Ukraine crisis: 'Column from Russia' crosses border

25 August 2014 Last updated at 17:28 GMT Share this pagePrint

BBC

The Ukrainian military says it has clashed with rebel armoured vehicles that crossed from Russia and headed to the south-eastern port of Mariupol.

One commander said rebels might be trying to open up a new southern front. Russia did not comment on the issue.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko voiced his "extreme concern" about the alleged crossing, his office said.

More than 2,000 people have died in fighting between Ukrainian forces and the separatists in recent months.

Obama Approves Air Surveillance of ISIS in Syria

By MARK LANDLER and HELENE COOPERAUG. 25, 2014

The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Obama has authorized surveillance flights over Syria, a precursor to potential airstrikes there, but a mounting concern for the White House is how to target the Sunni extremists without helping President Bashar al-Assad.

Defense officials said Monday evening that the Pentagon was sending in manned and unmanned reconnaissance flights over Syria, using a combination of aircraft, including drones and possibly U2 spy planes. Mr. Obama approved the flights over the weekend, a senior administration official said.

The flights are a significant step toward direct American military action in Syria, an intervention that could alter the battlefield in the nation’s three-year civil war.

An American-Led Coalition Can Defeat ISIS

U.S. air power and special forces are essential, but so is a political and economic strategy. It's also time to give Qatar an ultimatum.

By JACK KEANE And DANIELLE PLETKA

Aug. 24, 2014 6:27 p.m. ET

The Wall Street Journal

Two months ago we laid out a plan on these pages to bring Iraq back from the abyss of terrorist domination, turn the tide in the Syria conflict, and crush the advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. The need for such a plan is now more urgent as ISIS has since advanced dramatically, the Iraqi army and Kurdish militia initially performed poorly, and the terror group has threatened to kill more Americans as it did James Foley last week.

Κονομάει χοντρά η Χαμάς απ’ τη φτώχεια και την απομόνωση…

Του Doron Peskin

ΠΗΓΗ: «ynetnews.com», 15.7.2014

17/07/2014 11:09

Με συμφωνίες ακινήτων πολλών εκατομμυρίων δολαρίων, πολυτελείς βίλλες και την μαύρη αγορά καυσίμων από την Αίγυπτο, οι κυβερνώντες της Γάζας έχουν συγκεντρώσει δισεκατομμύρια δολάρια ενώ ο υπόλοιπος πληθυσμός αγωνίζεται με την φτώχεια που φτάνει το 38% του πληθυσμού και την ανεργία που φτάνει το 40%.

Ενώ οι μάχες αναμένεται να επιδεινώσουν τα δεινά των κατοίκων της Γάζας, το οικονομικό μέλλον της Λωρίδας δεν ήταν ποτέ ευοίωνο. Η ανεργία στη Γάζα βρισκόταν περίπου στο 40% πριν την τελευταία σύγκρουση, με ανάλογο ποσοστό να βρίσκεται κάτω από το όριο της φτώχειας.

A mounting toll

Jul 14th 2014, 9:54 by N.S. | DONETSK

The Economist

VLADIMIR PISKUNOV once had roses in his garden, red and white ones lining the patio. He once had tomatoes, ripening alongside the cherry trees. He once had a roof over his house. He once had a wife. All of that was wiped out late in the afternoon of July 12th, when three Grad rockets hit 15 Lyubovich Street on the western edge of Donetsk. One landed directly on his house, blasting a crater through its center and killing his wife Tatiana, who was clambering to the basement for safety.

China: Wealth and Democracy

Will Western levels of income mean that China adopts Western models of democracy?

By Christopher Ernest Barber

June 10, 2014

http://thediplomat.com/2014/06/china-wealth-and-democracy/

In a recent article, I discussed a report tabled by the IMF on China’s economic future. In it, IMF economists Malhar Nabar and Papa N’Diaye argued that if Chinese authorities are able to complete the necessary economic reforms, then China will become a high-income economy by 2030. In nominal terms, high-income economies have a Gross National Income (GNI) of more than $12,616 per capita. This effectively demarcates those nations that are rich and those that are not. Of course, while China will enter the rich nations club, with its current GNI of $5,720, the dragon economy will have a long way to go in order to match the sheer wealth of the United States (which has a GNI of $52,340). Nevertheless, given its relative size, China is set to overtake the United States as the world’s largest economy by 2030.

