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.

Greek Vote Spells Investor Opportunity

Alexis Tsipras’ Greek election win could spell further gains for the country’s high-yielding government bonds

The Wall Street Journal

By RICHARD BARLEY

Sept. 21, 2015 9:29 a.m. ET

Alexis Tsipras’ political gamble in calling new elections in Greece has paid off, returning his Syriza party to government. Buying Greek bonds also represents a gamble, but a potentially attractive one.

After Greek Election Victory, Alexis Tsipras Faces Two Immediate Crises

Newly sworn-in prime minister must carry out contentious bailout plan and tackle migrant crisis

The Wall Street Journal

By STELIOS BOURAS And  NEKTARIA STAMOULI

Updated Sept. 21, 2015 2:34 p.m. ET

22 COMMENTS

ATHENS— Alexis Tsipras was sworn in as Greece’s prime minister on Monday after his left-wing Syriza party decisively beat its conservative rivals. But there is no honeymoon period for the 41-year-old leader.

He must quickly address a double challenge: the implementation of politically explosive pension cuts and other austerity measures under Greece’s bailout plan, and a migration crisis that Greece’s parties have mostly avoided dealing with.

Volkswagen's Disastrous American Strategy

SEPT 21, 2015 10:46 AM EDT

By Leonid Bershidsky

Bloomberg

Had Martin Winterkorn conceded defeat in his boardroom battle with Volkswagen corporate patriarch Ferdinand Piech five months ago, he would have avoided the disgrace of the company's U.S. pollution control scandal, which earlier today wiped nearly a quarter off the value of VW's stock. Instead, Winterkorn, having recently been given a five-year extension on his contract, has some tough questions to answer.

Greek Elections Are an Opportunity for Europe

SEPT 21, 2015 2:00 AM EDT

By Mohamed A. El-Erian

Bloomberg

After repeated bungling, Europe suddenly has an opportunity to do the right thing about Greece's unsustainable debt. It would be a tragedy -- for both Greece and Europe -- if this opening went to waste.

Two recent developments have combined to create this moment: Syriza's win in elections on Sunday and the flood of refugees into Greece.

Weary Greece Gives Syriza Another Chance

211 SEPT 20, 2015 5:51 PM EDT

By Megan McArdle

Bloomberg

In my trip through the central Athens polling stations on Sunday, I met only one voter who seemed cheerful. Alkaios Klaoudatos is a supporter of Syriza, the leftist government that has held power since January, and he was confident that his party was going to win the election. In fairness, virtually everyone I’ve talked to since the Friday polls were released has said that Syriza was going to win a plurality. But Klaoudatos, a lawyer, believed that his party was going to take enough votes to form a government with its previous coalition partner Independent Greeks, or ANEL, rather than seeking to share power with a larger partner such as Pasok, the old left-wing party that was pushed aside by Syriza.

On Notice: Greece’s Vested Interests

By HUGO DIXONSEPT. 16, 2015

The New York Times

TINOS, Greece — One of the few near-certainties about Sunday’s general election in Greece is that it will produce a government committed, at least nominally, to the bailout agreement struck last month with the country’s creditors. Not only is former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras a reluctant convert to the deal, which could make available 86 billion euros in new loans, the main opposition party, New Democracy, is prepared to back it, too.

Opinion: Greece’s government has only itself to blame for Sunday’s election

Published: Sept 16, 2015 5:01 a.m. ET

Market Watch

By SATYAJIT DAS

Greece’s election on Sunday is the third time its citizens have gone to the polls this year, and unfortunately this new election was not unexpected.

The Syriza-led government has played its hand badly, failing to extract significant concessions from its eurozone paymasters. Syriza’s performance suggests a lack of preparedness and a poor understanding of the seriousness of their predicament. The cacophony of voices and an excessive desire for the limelight was unhelpful in what were always going to be difficult negotiations.

Creditors Loom Over Elections in Greece

By SUZANNE DALEYSEPT. 16, 2015

The New York Times

ATHENS — Inside campaign tents pitched by various political parties seeking to win over Greek voters here, including an immense one set up near Korai Square by the leftist Syriza party of the former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, the chairs and tables were empty the other day.

The leaflets sat untouched in neat stacks, a sharp contrast to the days before Greece’s last election, in January, when noisy crowds milled late into the night, debating policy and their country’s future.

Once Unthinkable, Economists Now Say Debt Relief for Greece Is a Given

A new Bloomberg survey shows a sea-change in how economists view Greece

Bloomberg

By Andre Tartar

September 15, 2015 — 9:51 AM EEST

What a difference two months make.

Back in July, things looked so bad for Greece that 71 percent of 31 economists polled by Bloomberg could see the country out of the euro by the end of 2016. Debt relief was a pipe dream for the EU's most indebted nation.

Fast forward to September, a similar survey shows that 94 percent of respondents think it's not only possible, but very likely. The sample of 36 economists was interviewed Sept. 4-11.

Where the Euro Goes From Here

SEPT 14, 2015 12:01 AM EDT

By Clive Crook

Bloomberg

Europe could find its way to a stronger recovery and a safer monetary system -- if only it could start from somewhere else. The legacy of the recent economic crisis makes a tough problem nearly insoluble.

