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How the world sees Greece
Friday, June 7, 2013
Happy Days Arent Here Again In Greece
(Photo/Andy Dabilis) This photo was taken in August, 2012 of a store in downtown Athens that had been open for 60 years. It has joined the ranks of more than 68,000 that have shut because of austerity, but Prime Minister Antonis Samaras says he sees recovery. Perhaps you remember reading about a basket case called Greece. The first domino to fall in the Eurozone crisis, it was officially broke ...
Manolada Wants 4160 Greek Strawberry Pickers
Strawberry producers in South Manolada and Vouprasia are offering jobs to Greeks as strawberry pickers. According to ilialive.gr, 4,160 workers are expected to submit an application to the Manpower Employment Organization (OAED) of Amaliada for the current and the new strawberry crops. The workers must be recruited by June 12 as time is pressing, according to sources on the producers’ ...
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Greek Average Pension 694.56 Euros
?he average pension granted by insurance funds reaches 694,56 euros, while the average of supplementary pensions reaches 178,48 euros. The scheme, Helios, was created after Greece carried out its first census of pensioners to eradicate false claimants. According to Helios’ data presented by the Ministry of Labor, the total amount paid for the pensions of June by the funds reaches 2 ...
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Coca-Cola HBC to hold a general shareholders meeting on June 28
Coca-Cola HBC AG, the company whose stock has the biggest capitalization in the Greek bourse, is to hold a general shareholders meeting on June 28 to decide on its delisting from the Athens ...
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Debt Crisis Greece sacrificed to save euro
The IMF bailout of Greece has above all allowed its creditors to dodge their responsibilities and guard against contagion. The Greeks should revolt and renegotiate the terms of the loan, writes To ...
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Special Report The tortured activist whose fate tells Turkish protesters don?t seek refuge in Greece
Bulut Yayla, a Turkish archaeology student and left-wing activist, says he travelled to Greece in April this year to escape imprisonment and torture he endured under the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ...
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Greek student arrested in Istanbul riots returns home
A Greek student who was detained earlier this week in Istanbul amid ongoing anti-government protests returned to Greece on Friday after being deported by the Turkish authorities.Giorgos Iatridis, who was in Istanbul under the Erasmus student exchange program, faced a prosecutor on Thursday but was not charged.Another 12 foreign students had been taken into custody following a police crackdown on ...
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Athens asks for EU help with illegal immigrant repatriations
Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias (photo) on Friday urged the European Commission to put pressure on the governments of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iraq and other countries with high rates of emigration to accept the repatriation of their citizens by the Greek authorities.Greece is a main transit point for illegal migration into the European Union. During a meeting of the ...
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Greeces economic drop worse than estimated
Bengal artisans who constitute more than 80% of the workforce in the country's gold trade fear that they might lose jobs if demand dies down following the latest ...
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Greek economy shrinks further EU hits back at IMF over bailout
Greece’s economy continues to contract. It shrank 5.6 percent between January and March from the same period last year. It was the 19th straight quarter of decline and followed a 5.7 percent slump in the fourth quarter of 2012. Greece is stuck in a spiral of falling consumption and investment. Athens has blamed the austerity measures forced on it by the European Union and the ...
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General ?Black Out? in Healthcare
Greek health workers have staged a rally in the capital, Athens, to protest against the government(TM)s austerity measures in the public sector. Doctors, nurses, hospital staff and ambulance drivers from across the country demonstrated outside the Health Ministry on Friday in protest to what they called the collapse of the country(TM)s health system following the cutbacks in funding, staff and ...
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Non-credit sector blue chips help bourse index end on a high
After spending most of the day in the red during a session of thin trade, the Greek ...
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Troikas Nobel Prize For Fiction
While the Troika points fingers, and the Greek government relents to its demands, the victims of austerity remain on the streets, left to play the hunger games. The members of the Troika, who hold Greece's fate in their hands, are engaged in a public brawl. The European Union (EU), International Monetary Fund (IMF), and European Central Bank (ECB) are fighting over who is right and wrong ...