Russia warns Ukraine of ‘irreversible consequences’ after cross-border shelling

By Karoun Demirjian and Michael Birnbaum July 13 at 7:46 PM

The Washington Post

MOSCOW— Russia on Sunday accused Ukraine of lobbing a shell over the border and killing a Russian civilian and warned of “irreversible consequences,” in a sharp escalation of rhetoric that raised fears of a Russian invasion in Ukraine’s east.

The accusation, which Ukrainian officials denied, set off furious denunciations in Russia, with one senior legislator calling for pinpoint airstrikes on Ukrainian soil of the sort he said Israel was making in the Gaza Strip.

Ukrainian security officials, meanwhile, said that about 100 military vehicles driven by “mercenaries” had attempted to cross the border from Russia early Sunday, and that Ukraine’s military had destroyed some of the vehicles.

Deadlock Blocks Iraqi Leadership Vote as ISIS Makes Gains Toward Baghdad

By ALISSA J. RUBIN and SUADAD AL-SALHYJULY 13, 2014

The New York Times

BAGHDAD — As Iraq’s deadlocked Parliament was again unable to reach a deal to name a new speaker on Sunday, Sunni militants carried out a raid near Baghdad, a symbolically significant attack signaling their intent to move closer, even if only by a few miles, toward the Iraqi capital.

Although the pretext for the delay was a severe sandstorm that prevented northern Iraq’s Kurdish lawmakers from flying to Baghdad, the real reason appeared to be that last-minute deals between the largest Shiite bloc and the Sunnis were falling apart.

Chechen in Syria a rising star in extremist group

(The Washington Post)

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS July 2 at 12:33 PM

BEIRUT — A young, red-bearded ethnic Chechen has rapidly become one of the most prominent commanders in the breakaway al-Qaida group that has overrun swaths of Iraq and Syria, illustrating the international nature of the movement.

Omar al-Shishani, one of hundreds of Chechens who have been among the toughest jihadi fighters in Syria, has emerged as the face of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, appearing frequently in its online videos — in contrast to the group’s Iraqi leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who remains deep in hiding and has hardly ever been photographed.

Kurdish region is exploring whether to be part of Iraq or whether to be independent

The Washington Post

BY KAREN DEYOUNG AND STEVEN MUFSON July 2 at 8:46 PM

Iraq’s Kurdistan region is pursuing two separate paths to the future, one as part of Iraq and one as an independent state, said senior Kurdish officials who met with Secretary of State John F. Kerry on Wednesday in Washington.

But even if a suitable government is formed in Baghdad — for Kurds, one that does not include Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki — “we are not ready to go back to pre-June 9,” when Islamist militants began their advance across the northwest part of the country, said Fuad Hussein, chief of staff to Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Russia Demands New Cease-Fire in Ukraine as Foreign Ministers Seek Path to Peace

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORNJULY 2, 2014

The New York Times

MOSCOW — In a stern warning that cited civilian casualties in war-torn eastern Ukraine, Russia on Wednesday demanded that the Ukrainian government reinstate a cease-fire and halt its military operation aimed at suppressing the pro-Russian separatist insurrection that has destabilized the region for more than three months.

“Again we resolutely demand that the Ukrainian authorities — provided they are still able to evaluate sensibly the consequences of the criminal policy they conduct — to stop shelling peaceful cities and villages in their own country, to return to a real cease-fire in order to save human lives,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Why the run on banks?

Bulgaria

Jul 1st 2014, 17:32 by G.K. | SOFIA

IN A country struggling with rampant corruption, a weak judiciary and unstable government, the Bulgarian banking system has consistently won praise for its stable institutions, high liquidity and low risk. In the past few weeks that system has come under attack in the worst run on banks in 17 years.

The central bank said runs on First Investment Bank (FIB) and Corporate Commercial Bank (CCB), the country’s third and fourth largest lenders, in the past two weeks were part of a “deliberate and systematic attempt to destabilise Bulgaria's banking system”. According to the authorities, criminals tried to disrupt the system by sending e-mails and text messages urging people to withdraw their funds from several large banks.

Euro-Zone Inflation Rate Stays at Lowest Level in Over Four Years

Figures Underline the Scale of the Challenge Facing the ECB

The Wall Street Journal

By PAUL HANNON And TODD BUELL CONNECT

Updated June 30, 2014 6:38 a.m. ET

The euro zone's annual rate of inflation was unchanged in June, stuck at its lowest level in more than four years, while bank lending to households and businesses declined in May.

