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Welcome, 77 artists, 40 different points of Attica welcomes you by singing Erotokritos an epic romance written at 1713 by Vitsentzos Kornaros

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Gold hits 11-month high after ECB; $1800 in sight


Sky News Australia

Gold hits 11-month high after ECB; $1800 in sight
Reuters
By Frank Tang | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gold rose to its highest price in 11 months on Thursday, with the market's sights set firmly on $1800 an ounce, as the inflation-hedge appeal of bullion was bolstered by signs the European Central Bank intends to ...
ECB's Draghi Says Bond-Buying Program Is ReadyWall Street Journal
News Summary: Spain nudged to take up bond planBusinessweek
Central Bank Actions Have 'Alleviated Tensions' in Euro Zone, President SaysNew York Times
The Associated Press -Fox Business -Financial Times
all 1,793 news articles »

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Former Greek gov't official is found hanged


Former Greek gov't official is found hanged
Huffington Post
THESSALONIKI, Greece — Greek police say a former government official has been found hanged in his home in central Greece. Leonidas Tzanis, 57, a former Socialist lawmaker and deputy interior minister from 1999 to 2001, was found dead by his wife late ...

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Greek former deputy minister found hanged at home, police treating death as a ...


Greek former deputy minister found hanged at home, police treating death as a ...
Washington Post
THESSALONIKI, Greece — Greek police say a former government official has been found hanged in his home in central Greece. Leonidas Tzanis, 57, a former Socialist lawmaker and deputy interior minister from 1999 to 2001, was found dead by his wife late ...


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Greece says still seeking more time to pay off debt


Kathimerini

Greece says still seeking more time to pay off debt
Chicago Tribune
PARIS (Reuters) - Greece is still hoping the European Central Bank will agree to give it more time to repay debt and allow euro zone rescue funds to be used to recapitalize its banks, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Thursday. He said Greece ...
The ECB's hair-splitting exercise on GreeceCredit Writedowns (blog)
ECB chief rejects further restructuring for GreeceKathimerini
Greece: Athens won't get extra time to pay off debt, DraghiANSAmed

all 1,622 news articles »

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Cyprus Aims for 11.5 Bln Euro Bailout Package

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Officials say Cyprus is aiming to get a eurozone bailout of about €11.5 billion ($14.9 billion) to recapitalize its troubled banks and meet short-term fiscal needs. Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly says the country needs around €4 billion to cover expenses until 2016. But he refuses to say how much Greece-exposed banks would need, only that government estimates differ greatly from those of the so-called troika — the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Two officials told the AP Thursday — on condition of anonymity because negotiations are ongoing — that the finance ministry puts banks'...

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Austerity has worsened Greek crisis, says institute

Institute of International Finance says politicians put desire for debt reduction ahead of efforts to spur growth

An influential group of international banks and insurers has attacked political leaders in Europe over their handling of the Greek crisis, arguing that the single minded pursuit of austerity has made the situation worse.

The Institute of International Finance, which last year brokered a deal between Greece and international bond investors to halve Greece's private debts, said politicians are playing a dangerous game putting their desire for debt reduction ahead of co-ordinated efforts to spur growth.

Charles Dallara, the institute's chairman, said the world's major economies needed to co-ordinate their efforts or risk persistent instability and low growth.

Dallara, who was speaking ahead of the International Monetary Fund gathering in Tokyo next week, said governments were acting against their best interests by rejecting multilateral agreement on economic and regulatory reforms in favour of pursuing go-it-alone policies.

Dallara said: "The international financial community has a collective interest in reducing the uncertainty that currently surrounds the global economic outlook. If we want to lay the basis for a durable global economic expansion, then we need to see more concerted action by the world's policymakers."

European policymakers are expected to come under fire at the IMF for their failure bring an end to the current crisis, which has triggered riots in Portugal, Spain and Greece.

Spain is poised to apply for a bailout from the European Union and the IMF that could amount to €400bn. Cyprus is expected to ask for an £11bn bailout within days.

The uncertainty surrounding the finances of key European nations has added to the instability, Dallara said.

Central banks have flooded the world's financial systems with cheap funds to foster lending to businesses and households while banks rebuild their finances, but a disjointed and often contradictory response to financial regulation meant much of the funds were not reaching their destination.

"The world economy appears to be stuck at the crossroads, being pushed in one direction by easier monetary policy, and pulled in another by fiscal austerity," he said.

The situation in Greece is of particular concern, he said, where unemployment has rocketed and poverty increased dramatically.

The institute said the interest rate demanded by Brussels as the price of Athens' rescue package should be cut to lessen the burden and allow the country to recover.

