Greece passes bailout bill but government majority shrinks

Fri Nov 20, 2015 2:19am GMT Related: BUSINESS, WORLD

ATHENS | BY RENEE MALTEZOU AND KAROLINA TAGARIS

Reuters

Greece approved a reform bill on Thursday to secure further bailout funds from its international lenders but Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' parliamentary majority shrank to just two seats after two dissenting lawmakers were expelled.

The bill, outlining regulation on tax arrears and home foreclosures, paves the way for the disbursement of 2 billion euros (916 million pounds) to pay state arrears and a further 10 billion euro to recapitalise Greece's top four banks.

EU takes Greece to court for poor treatment of waste water

Thu Nov 19, 2015 12:11pm GMT Related: WORLD

BRUSSELS

Reuters

The European Commission has taken Greece to court a second time for not treating its waste water properly and is proposing a fine of at least 15 million euros, it said on Thursday.

In 2004, the highest European Union court ruled that Greece was violating EU law for not collecting and treating waste water discharged into the Gulf of Elefsina.

UPDATE 1-Greece's Alpha Bank prices share issue at 0.04 euros a share

Thu Nov 19, 2015 4:18am EST Related: FINANCIALS

Reuters

Nov 19 Greece's Alpha Bank on Thursday priced its share offering to fill a capital shortfall revealed in a European Central Bank health check, becoming the second Greek lender to raise funds from private investors without resorting to state aid.

Alpha priced the new shares at 0.04 euros each or 2.0 euros after a one-for-50 reverse share split, translating to a 35 percent discount to Wednesday's closing price.

Greece's fourth-largest lender sought to raise 1.55 billion euros ($1.65 bln) from investors to fill a 2.74 billion euro capital gap under the ECB stress test's adverse scenario.

Greece and Eurozone Creditors in Deal to Unlock $13 Billion

By NIKI KITSANTONISNOV. 17, 2015

The New York Times

ATHENS — Greece and its international creditors said on Tuesday that they had reached agreement on the country’s next round of economic changes, a deal that is meant to unlock as much as 12 billion euros, or about $13 billion, in loan money.

Athens had initially hoped the money would be dispensed after the Greek Parliament passed a package of economic measures last month.

But eurozone finance ministers said then that the steps did not fully meet the conditions required for the next milestone payment from the country’s €86 billion bailout package.

Finnish parliament will debate next year leaving euro zone

Mon Nov 16, 2015 7:25am EST Related: WORLD

HELSINKI | BY JUSSI ROSENDAHL

Reuters

Finland's parliament will debate next year whether to quit the euro, a senior parliamentary official said on Monday, in a move unlikely to end membership of the single currency but which highlights Finns' dissatisfaction with their country's economic performance.

The decision follows a citizens' petition which has raised the necessary 50,000 signatures under Finnish rules to force such a debate, probably the first such initiative in any country of the 19-member euro zone.

Kurds enter Sinjar 'from all directions' - Kurdistan security council

Fri Nov 13, 2015 7:52am GMT Related: WORLD

NEAR SINJAR TOWN

Reuters

Kurdish peshmerga forces entered Sinjar "from all directions" on Friday to begin clearing the northern Iraqi town of Islamic State militants, the Kurdistan regional security council said in a tweet.

U.S. targets 'Jihadi John' in Syria air strike

Fri Nov 13, 2015 5:57am GMT Related: WORLD, UK, SYRIA, MIDDLE EAST

WASHINGTON | BY PHIL STEWART AND MARK HOSENBALL

Reuters

The United States on Thursday carried out an air strike in Syria targeting the Islamic State militant known as "Jihadi John," who participated in gruesome videos showing the killings of American and British hostages, officials said.

One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strike likely killed Mohammed Emwazi, a British citizen, but cautioned that it was too soon to make any determination.

Euro Eyes Parity Once More

Bloomberg

Vassilis Karamanis

Following a failed attempt at parity earlier this year, the euro may be set to make a more convincing foray at 1.0000 to the U.S. dollar, as a crucial driver for further weakness in the common currency is now on a substantially different path, Bloomberg strategist Vassilis Karamanis writes.

Greek Strike Shows Conflict Within Government Over Austerity

By NIKI KITSANTONISNOV. 12, 2015

The New York Times

ATHENS — Hundreds of thousands of Greeks walked off their jobs on Thursday to protest austerity economics, as officials of the leftist-led government wrangled with the country’s international creditors over the terms of Greece’s third bailout. At least one Athens protest turned violent.

The 24-hour walkout shut down public services, forced the cancellation of flights and disrupted public transportation across the country. Ferries remained moored in ports, hospitals were operating with reduced staff, and museums and archaeological sites were closed.

Creditors Withhold 2 Billion Euro Bailout Payment From Greece

By NIKI KITSANTONIS NOV. 9, 2015

The New York Times

ATHENS — Greece’s international bailout program has hit snags, delaying release of the next payout of rescue money.

Despite a weekend of negotiations by telephone, Greek officials and the country’s foreign creditors remained at odds. At a meeting in Brussels on Monday, eurozone finance ministers debated whether Athens had met the first set of conditions to unlock the next installment of the bailout of 86 billion euros (about $92 billion).

The ministers decided to delay the release of the payout, a sum of €2 billion, but indicated it might be dispensed soon.