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Papaconstantinou to receive Lagarde list probe case file on Monday
Former Minister of Finance Giorgos Papaconstantinou is to appear before an emergency session of the parliamentary committee probing his handling of the so-called Lagarde list of wealthy Greeks on Monday in order to receive a copy of the case file so he can prepare to testify before the panel.In a fiery speech before Parliament on Thursday, which preceded a vote by MPs to widen the scope of a ...
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Samaras to meet advisers coalition partners ahead of troika officials? return
Moderator Peter Spiegel, (L-R) Prime Ministers Enda Kenny of Ireland, Antonis Samaras of Greece, Valdis Dombrovskis of Latvia and Jyrki Katainen of Finland attend the Economic Ideas Forum in Helsinki on Friday. Following an official trip to Finland, where ...
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IMF?s history suggests it seldom learns
Though the IMF’s criticism of the Greek bailout is unusually strong, IMF economists have on occasion been handed the whip by other Fund officials
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EU's Rehn Hits Back at IMF
EU economics chief Olli Rehn had harsh words for the IMF as he responded to a report by the fund criticizing the European Commission over the Greek bailout.
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Stop now, Prime Minister Erdogan tells Turkish protesters
By Asli Kandemir and Humeyra Pamuk ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan demanded on Friday an immediate end to a week of anti-government unrest, saying the protests which erupted over the redevelopment of an Istanbul park had been founded on a "campaign of lies". Defending the wide use of tear gas in a police crackdown, Erdogan said similar action had been taken during protests in European countries such as Greece, as well as in the United States. ...
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Greek health workers protest against 'destruction'
Greek health workers have protesting in front of the parliament building in Athens over cutbacks in spending, saying the cuts have caused the…
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St. Anna Greek Orthodox in Flemington celebrates opening of its new church ...
St. Anna Greek Orthodox in Flemington celebrates opening of its new church ... MyCentralJersey.com A group photo at St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church in Raritan Township on Sept.22, as parishioners mark the placement of the new cross at the very top of the new church, lifted into place on Friday, Sept. 21. / FILE PHOTO BY KEITH MUCCILLI ... Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Westfield to host car wash fundraiser Greek food fair is Saturday |
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Greece bailout row continues
The European Union's top economic official has slammed the International Monetary Fund, accusing it of trying to whitewash its role in handling the Greek bailout and shift the blame on Europe instead.
"I don't think it's fair and just that the IMF is trying to wash its hands and throwing the dirty water on European shoulders," said the European Commission Vice-President and EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro.
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FTSE 100 finishes another down week on an upbeat note after US non-farm payrolls
American jobs data comes in higher than expected, while also easing fears that US bond buying could end soon
It may be less than three weeks ago, but May 22 seems a lifetime away in terms of the stock market.
That was the time global markets reached levels not seen for decades, with the FTSE 100 at its highest since the dotcom boom in 1999 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting an all time record. Markets had been buoyed by central banks around the world taking action - through low interest rates, quantitative easing and bond buying - to boost the flagging global economy.
But since the May peaks, the prospect of these emergency measures being reined in has begun to unnerve investors.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slumped into bear market territory - meaning a 20% decline from its recent peak - on fears that its quantitative easing programme and plans by new prime minister Shinzo Abe to encourage borrowing and spending would not be effective at generating sufficient growth.
A mixed picture of data from around the world last week added to the uncertainty facing investors. Germany's Bundesbank cut its growth forecasts for the country on Friday a day after weaker factory orders, while the recession in the eurozone continued with a 0.2% fall in GDP in the first three months of 2013. There were also worse than expected growth figures from Australia.
Meanwhile a report from the International Monetary Fund admitting errors in the treatment of Greece's bailout reminded investors that the eurozone crisis is far from over, while European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi unsettled markets by unveiling no new measures after its monthly meeting.