"It is urgent to complete the ongoing review of Greece's programme, with an extension of the time schedule of budget deficit targets. The latter can and could be accommodated without additional new financing by lowering interest charges on official credits in line with markedly reduced funding costs," he said.

Portugal's political consensus is also crumbling under the weight of austerity measures that have pushed the economy into a long depression.

Portugese unions have called for a general strike on 14 November after the government announced a new basket of tax rises and spending cuts, after withdrawing the previous batch following violent protests.

The European Central Bank said that a rescue package for Spain would not include "punitive" costs, as it kept base rates at 0.75%.

ECB president, Mario Draghi, hinted that he preferred to keep some of his armoury in reserve in case the economic situation for the 17-member eurozone deteriorates further.

Draghi said he stood ready to launch the ECB's latest sovereign bond buying scheme, which offers individual countries the opportunity to sell their bonds at low interest rates to remain solvent, but he has yet to receive any applications.

But as if to exemplify the splits inside the eurozone, German finance minister Wolgang SchaĆ¼ble insisted that austerity measures be in place before the release of bailout funds. SchaĆ¼ble, who has a reputation as a fiscal hardliner, has previously blocked attempts to ease controls and cut interest rates on country's struggling with their debts.

Dallara said a small group of key G20 nations, including the US and Japan should co-ordinate their efforts to tackle fundamental problems to spur growth.

"We call on the global policymaking leadership to act cohesively and give a clear direction. The international private financial community stands ready to do its part and cooperate, with its usual responsibility, with the official sector," he said.


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Greek PM: Would Be "Very Positive" if ECB Rolled over Greek Bonds


Greek PM: Would Be "Very Positive" if ECB Rolled over Greek Bonds
Fox Business
The Greek prime minister also said having access to the European Stability Mechanism to recapitalize its banks, instead of using borrowed money, would significantly cut the country's debt-to-gross domestic product ratio. Earlier Thursday, the ECB head ...


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IMF Won't Disburse Greek Loan If Debt Not Sustainable


Bloomberg

IMF Won't Disburse Greek Loan If Debt Not Sustainable
Businessweek
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde last week warned that the level of Greek debt would have “to be addressed,” pushing European policy makers to consider writing off some of the aid to the country. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg ...
IIF's Dallara Says Urges Easing of Greek BailoutBloomberg
IIF: EU, ECB, IMF Should Lower Greek Loan Interest RatesWall Street Journal
No timeline for conclusion of Greek talks: IMF spokesmanReuters
Economic Times
all 27 news articles »

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Why Do Bankers Make So Many Stupid Mistakes?

If you think French bankers are smart, you better think again. Back in 2006, Credit Agricole (OTC:CRARY) spent 2.2 billion euros to buy a majority stake in Athens-based Emporiki Bank, which sold recently for $1 to another Greek bank, Alpha Bank! Add another 550 million euros capital injection last July, and Credit Agricole?s on the hook for 2.75 billion.

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Greek politics: Immigrants as scapegoats





PROTESTERS in wheelchairs jeered and whistled as officials from the “troika”—the European Commission, the IMF and the European Central Bank—arrived at the labour ministry on October 2nd to press for yet more public-expenditure cuts. Beleaguered Greeks are set to endure a sixth year of recession in 2013. Greek budget planners forecast a 3.8-4% contraction, the IMF a more pessimistic 5%.Yannis Stournaras, the finance minister, is under huge pressure to find an extra €2 billion ($2.6 billion) of last-minute savings to appease the troika. Antonis Samaras, the centre-right prime minister, has an even harder task: persuading the coalition government’s left-wing partners to accept tighter austerity. Both still sound confident a deal will be reached, though the timetable is likely to slip by a couple of weeks.Delays are not helpful for Mr Samaras. He has struggled during his first 100 days in office to keep his fragile coalition together while Mr Stournaras put together a €13.5 billion austerity package in return for Greece’s second €130 billion bail-out. At the European summit on October 18th, the premier promised that...


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Shire could find new uses for hyperactivity drug says broker, as FTSE 100 caution continues

Morgan Stanley positive about pharmaceutical group's prospects after meeting with senior directors

Shire's best known drug Vyvanse could prove a multi-million dollar winner in new areas away from its main use as a treatment for hyperactivity, the City believes.

Following a lunch with company directors, analysts at Shire's house broker Morgan Stanley said the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drug could also be used to treat depression, schizophrenia and binge eating. Analyst Peter Verdult forecast potential sales of $500m to $2bn from these new areas, which could add between 110p and 400p a share to the company's value. He said:

While the market remains sceptical about the potential of Vyvanse ex-ADHD we note phase 3 depression data in the third quarter of 2013 and potentially phase 3 schizophrenia and binge eating disorder by the end of 2013. Vyvanse in ADHD currently does $1.1bn in sales and is protected until 2024. We forecast peak sales of $3.5bn with $0.5bn coming from new uses.