The ECB took steps on June 5 designed to stave off the threat of dangerously low inflation in Europe, including cutting a key interest rate below zero for the first time to get banks to lend more to credit-starved customers.

Greek Bonds Beat Lottery as Funds Surge on Smashed Glass

By Maria Petrakis  Jun 26, 2014 2:01 AM GMT+0300

Bloomberg

The woman who died in a burning Athens bank still smiles at Giorgos Mastorakos on his way to the delicatessen he owns around the corner.

The wreaths and tributes no longer cascade onto the road to mark the spot where she and her two colleagues were killed in violence in May 2010 after the country’s unsustainable debts and ensuing financial decline resulted in the first depression since World War II. At the makeshift memorial that fewer people visit on the anniversary of the deaths, the photo of the woman’s face is framed by an anarchist sign and withering bouquets.

Mastorakos, 64, and his employees helped those who escaped the burning building. “And that’s when the questions began: Did so-and-so get out? Have you seen that person?” he said.

Oil and the Iraqi Civil War: How Security Dynamics May Affect Oil Production

Brookings

Kenneth M. Pollack | June 23, 2014 11:00am

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2014/06/23-oil-iraqi-civil-war-pollack

It should be obvious that a key consideration for the United States arising from the revived civil war in Iraq is its potential to affect Iraqi oil production. Iraq is now the second largest producer in OPEC. And although Americans are ecstatic about fracking, energy experts have been warning that future oil prices are more dependent on increasing Iraqi production than North American shale. In October 2012, the International Energy Agency stated that, “The increase in Iraq’s oil production in the Central Scenario of more than 5 [million barrels per day] over the period to 2035 makes Iraq by far the largest contributor to global supply growth. Over the current decade, Iraq accounts for around 45% of the anticipated growth in global output.”

Is Greece losing its reform drive?

By Hugo Dixon JUNE 23, 2014

Reuters

By Hugo Dixon

Hugo Dixon is Editor-at-Large, Reuters News. The opinions expressed are his own.

Is Greece losing its reform drive? Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has stuck to a harsh fitness programme for two years. But just as it is bearing fruit, he has sidelined some reformers in a reshuffle. There is only one viable path to redemption for Athens: stick to the straight and narrow.

The Greek economy is not out of the woods yet, although the measures taken to balance public finances and restore the country’s competitiveness are having their effect.

Εξαιρούνται και τα δάνεια του EFSF στη διαπραγμάτευση για μείωση χρέους

Οι ουσιαστικές παρεμβάσεις θα αφορούν τα διμερή 52,9 δισ. ευρώ από τα συνολικά 223,1 δισ. που έχει λάβει η χώρα

Δευτέρα, 23 Ιουνίου 2014 07:01

Ναυτεμπορική

Eκτός της διαπραγμάτευσης για τα μέτρα μείωσης του δημόσιου χρέους μένουν τα δάνεια του EFSF και σε συνδυασμό με την de facto εξαίρεση και των δανείων του Διεθνούς Νομισματικού Ταμείου, οι προσδοκίες για να τεθεί σε βιώσιμη τροχιά το δημόσιο χρέος περιορίζονται δραματικά.

Από το σύνολο των δανείων που έχει λάβει η Ελλάδα μέχρι τώρα, από Ευρωζώνη, EFSF και ΔΝΤ, συνολικού ύψους 223,1 δισ. ευρώ, οι ουσιαστικές παρεμβάσεις περιορίζονται στο ποσό των 52,9 δισ. ευρώ.

Will the IMF Apologize to Greece?

Fund's Failure to Recognize Athens' Fiscal Success Has Had Negative Consequences

The Wall Street Journal

By SIMON NIXON

June 15, 2014 4:21 p.m. ET

The International Monetary Fund has apologized to the U.K. but what about Greece? Managing Director Christine Lagarde has acknowledged that the IMF'S warning last year that Britain was "playing with fire" by pushing ahead with its deficit-reduction strategy—just at the moment that a robust recovery kicked in—was a mistake.

But this mistake was responsible for nothing worse than a few red faces—unlike the IMF's slowness to recognize Greece's remarkable success in delivering a 2013 budget surplus before interest costs. This had real consequences.

China economic clout good for U.S.: Column

Ted C. Fishman 4:05 p.m. EDT June 15, 2014

USA Today

Instead of feeling threatened, Chinese buying power can help us and improve relations.

