EU Nears Confrontation Over Greek Rescue

Bloomberg

By James G. Neuger and Jonathan Stearns - Jan 31, 2012 10:50 AM GMT+0200

… Euro leaders left a Brussels summit late yesterday with no accord…

… Germany’s proposal for an EU-appointed overseer of the Greek budget prompted consternation in Athens…

… The permanent fund requires governments to put collective action clauses into new bond issues…

The euro crisis

What to do about Greece

Its insolvent economy needs a bigger debt reduction. A precipitous exit from the euro would be a disaster

The Economist

Jan 28th 2012 | from the print edition

… Discard the veneer of voluntarism and Greece can be tougher on its creditors…

… the real culprit is the Greek government, which has proved singularly incapable of implementing the reforms needed…

… Greece’s European rescuers should offer the country a clear choice…

Η οικονομική ομοιοπαθητική

Του Πάσχου Μανδραβέλη

Κυριακή, 29 Ιανουάριος 2012 13:51

Τώρα πληρώνουμε αυτό λοιπόν δεν κάναμε την περίοδο της υψηλής -έστω με πήλινα πόδια- ανάπτυξης.

Greece, Bankers Expect Debt-Swap Deal This Week

Bloomberg

By Marcus Bensasson and Maria Petrakis - Jan 29, 2012 9:56 AM GMT+0200

…bonds issued in the swap should have a coupon “well below” 3.5 percent for the period to 2020 and below 4 percent over the 30 years. As recently as Jan. 23, private investors wanted the new 30-year bonds to have an average coupon of about 4.25 percent…

Αυτό είναι σκάνδαλο κα Δαμανάκη!

2 days ago by http://www.e-dragoumanos.eu

(Σημ. του blog. Πρόκειται για ένα ακόμη δημοσίευμα με την ποιότητα του πολτικού μας προσωπικού, στο επίκέντρο.)

Η Βουλή των συντεχνιών

Πέμπτη, 26 Ιανουάριος 2012 11:20

Του Πάσχου Μανδραβέλη

Δυστυχώς, όλο το πολιτικό σύστημα σπρώχνει τη χώρα στον γκρεμό.

Greek debt talks resume in race against the clock

By George Georgiopoulos and Lefteris Papadimas

ATHENS | Thu Jan 26, 2012 6:52am EST

… Christine Lagarde put pressure on the ECB on Wednesday, saying it and other public creditors may need to accept losses…

… The interest rate on the new bonds has been the main stumbling block…

… The ECB had ruled out taking voluntary losses on its Greek bond holdings but is now debating how it would handle any forced losses …

EU Ministers Press Greece, Creditors

The Wall Street Journal

By COSTAS PARIS, MATINA STEVIS and RIVA FROYMOVICH

… a crucial chunk of Greece's first bailout was withheld for several weeks, partly because Greece's then-opposition leader, Antonis Samaras, refused to commit to the austerity policies…

… EU ministers indicated they had lost faith in Greece's ability or will to implement the overhauls…

Ένα ακόμη “βαρύ” άρθρο για την Ελλάδα

21 hours ago by editor

(Σημ. Του blog. Είναι άρθρο από το site http://www.e-dragoumanos.eu. Πάντα ενδιαφέρουσες οι απόψεις που προβάλλονται).

… Όμως οι Έλληνες και οι ευρωπαίοι ηγέτες ήξεραν πως το πρόβλημα βρισκόταν αλλού…

… η ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία αποφεύγει την υποχρέωση πληρωμής φόρων…

… Τα περισσότερα εισοδήματα των ελεύθερων επαγγελματιών δεν δηλώνονται…

… Για την Ευρώπη, πρόκειται για ένα άλμα στο άγνωστο…

Euro Leaders Seek Crisis Fix as Greek Talks Drag On

Bloomberg

By Patrick Donahue - Jan 23, 2012 1:00 AM GMT+0200

… The most likely thing to happen is that everybody’s still in it, including Greece” at the end of the year…

Τα Οικονομικά του Κομματικού Σωλήνα

Του Α. Ανδριανόπουλου

Δημ. Τον Ιαν. 2012 στο www.andrianopoulos.gr

Διασκεδάζεις διαπιστώνοντας το πάθος με το οποίο οι απολογητές της χρεωκοπημένης Αριστεράς επιχειρούν να κατεδαφίσουν απόψεις που ανατρέπουν τα θέσφατα στα οποία έχουν μάθει να πιστεύουν.