What went wrong before and after the European financial breakdown of 2010 is by now reasonably clear. Another excellent new e-book from VoxEU (the European policy portal run by Richard Baldwin of the Graduate Institute, Geneva) collects articles by economists who've followed the story. There's a strong consensus on the causes of the crisis. Governments could have avoided much of the damage if they had recognized the dangers and acted earlier. Now, the damage is done, and applying the lessons is very much harder.

Greek Election Stalemate Beckons as Campaign Enters Final Week

 Nikos Chrysoloras Paul Tugwell Antonis Galanopoulos

September 13, 2015 — 4:57 PM EEST

Bloomberg

Greece’s campaign for Sept. 20 elections enters its final stretch this week with polls showing the outcome too close to call, threatening fractious coalition negotiations that may delay or derail implementation of the terms of a bailout only sealed in July.

With Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras and his New Democracy opponent Evangelos Meimarakis running neck-and-neck, pollsters say the result of Greece’s third national ballot this year could come down to turnout, undecided voters or a televised debate between the two frontrunners.

“The question of the previous election, in January, was whether Tsipras’s Syriza party will win an outright majority,” Thomas Gerakis, head of Athens-based Marc pollsters, said in an interview on Sept. 10. “The question in this election is which one is going to win, and also the ranking of the other parties.”

Greece will likely remain in intensive care for years without more help

Published: Sept 10, 2015 5:42 p.m. ET

The Market Watch

By GREG ROBB SENIOR ECONOMICS REPORTER

Although the short-term default emergency is over, Greece is likely to remain in intensive care for years and may recover only with further dramatic international assistance, according to papers presented by experts at a Brookings Institution conference Thursday.

Taking the long view, Harvard University economist Carmen Reinhart noted that Greece has been in a cycle of excessive borrowing and default since 1833 and was still repaying that first loan 100 years later.

It will take dramatic action to break the cycle.

Greece, the World's Best Investment. No Joke.

SEPT 11, 2015 5:42 AM EDT

By Matthew A. Winkler

Bloomberg

Remember last February, when former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Greece would leave the euro and that the common currency would collapse? Remember that a month later, investor-philanthropist George Soros said Greece was going down the drain? Or that just this July, the president of the German Institute for Economic Research, Marcel Fratzscher, characterized Greece as a "political and economic catastrophe" that would revert to the drachma in desperation?

What's At Stake In Greece's Election?

Greece’s creditors stand on the sidelines awaiting the people's verdict.

The Huffington PostBy Danae Leivada

Posted: 09/08/2015 11:33 AM EDT | Edited: 09/08/2015 12:23 PM EDT

ATHENS, Greece -- After making headlines for the past six years with an economic and social crisis that shows no sign of abating, Greece is headed toward a snap election. On Sept. 20, Greeks will go to the polls for the fifth vote in little more than three years and it seems all bets are off again.

The Background

Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of the left-wing Syriza party handed in his resignation last month, bringing an end to the coalition government between Syriza and the Independent Greeks (ANEL) party.

Βαρύγδουπες «αριστερές» ασυναρτησίες

ΠΟΛΙΤΙΚΗ 06.09.2015 : 18:11

Του Πάσχου Μανδραβέλη

Εφημερίδα Καθημερινή\

Απ’ όλες τις μπαρούφες που εκτοξεύονται στον δημόσιο διάλογο οι πιο επικίνδυνες είναι οι τάχαμου αριστερές. Οχι γιατί είναι ριζοσπαστικές. Κυρίως διότι τυλίγονται σε τόσες πολλές και βαριές λέξεις, σε τόσες πολλές ασυναρτησίες, που κάνουν τις μπαρούφες να μοιάζουν σημαντικές. Ετσι, σε μια ερώτηση δέκα λέξεων της κ. Σίας Κοσιώνη (ΣΚΑΪ 3.9.2015) για το δίλημμα «ευρώ ή δραχμή», η κ. Ζωή Κωνσταντοπούλου, αφού είπε ότι «θα σας απαντήσω πολύ ξεκάθαρα, όπως ξεκάθαρα απαντώ πάντοτε», μίλησε ακατάπαυστα επί 3,5 λεπτά. Εκστόμισε 370 λέξεις, ξεφούρνισε δεκάδες ψέματα και έκανε διαρκώς νοητικές ακροβασίες.

Migrant crisis: Greece acts over Lesbos 'explosion' fears

BBC

The Greek government and the UN refugee agency have brought in extra staff and ships to deal with some 25,000 stranded migrants on the island of Lesbos.

A processing centre has been also set up on an abandoned football ground to help the migrants to get to Athens.

A Greek minister said on Monday Lesbos was "on the verge of an explosion".

Meanwhile, hundreds of migrants broke through police lines on Hungary's border with Serbia and started walking towards the capital, Budapest.

The migrants faced down pepper spray used by police as they broke out of a holding centre in a cornfield and marched down a motorway towards Budapest. They later agreed to be taken by bus to another reception centre.