Early this spring, the World Bank announced that, by one measure, the size of the Chinese economy at the end of 2011 was nearly equal to that of the U.S. and, this year, it will be bigger. Americans are fearful of China lately. A bigger economy seems to be giving China sharper elbows. The Asian giant has been pressing territorial demands. China's military supports cyber spies who steal American industrial secrets. China's President Xi Jinping warns the U.S. in speeches that America will get burned if America stymies China's assertion of its goals.

Should Americans feel threatened? Surprised?

Can Iraq Survive?

By: Daniel Benjamin

The Boston Globe

Opinion | June 12, 2014

The news from Iraq has been so bad for so long, it has become difficult to distinguish the merely depressing from the genuinely disastrous. But the fall of Mosul, the country’s second largest city, to jihadi forces this week provided a shock well above and beyond the quotidian misery — one that looks like a turning point, or even an end point, for post-Saddam Iraq.

Former Finance Minister Named Greece's Central Bank Governor

Appointment of Yannis Stournaras Is Seen as Ensuring Continuity of Overhaul Drive

The Wall Street Journal

ATHENS—Former Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras was named the country's new central bank governor, a move that ensures continuity in Greece's overhaul drive.

In a statement, the general council of the Bank of Greece TELL.AT +0.60%  said it had unanimously recommended Mr. Stournaras to the position, which must now be approved by Greece's government but which is seen as a formality.

The announcement was expected following this week's cabinet reshuffle and comes after months of lobbying by Mr. Stournaras, 57 years old, who was eager to leave government and take over the helm at the central bank. He will succeed Gov. George Provopoulos when his six-year term ends next week.

Greece Has A New Finance Minister. What Does It Mean For Investors In Greek Equities?

Disclosure: I own GREK, NBG, CMRE, and DRYS

Forbes

Yannis Stournaras is out and Gikas Hardouvelis is in — via a Greek government restructuring announced by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras recently.

Like Stournaras, Hardouvelis brings strong academic credentials to the country’s most important ministry, and a wealth of experience as an advisor to the former Prime Minister Costas Simitis, and as chief economist at Eurobank Group.

Mr. Hardouvelis’ appointment comes at a time the country is striving to get out of a depression which parallels that of the Great Depression in the 1930s.

A Plan to Revitalize Greece Harvard Business Review

By Alexander S. Kritikos  Jun 9, 2014 3:00 PM GMT+0300

Bloomberg

Greece is finally showing signs of recovering from its 2008 crash. However, as much as macroeconomic reforms are needed, the future of the Greek economy will be determined by its competitiveness, which concerns costs, but is also measured by innovation.

In that regard, Greece finds itself at a crossroads. It can improve its competitiveness by reducing costs in its traditional sectors, such as tourism, agriculture, and trade. Or it can aim higher – by laying the groundwork for higher value-added goods production.

Samaras Names Hardouvelis New Greek Finance Minister

By Nikos Chrysoloras and Paul Tugwell  Jun 10, 2014 10:35 AM GMT+0300

(Corrects debt-to-GDP figure in second paragraph, spokeswoman in fifth.)

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras named Gikas Hardouvelis as the country’s new finance minister, replacing Yannis Stournaras in a cabinet overhaul.

Hardouvelis will try to lead the debt-stricken nation out of a six-year recession and strike a deal with euro-area member states later this year on relieving some of Greece’s debt burden. Debt is forecast to peak in 2014 at 177.2 percent of gross domestic product according to the latest review of the country’s bailout program.

Germany's Schaeuble says 3rd Greek bailout likely to be less than 10 bln euros-magazine

BERLIN, June 1 Sun Jun 1, 2014 9:10am EDT

(Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble reckons a third bailout for Greece would be less than 10 billion euros, significantly smaller than each of the previous aid packages, German magazine Focus reported.

Greece was cut off from markets in 2010 as the true scale of its debt burden became apparent. After four years of painful measures to contain debt, two bailouts totalling 240 billion euros and a hit on private bondholders, the Greek economy is expected to return to modest growth this year.

Ukraine Forces Appear to Oust Rebels From Airport in East

By SABRINA TAVERNISE and ANDREW ROTHMAY 26, 2014

The New York Times

DONETSK, Ukraine — The new Ukrainian government struck the separatists in this eastern province with a major military offensive on Monday, battling them over an important provincial airport in ground fighting that lasted for hours. The rebels were left scattered and shaken, just one day after a successful national election they had tried to disrupt.

