Euro Becomes the Port in a Storm

As Central Banks Mull Pullback of Easy Money, Investors Turn to Relatively Stable European Currency

By MATTHEW WALTER and NICOLE HONG

The Wall Street Journal

The euro is emerging as an unlikely oasis in the latest bout of market turmoil.

Assets ranging from Japanese stocks to emerging-market bonds to U.S. Treasurys have slumped this spring, as investors brace for the possible pullback from easy-money policies by the world's major central banks. But the euro has largely avoided the volatile trading that has whipsawed other currencies, including the dollar and the Japanese yen, gaining about 4% against the greenback over the past four weeks to trade late Friday at $1.3345, near a four-month high.

Greek PM offers to reopen state broadcaster-govt source

ATHENS, June 17 | Mon Jun 17, 2013 1:59pm EDT

(Reuters) - Greece's prime minister has offered to quickly restart state broadcaster ERT under temporary management, a government official said on Monday, in a bid to defuse a political crisis and avoid snaps elections.

Jean-Paul Philippot, European Broadcasting Union Chief, Arrives In Greece To Support State TV Employees

June 15, 2013

The Huffington Post

By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS 06/14/13 04:05 PM ET EDT   

ATHENS, Greece — Greece's prime minister has raised the stakes in a fight with key government allies over his decision to shut "sinful" state-run TV, offering a minor compromise while suggesting he would risk early elections unless they back him.

A Chance to Do Better on Greece

June 14, 2013

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

The New York Times

The International Monetary Fund now has a chance to show what it has learned from past policy mistakes on Greece, mistakes it acknowledged last week. This week a delegation from the fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission was in Athens to review Greek compliance with the terms of the latest bailout agreement, a condition for releasing this month’s $4 billion installment. Greek officials said they hoped the European examiners would show new flexibility on changing the agreement’s more counterproductive requirements.

Greece Shuts Broadcaster in Bid to Show Resolve

ATHENS — Under pressure from its creditors to cut public employment, the Greek government said Tuesday that it was closing down its state-run television and radio broadcaster, idling 2,900 people — less than 1 percent of the public work force — and outraging the country’s powerful labor unions.

Describing the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, known as ERT, as a “haven of waste,” a government spokesman said ERT, which went off the air at 11 p.m. local time, would reopen soon as a “modern state organization” with a fraction of the current staff.

Greece's Alpha Bank raises private capital to avoid state control

ATHENS, June 3 | Mon Jun 3, 2013 5:28am EDT

(Reuters) - Greece's third-largest lender Alpha Bank raised more than the required proportion of a share offering to plug a capital hole from private investors, allowing its existing managers to keep control.

Alpha is the first of the country's biggest banks to successfully recapitalise without falling under the full control of a bank rescue fund, which is financed from Greece's international bailout package.

Possibility of Grexit is now "remote", Greek cenbank says

ATHENS | Wed May 29, 2013 2:36pm

May 29 (Reuters) - Fears that Greece may exit the euro zone are now remote but its economy will stay in recession for a sixth straight year in 2013 and unemployment will rise further before recovery sets in next year, the country's central bank said on Wednesday.

Softer Austerity Message As EU Sets New Budget Goals

The Wall Street Journal

By MATINA STEVIS and LAURENCE NORMAN

BRUSSELS—The European Commission confirmed Wednesday that it was giving France, Spain, the Netherlands and two other countries extra time to meet their deficit targets as Brussels softened its insistence on austerity-first policies.

France, the European Union's second-biggest economy, received two extra years to cut its deficit to 3% of gross domestic product, pushing the deadline to 2015. The commission is proposing a deficit target of 3.9% of GDP for this year and 3.6% in 2014.

Krugman Accused of ‘Uncivil Behavior’

May 26, 2013, 6:29 PM

The Wall Street Journal

The gloves are off in the roiling academic dispute over the merits of austerity and the dangers of debt.

In the latest round, Harvard economists Kenneth Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart accused Princeton economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman of “spectacularly uncivil behavior” and the inaccurate allegation that they refused to share data supporting their work linking heavy debt levels to subsequent slow economic growth.

Luring Tourists Back to Greece

The New York Times

By LIZ ALDERMAN

Published: May 22, 2013

The sun was blazing above the Acropolis, draping the ivory pillars of the Parthenon in a golden sheen. The red-tiled roof of the ancient Agora museum glimmered in the heat, and a breeze ruffled the boughs of olive trees. On the rough cobbles of Plaka, a cafe-lined tourist area, crowds of camera-toting visitors paused to soak it all in.

