" in order to form a government. However, the opening of the ballot box brought about great exasperation with the pundits.

Greece’s Leader Starts Big Economic Overhaul

By SUZANNE DALEYSEPT. 21, 2015

The New York Times

ATHENS — Alexis Tsipras moved swiftly to form a new Greek government on Monday after his convincing victory in the national election a day earlier, with some officials close to him suggesting that he would create a new ministry solely dedicated to carrying out the tough bailout package he reluctantly agreed to last summer.

While Sunday’s election consolidated his power and rid his leftist Syriza party of its most rebellious faction, Mr. Tsipras has a daunting job ahead by almost any standard, starting with the need to push through Parliament legislation carrying out widespread changes to business and the economy.