The airport battle was the first time the Ukrainian military had moved so aggressively against the separatists, who took over government buildings in two eastern provinces in March, after weeks of low-grade military maneuvers meant to stop their spread to other areas.

China Said to Push Banks to Remove IBM Servers

By Bloomberg News  May 27, 2014 9:58 AM GMT+0300

The Chinese government is pushing domestic banks to remove high-end servers made by International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) and replace them with a local brand, according to people familiar with the matter, in an escalation of the dispute with the U.S. over spying claims.

Government agencies, including the People’s Bank of China and the Ministry of Finance, are reviewing whether Chinese commercial banks’ reliance on IBM servers compromises the country’s financial security, said the four people, who asked not to be identified because the review hasn’t been made public.

The review fits a broader pattern of retaliation after American prosecutors indicted five Chinese military officers for allegedly hacking into the computers of U.S. companies and stealing secrets. Last week, China’s government said it will vet technology companies operating in the country, while the Financial Times reported May 25 that China ordered state-owned companies to cut ties with U.S. consulting firms.

China and Japan trade barbs after close encounter over South China Sea

Chinese defence ministry calls on Japan to stop all reconnaissance activity after jet incident over disputed territory

Associated Press in Beijing

theguardian.com, Sunday 25 May 2014 16.10 BST

Chinese and Japanese officials have traded accusations after Chinese fighter jets came within a few dozen metres from Japanese military aircraft that had entered Beijing's air defence zone over the East China Sea.

China's defense ministry claimed that a Japanese surveillance plane and one other entered the zone on Saturday during a joint military drill with the Chinese and Russian navies.

Greece's Golden Dawn to enter EU Parliament for first time

Exit polls give the party, which denies it subscribes to neo-Nazi ideology, around a 10 per cent of the Greek vote

The Guardian

By Fiona Govan, Athens8:29PM BST 25 May 2014

Golden Dawn, Greece’s extreme Right party, looked set to enter the European Parliament for the first time after winning between 9 and 10 per cent of the vote, exit polls showed on Sunday.

The party, which denies accusations that it is a criminal organisation following neo-Nazi ideology, was Greece’s third most popular party in the election and looked set to send three MEPs to Brussels.

“Golden Dawn is the third political power in Greece, it’s the only party that shows such a steep rise,” said Ilias Kasidiaris, the Golden Dawn spokesman who is known to have a swastika tattoo on his upper arm, at party headquarters following publication of exit polls.

Protest Parties Surge in Greece, France in Early EU Votes

By James G. Neuger  May 25, 2014 10:16 PM GMT+0300

 Bloomberg

Protest parties surged in Greece and France in European Parliament elections, in a sign of the anti-European mood across the economic divide opened up by the sovereign debt crisis.

Voters in Greece, the first crisis victim, handed first place to Syriza, the party which argues the bailouts weren’t generous enough, according to a NERIT TV exit poll that gave it as much as 30 percent support. In France, the anti-immigration National Front led with 25 percent, estimates by TNS Sofres, Ipsos and Ifop showed.

“The sovereign people have declared that they are taking their destiny back into their own hands,” Marine Le Pen, head of the National Front, told a rally in suburban Paris broadcast on France 2 television. It is time for “politics of the French, for the French, with the French.”

Greece’s Syriza Wins EU Elections in Warning to Samaras

By Marcus Bensasson and Nikos Chrysoloras  May 26, 2014 9:52 AM GMT+0300

Bloomberg

Greece’s main opposition Syriza party placed first in elections to the European Parliament without winning by a big enough margin to destabilize Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s government, with almost all votes counted.

“In the short run there is no problem of government stability,” Dimitris Sotiropoulos, associate professor of political science at the University of Athens, said in a phone interview. “While both governing parties have lost several percentage points each, their combined popular support is above the popular support of the main opposition.”

China-Russia Gas Deal Should Unleash A Euro-Fracking Revolution

Forbes

Christopher Helman

Forbes Staff

Russia and China today cut a $400 billion, 30-year deal whereby Gazprom will deliver at least 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to China annually. Russia will build $55 billion worth of pipelines and processing plants to deliver the gas from Siberia.

This is a lot of gas, about one-fifth of China’s current annual demand. And it should be causing concern across Europe, which last year relied on Russia for about 30% of its gas supply, or about 6 trillion cubic feet.