Είναι το πρόβλημα οι κατώτατες αποδοχές;

Toυ Ιωαννη Ληξουριωτη*

(Σημ. του blog. Με τις απόψεις του συγγραφέα δεν είναι απαραίτητο να συμφωνεί κάποιος. Πολύ περισσότερο με την κριτική που ασκεί σε όσους διαφωνούν μαζί του. Είναι απλώς ενδεικτικές μιας μερίδας, μειοψηφικής στο πολιτικό σκηνικό, η οποία υποστηρίζει την απελευθέρωση της αγοράς εργασίας σαν απάντηση στο πρόβλημα της ανεργίας. Στο συγκεκριμένο άρθρο και προς το τέλος του δίνει την πρόταση για της αναθεώρηση του μηχανισμού των αμοιβών.)

Greek science on the brink

Financial woes spur controversial reforms of the country's research system.

Nature

Alison Abbott

11 January 2012

Nature

 

481,

 

123–124

 

(12 January 2012)

 

doi:10.1038/481123a

… Just a handful of Greece's universities and research institutions are internationally competitive…

… The rectors of Greece's 24 public universities, for their part, seem appalled by the law…

… It is shocking that academic leaders would show no respect for a law…

… Greece does not have a dedicated research funding agency…

Database tallies US emissions

Environment agency launches searchable public log of major greenhouse-gas emitters.

Nature

… a new resource: official data from the companies themselves…

… The inventory covers industrial, commercial and government facilities that emit more than 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year…

… power plants overshadow any other stationary sources of greenhouse gases, accounting for about three-quarters of emissions…

Jeff Tollefson

17 January 2012

Greece, Creditors Cite Progress on a Debt Pact

The Wall Street Journal

By ALKMAN GRANITSAS, MATINA STEVIS and COSTAS PARIS

… The reduction, if agreed, would save Greece €4 billion a year in interest….

… There is nothing voluntary about all this," the banker said. "We have a gun pointing at our heads…

Greek Debt-Swap Talks Set for Second Day

Bloomberg

By Maria Petrakis, Marcus Bensasson and Natalie Weeks - Jan 19, 2012 12:00 AM GMT+0200

… the discussions were at a “very fine point.”…

… all variables” are being taken into consideration…

…. Collective action clauses, which would ensure creditors take part in the swap, could be legislated…

… Negotiations since then have centered on the interest rate…

… The new bonds will probably pay annual interest of 4 percent to 5 percent and have a maturity of 20 years to 30 years…

Fitch says Greece to default, believes will be orderly

STOCKHOLM | Tue Jan 17, 2012 6:15am EST

… It is going to happen. Greece is insolvent so it will default…

… PSI is the way to go and we would treat it as a default…

Michael Mann, The climate scientist who the deniers have in their sights

He didn't court controversy, but is happy to make use of it

The Independent

By Steve Connor

(From the blog: This article introduces a view on the controversy surrounding climate change. It revolves around a central figure of the debate, prof. M. Man. After introducing his famous “hockey stick” type reproduction of climate evolution during the past few centuries, he has been the target of a heated criticism. The criticism involves data used, models, assumed intentions which shifts the issue into politics. We are not climatologists. We know for sure that polar icecaps are melting. Therefore we could summarize the ongoing debate into two fundamental questions. First, are the observed changes long-term trends? And second: Can we quantify the human related contribution to global climate?)

46 Days to Avoid Greek Default

The Wall Street Journal

JANUARY 16, 2012, 5:22 AM

… news from Athens that the debt-restructuring talks there have been suspended should really be of bigger concern…

… Greece has a €14.4 billion bond maturing on March 20 that it can’t afford to pay in full,…

… We’ll go through those steps one by one…

… It first has to come to an agreement with its private-sector creditors…

… For the deal to be consummated, Greece’s not-too-happy euro-zone peers have to sign off on sending some €60 billion its way…

… it will need €30 billion to recapitalize its own banks… and another €30 billion to give to the wounded bondholders as an upfront cash sweetener…

Gross: Greece to Default Following Downgrades

Bloomberg

By Wes Goodman - Jan 16, 2012 5:34 AM GMT+0200

… though the two sides haven’t been able to agree…

… efforts to address Europe’s financial problems are falling short…

… The bulk of sovereign-bond holdings should be in the U.S….