We argue the current share price gives investors a free option to play this upside opportunity.

Verdult also suggested Shire could be on the takeover trail:

We forecast $1bn-$2bn free cash flow per annum until 2015, and note a net cash balance sheet. While acknowledging a mixed track record with respect to M&A - write downs on Movetis are expected - [it] continues to be pursued to "both diversify growth and sustain current platforms"; we expect a focus on the orphan drugs and regenerative medicine businesses.

Shire closed 4p lower at £18.20.

Overall, investors remained cautious as Spain, Greece and Portugal continued to dominate the eurozone crisis. Tensions between Turkey and Syria added to the nervous mood. With the Bank of England and European Central Bank both leaving interest rates and asset purchases as they were, the focus now will be on Friday's US non-farm payroll figures, especially in the light of the current American election campaign. So the FTSE 100 finished virtually unchanged, up 1.97 points at 5827.78.

Tesco was the leading faller in the FTSE 100, down another 9.8p to 318.15p after Wednesday's news of its first fall in profits for 20 years. In a sell note Dave McCarthy at Investec said:

Tesco disappointed with its interims, missing trading profit expectations by around 3%, leading to further downgrades to forecasts (we cut earnings per share by around 7%). This is on top of other recent downgrades. Tesco pointed to an improvement in UK sales, but this still represents a significant like for like volume loss. Meanwhile problems in Asia and Europe are mounting and the US continues to lose money, while the bank is standing still on an underlying basis. We remain concerned and believe that Tesco strategy needs a major overhaul.

Russian steelmaker Evraz slipped 2.2p to 245.1p after it paid $800m in cash and shares to raise its stake in coal miner Raspadskaya from 41% to 82%. A recent decline in the oil price left BP 4.85p lower at 434.2p.

But Tate and Lyle added 12.5p to 687p after a couple of broker upgrades.

Martin Deboo at Investec raised his price target on the sweeteners and starches maker from 650p to 700p after its recent trading update, although he kept his hold recommendation. He said:

The second quarter commentary was better than our expectations, with volume growth in speciality food ingredients (against a tough comp) key. Meanwhile, the hurdle represented by the pricing rounds looks to be lowering. So the outlook is getting brighter and we upgrade our 2013 estimate by 2%. But corn prices remain volatile and Mexico remains a fickle mistress.

With the first half well-guided, we see the investor seminar in Chicago in December, the first for 4 years, as key to sentiment. As it is for us. We understand the bull case on this stock, but need to check its horns.

Meanwhile Credit Suisse raised its rating from neutral to outperform and its price target from 700p to 750p:

There is no easy way to value Tate & Lyle, but it does seem to us to be a better business for all the changes we have seen and that this is not reflected in the share price (which is down 8% year to date versus a staples sector up 18%)

Intercontinental Hotels climbed 30p to £16.69 after better than expected third quarter earnings from US peer Marriott International.

Good results from Ted Baker pushed its shares 7.5p higher to 921p and helped lift Next 93p to £35.92 and Marks & Spencer 3.7p to 365.5p.

A few days after cherry picking the stores it wanted from stricken rival JJB, Mike Ashley's Sports Direct International hosted an analyst visit to its Shirebrook headquarters, and it seems to have gone well. The company's shares climbed 22.8p to an all time high of 382.8p and Seymour Pierce said:

We were a buyer and supporter of the stock all the way up from 35p to the 300p level when we moved to hold in April 2012 as we were concerned about the valuation. Following the analyst visit yesterday, we are upgrading our recommendation to buy and raising our price target to 420p. We came back reassured that in particular the internet strategy is taking shape, is picking up momentum and is a major focus of management. We are also coming to believe that the company could be a major force in the sporting goods category on the internet not only in the UK but also overseas.

Mitchells & Butlers added 8.6p to 301p after horseracing tycoons JP McManus and John Magnier bought 7m shares in the pubs group through their Elpida vehicle, taking their stake to 22.47%. Joe Lewis, the billionaire currency trader, owns 26.3% and saw two bids for the business rejected last year. Shareholders have been unhappy about the dominance of the major shareholders, with no independent directors on the board.

Lower down the market Promethean World plunged 26% to 17.5p after the maker of interactive whiteboards issued another profit warning.