German state aims to revive "tight" gas fracking

Thu May 8, 2014 2:21pm GMT

* Lower Saxony houses most gas reserves, wants to exploit them

* Aims to raise acceptance in context of shale gas debate

By Vera Eckert

FRANKFURT, May 8 (Reuters) - Germany's state of Lower Saxony plans to launch a legal move in parliament next month that will seek to end a ban on new exploration for deep-lying gas using the "fracking" technology deployed in the country for over 30 years.

$400 Billion Gas Deal Shows Russia Looking To China To Replace Western Money

Forbes

Chris Wright, Contributor

The news that China and Russia have signed a $400 billion deal through which Gazprom will supply China National Petroleum Corp with 30 years of natural gas is the clearest illustration yet that Russia will be looking east, not west, for international funding.

Last week, in Will China Save Russia With Investment?, I reported a series of new Russia-China deals were about to be launched by the two countries’ sovereign wealth funds, the Russian Direct Investment Fund and China Investment Corporation. Those deals have since been announced: they involve Vcanland, a developer of tourism infrastructure and senior living communities; the first ever railway bridge over the Amur River on the Russia-China border; and logistics services investment.In dollar terms, they may have involved as much as $1 billion of investment, but while the number itself is insignificant compared to the outflows Russia is experiencing, the trend is very important – and is underlined by the new gas deal.

Greek current account deficit shrinks in March

Thu May 22, 2014 4:21am EDT

ATHENS, May 22 (Reuters) - Greece's current account deficit

shrank in March from the same month last year, according to

balance of payments figures released by the central bank on

Thursday.

    The deficit stood at 44 million euros ($60.12 million) from

1.24 billion euros in March 2013.

    Tourism revenues rose to 195 million euros in March from 151

million in the same month in 2013.

***************************************************************

    KEY FIGURES (bln euros)        2014         2013

    January                                     -0.295       -0.314

    February                                   -0.709       -0.684

    March                                       -0.044       -1.241

    -------------------------------------------------

    source: Bank of Greece   

($1 = 0.7318 Euros)

 (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Karolina

Tagaris)

A Finland model for Ukraine?

By David Ignatius, Published: May 21

The Washington Post

After months of war fever over Ukraine, perhaps the biggest surprise is that citizens there will be voting to choose a new government in elections that observers predict will be free and fair in most areas.

This electoral pathway for Ukraine seemed unlikely a few weeks ago, given Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea and his covert campaign to destabilize the Russian-speaking areas of eastern Ukraine. There were dire warnings of a new Cold War, and even of a ground war in Ukraine. The country seemed at risk of being torn apart.

Putin appears, at this writing, to have decided that Russia’s interests are better served by waiting — for the nonaligned government he expects will emerge from Sunday’s elections — than from an invasion or some radical destabilization. The Russian leader may be ready to accept a neutral country, between East and West, where Russia’s historical interests are recognized. During the Cold War, such an outcome was known as “Finlandization.”

Αποπληρώθηκαν τα «ομόλογα Αλογοσκούφη»

Τα σημερινά ομόλογα που έληξαν ήταν ύψους 4,4 δισ., πρόκειται για τα λεγόμενα ομόλογα Αλογοσκούφη, τα οποία είχαν δοθεί στις τράπεζες το 2008.

ΣΚΑΙ

Ομόλογα συνολικού ύψους 8,5 δισ. ευρώ αποπλήρωσε χθες Τρίτη και σήμερα Τετάρτη το ελληνικό δημόσιο.

Τα σημερινά ομόλογα που έληξαν ήταν ύψους 4,4 δισ., πρόκειται για τα λεγόμενα ομόλογα Αλογοσκούφη, τα οποία είχαν δοθεί στις τράπεζες το 2008.

Πιέσεις για νέο «κούρεμα» του χρέους

Μετά τις εκλογές θα ανοίξει η συζήτηση για τις πρόσθετες παρεμβάσεις που απαιτούνται προκειμένου να καταστεί βιώσιμο

Πέμπτη, 22 Μαΐου 2014 07:01

Ναυτεμπορική

Στη μελέτη για τη βιωσιμότητα του ελληνικού χρέους που θα ενσωματώνει η έκθεση του Διεθνούς Νομισματικού Ταμείου, η οποία θα εκδοθεί στις 30 Μαΐου, επικεντρώνεται το ενδιαφέρον στη μετεκλογική περίοδο, καθώς αναμένεται να σηματοδοτήσει την έναρξη των διαδικασιών για τον προσδιορισμό των πρόσθετων μέτρων μείωσης του χρέους.