Greece’s government: Up, but not out

Greece has performed better than expected, but still has much to do

May 25th 2013 | ATHENS

The Economist

WHAT a difference a year makes. Last May Greece seemed to be heading out of the euro. Lagging reforms, political in-fighting and violent protests had worn out creditors’ patience. An election failed to produce a clear winner. Athenians stashed euros in safety-deposit boxes and under mattresses amid fears of instability and a chaotic return to the drachma.

EU may give Greece more time to meet fiscal targets: Dijsselbloem

ATHENS | Thu May 23, 2013 3:20am EDT

(Reuters) - The euro zone may give Greece more time to meet fiscal targets agreed under its international bailout, the chairman of the euro zone finance ministers said in an interview published on Thursday.

UPDATE 1-Gazprom pushes for concessions in sale of Greece's DEPA

Tue May 21, 2013 2:28pm EDT

* Binding bids for DEPA due May 29

* Sintez, SOCAR to bid for DEPA's gas grid unit DESFA (Adds meeting between Gazprom chief and Greek Prime Minister)

By Harry Papachristou

ATHENS, May 21 (Reuters) - Gazprom is squeezing Athens for better terms to buy DEPA, Greece's sole retail gas distributor, a Greek official said, as the Russian gas export monopoly leverages its position as the only major player in the running.

Greece Isn’t Turning the Corner

By Megan Greene May 20, 2013 12:56 AM GMT+0300

Bloomgerg

 (Corrects Greece’s projected 2015-16 budget funding gap in 15th paragraph.)

Judging from the markets and English-speaking news media this week, Greece’s damaged economy has finally turned the corner. I doubt it.

UPDATE 1-Greece slow on asset sales but may tap bond market soon-EU/IMF

Fri, May 17 2013

* Pace of privatisations unsatisfactory - EU/IMF report

* Athens might try to tap bond markets in 2014 - EU official

* Country needs 4 bln euros extra savings to meet 2016 goals

BRUSSELS/ATHENS, May 17 (Reuters) - Greece's foreign lenders expressed concern at its slow pace of asset sales on Friday but praised the country for tackling its budget gap and said it may be able to tap bond markets in 2014.

Samaras Seeks China Investment to Revive Battered Greek Economy

By Bloomberg News - May 17, 2013

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras promised to give the “red-carpet treatment” to foreign investors as he visited China to help revive an economy that contracted for the 19th straight quarter.

Bond Rally Feeds Greek Recovery

The Wall Street Journal

Greek bonds rallied further today on news late Tuesday that Fitch was upgrading the country from CCC to B-minus, pushing yields to their lowest levels in nearly three years and adding fresh impetus to the first steps of recovery. After highs of 36.58% in 2011, the 10 year yield fell to 8.15% Wednesday, according to Tradeweb.

Greek 3-month borrowing costs hit lowest in two years

ATHENS | Tue May 14, 2013 5:24am EDT

May 14 (Reuters) - Greek borrowing costs fell to their lowest since April 2011 in a sale of 1.3 billion euros ($1.69 billion) worth of government Treasury bills on Tuesday, the country's debt agency PDMA said.

The T-bills were priced to yield 4.02 percent, down from 4.05 percent in a previous auction last month. The sale's bid-cover ratio was 1.75, up from 1.65 in the previous auction. Monthly T-bill sales are Greece's sole remaining source of market funding. (Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas; Writing by Karolina Tagaris; Editing by Harry Papachristou)

Cyprus Gets First Aid Tranche as Greece Cash Backed

By Corina Ruhe and Karl Stagno Navarra - May 13, 2013

Bloomberg

Cyprus received its first emergency aid payment and Greece won approval of 7.5 billion euros ($9.7 billion) of rescue loans.

Cyprus received 2 billion euros today and will get as much as 1 billion euros more in June as the Mediterranean island’s 10 billion-euro aid package was activated, the European Stability Mechanism, the euro area’s permanent backstop fund, said in a statement.

ECB says has tools left to act if needed

By Sakari Suoninen and Martin Santa

AACHEN, Germany/BRUSSELS | Wed May 8, 2013 1:45pm EDT

(Reuters) - The European Central Bank still has room to maneuver should the euro zone economy continue to worsen after it cut interest rates to a new record low last week, ECB policymakers said on Wednesday.