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The ECB's hair-splitting exercise on Greece


Kathimerini

The ECB's hair-splitting exercise on Greece
Credit Writedowns (blog)
Press reports suggest that the IMF may want to pullout of further aid for Greece, but at the same time is pressing for official sector involvement (OSI) putting Greece's debt on a more sustainable path. It seems easy for it to advocate OSI for the ...
ECB chief rejects further restructuring for GreeceKathimerini
Greece: Athens won't get extra time to pay off debt, DraghiANSAmed

all 1,562 news articles »

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Analysis: Europe braces for return of Germany's "Madame Non"

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel is hardening her stance on additional help for struggling euro zone economies like Greece and Spain as pressure from parliamentary allies and a looming election campaign shrink her room for maneuver in Europe.



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Latest austerity plan deepens Greek consumer gloom in September


Latest austerity plan deepens Greek consumer gloom in September
Reuters
ATHENS (Reuters) - Sentiment on Greece's economy weakened slightly in September as a marked drop in consumer confidence offset improved prospects in industry and services, the country's leading economic institute said on Thursday. The Foundation for ...
Greek Sentiment Dips on Talk of CutbacksCapital.gr (press release)

all 15 news articles »

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German finmin says euro crisis states doing well except Greece


German finmin says euro crisis states doing well except Greece
Reuters
BERLIN Oct 4 (Reuters) - With the exception of Greece, all countries in the euro zone hit by the debt crisis have made good headway on economic reforms, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Thursday. "All of the countries which are in a ...

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IMF's Rice Says Greek Program Must Be Fully Funded to Disburse


IMF's Rice Says Greek Program Must Be Fully Funded to Disburse
Bloomberg
The International Monetary Fund needs assurances that any financing gap in the Greek loan will be filled and that the country's debt is on a sustainable path before the IMF can disburse its share of the bailout, a fund spokesman said. IMF Managing ...
No timeline for conclusion of Greek talks: IMF spokesmanReuters

all 12 news articles »

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German finance minister says euro crisis states doing well except Greece

BERLIN (Reuters) - With the exception of Greece, all countries in the euro zone hit by the debt crisis have made good headway on economic reforms, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Thursday. "All of the countries which are in a program, except Greece, which is in a particularly difficult situation... have made remarkable progress," Schaeuble told a conference. "Even though they are not in a program, what Spain and Italy have achieved is grand," he added. ...

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Protesters barge into Defense Ministry grounds in Athens


Protesters barge into Defense Ministry grounds in Athens
The Republic
ATHENS, Greece — Greek police clashed with scores of protesting shipyard workers Thursday after they forced their way into the grounds of Greece's Defense Ministry in Athens. More than 100 protesters forced open the shuttered entrance to the ministry ...


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Latest austerity plan deepens Greek consumer gloom in Sept


Latest austerity plan deepens Greek consumer gloom in Sept
Reuters
ATHENS, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Sentiment on Greece's economy weakened slightly in September as a marked drop in consumer confidence offset improved prospects in industry and services, the country's leading economic institute said on Thursday.
Greek Sentiment Dips on Talk of CutbacksCapital.gr (press release)

all 13 news articles »

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Greek campaign aims to end hazing


Greek campaign aims to end hazing
Daily Athenaeum
Last week, West Virginia University's Theta Chi chapter of Sigma Kappa launched their RespEKt campaign to raise awareness of the dangers and prevalence of hazing in any organization – whether it is academic, athletic or Greek life. Three events were ...

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Greek Shipyard Workers Clash With Police

Greek shipyard workers clashed with riot police after protesters stormed the country's defense ministry in a dispute over unpaid wages.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT online.wsj.com

French bank Societe Generale in talks to sell Greek subsidiary Geniki to ...


Kathimerini

French bank Societe Generale in talks to sell Greek subsidiary Geniki to ...
Washington Post
PARIS — French bank Societe Generale said Wednesday that it was in discussions to sell its Greek subsidiary Geniki to Greece's Piraeus Bank. Shares in Societe Generale, France's second-largest bank, slid immediately after the announcement and were ...
SocGen in Exclusive Talks with Piraeus Bank for Greek Unit SaleWall Street Journal
Societe Generale in talks to sell Geniki to Piraeus BankReuters
Societe Generale in talks to sell Greek subsidiaryWGME
RTT News -Equities.com
all 154 news articles »

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Greek Economic Sentiment Dipped in September Amid Talks Impasse


Greek Economic Sentiment Dipped in September Amid Talks Impasse
Bloomberg
Greek economic sentiment worsened in September as the government failed to conclude talks with international lenders on 13.5 billion euros ($17.5 billion) of austerity measures for the next two years. An index measuring short-term economic trends fell ...
Greek Economic Sentiment Dips on Talk of CutbacksWall Street Journal

all 5 news articles »

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