Η αίσθηση που αφήνουν δηλώσεις στελεχών του Διεθνούς Νομισματικού Ταμείου, καθώς και πληροφορίες από το περιεχόμενο της έκθεσης, συνηγορούν πως το ΔΝΤ επιμένει στο νέο «κούρεμα», εκτιμώντας πως η επιμήκυνση της διάρκειας των δανείων της Ευρωζώνης και του EFSF, αλλά και η νέα μείωση των επιτοκίων δεν λύνουν το πρόβλημα της βιωσιμότητας του ελληνικού χρέους.

Στο μεταξύ, στη διάρκεια του περασμένου διημέρου, το ελληνικό Δημόσιο αποπλήρωσε ομόλογα που έληγαν και κατείχε η Ευρωπαϊκή Κεντρική Τράπεζα και οι κεντρικές τράπεζες, όπως και τα ομόλογα των ελληνικών τραπεζών τα οποία είχαν εκδοθεί το 2008 για την ενίσχυση της ρευστότητας της ελληνικής οικονομίας.

From Greek Crisis, to Turnaround

Structural reforms and increased competitiveness, not currency devaluation, are getting the economy back on track.

The Wall Street Journal

By GEORGE A. PROVOPOULOS

May 19, 2014 1:27 p.m. ET

Several years ago a chorus of voices predicted that Greece would have to exit the euro zone. The doomsayers had it that Greece would not be able to make the fiscal and economic reforms needed to keep the country in the euro, nor would it be able to save its banking system in the face of an unprecedented sovereign-debt crisis. According to the doomsayers, attempts to bring down the budget deficit and restore competitiveness would lead to painful and politically unacceptable consequences, while a collapse of the banking system was inevitable. Recently, however, the sirens of doom have been silenced. How did that happen?

European Elections to Test Greek Coalition

There is one country where the European parliamentary elections really do matter—Greece.

By SIMON NIXON

The Wall Street Journal

May 18, 2014 5:45 p.m. ET

There seems to be a broad consensus—among voters and in the markets—that this week's European parliamentary elections don't matter very much.

Although the Parliament has gained new powers over the years, few voters identify with it. Polls suggest many will see the election as an opportunity to cast protest votes for populist parties. Most voters suspect the outcome will make little difference to the future direction of Europe, which will in any case continue to be set by national leaders and parliaments.

Serbia floods threaten country's biggest power plant

Sandbags stacked around Nikola Tesla plant 20 miles outside Belgrade as thousands of people are evacuated in Bosnia

Reuters in Obrenovac

The guardian.com,

Monday 19 May 2014 11.22 BST

Soldiers and energy workers have stacked thousands of sandbags to protect Serbia's biggest power plant from flood waters, which are expected to keep rising after the heaviest rains in the Balkans in more than a century killed dozens of people.

On Monday, Bosnian state radio reported that the swollen Sava river, which has wreaked havoc in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia, had again overwhelmed flood defences late on Sunday and flooded parts of the northern town of Orasje.

Libya evacuation decision 'minute by minute,' U.S. official says

By Jomana Karadsheh and Barbara Starr, CNN

May 20, 2014 -- Updated 0551 GMT (1351 HKT)

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- The U.S. military has doubled the number of aircraft standing by in Italy if needed to evacuate Americans from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, CNN has learned.

A decision to evacuate as violence in the Libyan capital grows is "minute by minute, hour by hour," a defense official told CNN on Monday.

Fierce fighting swept across the city Sunday after armed men stormed the country's interim Parliament. Sporadic bursts of gunfire and blasts could still be heard on the outskirts of the capital Monday evening.

The violence appeared to be some of the worst since the 2011 revolution that ousted longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Ukraine Crisis Pushing Putin Toward China

The New York Times
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR and DAVID M. HERSZENHORNMAY 19, 2014

MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin said Monday that he was withdrawing Russian troops from the border with Ukraine, the second time he has said that in less than two weeks. He also praised the government in Kiev, which he had previously called an illegal, fascist junta, for its willingness to negotiate structural changes.

But the intended audience for these conciliatory remarks may not have been the United States and Europe, who would distrust them in any event. No, Mr. Putin’s gaze was more likely fixed on China, where he arrives on Tuesday by all accounts determined to show that he, too, wants to pivot to Asia.