Eurozone Finance Ministers Won’t Release $2.15 billion Loan to Greece

Disagreements over new foreclosure rules continue, two European officials say

The Wall Street Journal

By GABRIELE STEINHAUSER and  VIKTORIA DENDRINOU

Updated Nov. 9, 2015 4:05 a.m. ET

BRUSSELS—Eurozone finance ministers won’t release €2 billion ($2.15 billion) of funding for Greece at their meeting here Monday amid continued disagreements over new foreclosure rules, two European officials said.

Senior officials from the currency union’s finance ministries were updated on Greece’s implementation of around 50 promised overhauls, known as milestones, during a conference call Sunday afternoon. While progress has been made on some issues—including measures to substitute a tax on private education, the governance of the country’s bailed-out banks and the treatment of overdue loans—Athens and its creditors will need more time to sign off on all overhauls, the officials said.

Οι καθαρίστριες του κ. Τσακαλώτου

Οι καθαρίστριες του κ. Τσακαλώτου

04 Νοέμβριος 2015. Posted in Εφημερίδα Καθημερινή

Του Πάσχου Μανδραβέλη

«Σιγά!», θα πει κάποιος. «Αυτό είναι το πρόβλημα της χώρας; Οι 165 καθαρίστριες του κ. Τσακαλώτου;». Φυσικά όχι, διότι στην Ελλάδα δεν υπάρχει ΤΟ πρόβλημα. Υπάρχουν χιλιάδες μικρά προβλήματα, που όλα μαζί αθροίζονται και δημιουργούν ΤΟ πρόβλημα.

The Greece Debt Watch

Inside the bailout bonanza.

Bloomberg

By Dimitra Kessenides

August 2015

Greece signs a third bailout deal with the European Commission, agreeing to sweeping reforms in exchange for fresh loans in the amount of €86 billion.

Fall 2015

Greek lawmakers raise the retirement age, cut pensions, and increase the sales tax.

Oct. 31, 2015

After stress-testing the country’s top four banks, the European Central Bank says they’ll need €4.4 billion ($4.8 billion) to €14.4 billion of additional capital.

Nov. 6, 2015

The deadline for banks to submit plans detailing how they’ll raise the additional capital.

Winter 2016

Euro area member states will discuss easing Greece’s debt burden, following the successful completion of the first bailout review.

March-April 2016

Lenders will assess how much progress the country has made toward fiscal health. An unsatisfactory review could lead them to demand more austerity measures, again raising the question of a Grexit.

Greece Set to Vote on Bailout Provisions

 NIKI KITSANTONISNOV. 5, 2015

The New York Times

ATHENS — Greek lawmakers on Thursday were poised to approve some of the economic changes that international creditors were demanding before unlocking the first loan installment from the country’s bailout program. But the legislation pointedly lacks some of the main measures demanded by lenders.

Resistance to Authority in Greece as Pessimism Takes Hold

By STEVEN ERLANGERNOV. 5, 2015

The New York Times

LONDON — Yiorgos Kaminis has the privilege and misfortune of being the mayor of Athens, the suffering heart of bankrupt Greece, marked by both the majesty of the Parthenon and a relentless wave of graffiti hooligans, whose work he does not have the money to scrape off.

Now 61, Mr. Kaminis was born in New York and lived there until the age of 5, studied in France, taught law at the University of Athens and was re-elected last year as the nonpartisan mayor of one of the world’s great cities.

Greece Sets Terms for Aiding $15.9 Billion Bank Recap

Nikos Chrysoloras

November 2, 2015 — 2:42 AM EET Updated on November 2, 2015

Greece’s government detailed under what terms it will help banks plug a 14.4 billion-euro ($15.9 billion) hole in their books identified by the European Central Bank, paving the way for the lenders to seek cash from investors for the second time in 18 months.

Greece sets mix of bonds, shares in state aid to recapitalise banks

Sun Nov 1, 2015 11:12pm GMT Related: BUSINESS

Reuters

Greece's bank bailout fund HFSF will provide state aid to recapitalise the country's main banks by buying a mix of contingent convertible bonds (CoCoS) and new shares the lenders will issue, the government said on Sunday.

The Hellenic Financial Stability Fund will supply 75 percent of the aid needed via CoCos and 25 percent in exchange for new common shares the banks will issue, the government's economic policy council said, finalising the architecture of the plan.

U.S. Says Greece Must Lift Bank Governance to Build on Progress

By Rebecca Christie,  Andrew Mayeda

Bloomberg

Greece must improve financial-sector governance now that its biggest banks are moving to sounder footing, the U.S. Treasury’s top international official said.

“There’s a meaningful stabilization of the Greek banks,” Nathan Sheets, undersecretary for international affairs, said in an interview ahead of Saturday’s stress test and asset quality review results.

Greece Outlines Bank Recapitalization Plan

Vote into law is expected on Saturday evening

By NEKTARIA STAMOULI

Oct. 30, 2015 5:14 p.m. ET

0 COMMENTS

ATHENS—Greece unveiled its bank recapitalization framework Friday and is expected to vote it into law Saturday evening, hours after the European Central Bank releases results of its health check on the country’s four big banks.

This will be the third capital increase of the country’s battered lenders since Greece’s debt crisis erupted in 2010 and has to be completed by the end of the year, before the deposit bail-in instrument becomes effective at the beginning of 2016.

According to the draft bill, the lenders will be able to use common or preferred shares, as well as other financing instruments to be bailed in.

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.