While Mr. Putin has been casting an eye eastward practically since he returned to the presidency in 2012, the crisis in relations with the West over Ukraine has made ties to Asia, and particularly relations with its economic engine, China, a key strategic priority. With Europe trying to wean itself off Russian gas, and the possibility of far more serious Western sanctions looming should the crisis deepen, Moscow needs an alternative.

U.S. accuses China of cyber spying on American companies

BY JIM FINKLE, JOSEPH MENN AND ARUNA VISWANATHA

Mon May 19, 2014 6:04pm EDT

(Reuters) - The United States on Monday charged five Chinese military officers and accused them of hacking into American nuclear, metal and solar companies to steal trade secrets, ratcheting up tensions between the two world powers over cyber espionage.

China immediately denied the charges, saying in a strongly worded Foreign Ministry statement the U.S. grand jury indictment was "made up" and would damage trust between the two nations.

Officials in Washington have argued for years that cyber espionage is a top national security concern. The indictment was the first criminal hacking charge that the United States has filed against specific foreign officials, and follows a steady increase in public criticism and private confrontation, including at a summit last year between U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

No Clear Winner in First Round of Greek Local Elections

By Nikos Chrysoloras and Paul Tugwell  May 19, 2014 9:23 AM GMT+0300

Bloomberg

The first round of local and regional elections in Greece ended yesterday with no single party securing enough support to declare a decisive victory.

“Personalities won over political parties, as independent candidates are ahead in the country’s three largest cities,” said Loukas Tsoukalis, president of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, an Athens-based think-tank. “The results show the fragmentation of Greece’s political landscape,” he said in a phone interview yesterday.

A troubled union

There’s something wrong with Europe. No one can agree what

May 17th 2014

The Economist

IS THE euro crisis over? To judge from how often the words appear in global media (down by three-quarters between early 2012 and early 2014), the answer is yes. Markets have calmed since July 2012, when the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Mario Draghi, promised to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro. Ireland and now Portugal are climbing out of their bail-out programmes. Even Greece, where the crisis began, has just sold debt.

Yet, as these books all argue, the crisis was always about more than whether financial markets would buy government debt. It raised broad worries over how countries with widely differing levels of prosperity, competitiveness, public spending and taxes, and regulation of labour and product markets, could share a currency without economic shocks blowing them apart. And it was about whether euro-zone voters would accept low growth, high unemployment and a permanent loss of sovereignty to the centre. None of these concerns has been fully dealt with.

Peripheral bonds deepen losses amid Greek tax and political fears

BY JOHN GEDDIE

LONDON Fri May 16, 2014 4:56am EDT

May 16 (Reuters) - Lower-rated euro zone bond prices slipped on Friday, deepening sharp falls on Thursday triggered by nervousness about the stability of the Greek government, a tax on foreign holders of Greek bonds, and weak growth.

Greek bailout is no success story, EU candidate Tsipras says

Thu May 15, 2014 8:04pm EDT

* Greek EU Commission candidate wants end to austerity

* Tsipras appears for first time in televised debates

* Opposes sanctions against Russia over Ukraine

By Harry Papachristou

Greece: Tax on Foreign Holders of Bonds Won't Be Imposed Retroactively

Greek 10-Year Yields Spiked By More Than Half a Percentage Point to 6.72%, Highest in Seven Weeks

The Wall Street Journal

By MATINA STEVIS

May 15, 2014 11:45 a.m. ET

LONDON—The Greek finance ministry said Thursday a tax on foreign holders of Greek bonds that had caught investors' attention wasn't being imposed retroactively.

Out of Office, Geithner’s View on U.S. Exposure to the Euro Crisis Shifts

 The Wall Street Journal

By  IAN TALLEY

Don’t panic. There’s nothing to worry about.

That’s essentially what former U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in 2011, when asked if Europe’s crisis threatened the U.S. financial system. “No, absolutely no,” Mr. Geithner told House lawmakers in an October 7 hearing. “The overall picture is very limited direct exposure,” he said.

That’s contrary to the narrative presented Wednesday by Mark Sobel, who had a front row seat to the crisis as a top Treasury diplomat and is now the administration’s nominee to represent the U.S. on the International Monetary Fund’s executive board.

“Had Greece defaulted or left the euro at the time, I feel there would have been potentially massive contagion also within the euro zone,” Mr. Sobel told a Senate nomination hearing Wednesday. “This would have had a tremendously detrimental impact not only on the — not only on the world but particularly in the U.S.,” he said.