But the week ended on a brighter note. US non-farm payroll figures announced on Friday showed a rise of 175,000 jobs in May, just good enough to ease concerns about the state of the world's largest economy but not so good that the US Federal Reserve was likely to end its bond buying programme in the immediate future. James Knightley at ING said:
We see the risk being that [the Federal Reserve's] quantitative easing tapering comes later rather than sooner. The current consensus according to Bloomberg is that the October Fed meeting will be the point QE starts to be slowed. We think December looks more likely at this stage, although we acknowledge even then there are issues given Bernanke may well be on the verge of stepping down from the Fed at that point. Consequently, there is no guarantee that tapering will start before year-end.
So the FTSE 100 finished another volatile week at 6411, up 75.88 points on the day following the US jobs data but down 113 points on the week and more than 6% below its May peak.
David Jones, chief market strategist, at IG said:
With the central banks, particularly the US Federal Reserve, having pumped so much money into the system in recent years there is still the nagging concern that although the QE tap may not be switched off, the flow could well be reduced in the months ahead. This is widely accepted to have acted as a somewhat artificial support for stock markets – so traders are bracing themselves for the potential of sharp sell-offs again as this uncertainty continues.
In a sign that the top of the market could indeed have been reached, a variety of investors decided to cash in profits during the week. Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation disposed of half its 1.3% shareholding in Barclays at around 308.5p a share, raising around £260m. Sumitomo paid around 296p a share for 169m shares in 2008 as part of a number of fundraisings by Barclays amid the financial crisis. Barclays closed 4.5p higher at 307.8p on Friday.
Defence group Cobham, down 7.5p at 262p, fell back after an institutional investor sold a stake of 3.6%, or 39.1m shares. The shares were offered to institutions at around 273.5p a share.
Moneysupermarket.com added 8p to 203p. Earlier in the week founder Simon Nixon - who moved to a non-executive role in April - sold an 18.5% stake in the business, raising £200m in cash.
Fund management groups came under pressure, with Aberdeen Asset Management down 7.1p at 415.7p amid concerns about the effects of the market slump - particularly in Japan.
Earlier in the week Aberdeen fell back following a poor weekly performance from another fund group, Man, up 0.8p at 94.9p. On Friday analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch moved their recommendation on Aberdeen from neutral to underperform, and cut their price target from 475p to 410p. Merrill's Jonathan Richards said he believed Aberdeen's growth would slow in the near term:
Organic inflows could slow significantly from consensus expectations. With the stock up around 20% so far this year, the valuation premium to peers looks unwarranted.
Extreme moves in Japan and China [are] creating headwinds. With the introduction of a more activist Japanese central bank and weaker-than-expected Chinese economic figures, volatility in the Asian sphere has increased. Aberdeen's performance has been strong historically, but deteriorated recently, with an increase in third quartile-ranked funds.
Housebuilders proved a bright spot. A raft of upbeat news - including a positive start to the government's Help to Buy scheme and a rise in prices in May as reported by the Halifax - buoyed the sector last week, and on Friday Bellway added to the optimistic mood. It said its performance since the start of its second half had been encouraging, with strong demand for new homes. It said visiter numbers and reservations were above expectations. On Help to Buy it said:
Help to Buy continues to gather momentum...The board is therefore hopeful that this initial momentum since launch can be maintained as more lenders begin to offer this product.
The board is encouraged by the gradual improvement in market conditions and is hopeful that this will facilitate further organic growth through geographical expansion.
The update lifted Bellway by 19p to £13.34, and helped push Persimmon 31p higher to £12.05. Barratt Developments was 10.2p better at 316.1p while Berkeley was up 38p at £21.41.
Severn Trent soared 50p to £20.70 after the Borealis consortium raised its bid for the water company from £21.25 to £22. Pennon, tipped during the week as a possible target for a Far Eastern infrastructure fund, added 6.5p to 672.5p.
Elsewhere BT added 11.1p to 312.8p as Barclays moved from equal weight to overweight and lifted its price target from 300p to 360p.
Among the mid-caps troubled insurer and boiler repair group Homeserve was 8.4p higher at 274p on renewed speculation of possible private equity interest.
The company is still awaiting the outcome of an FSA investigation into mis-selling, and nearly a year ago it was forced to deny speculation it was in talks with possible bidders.
Finally building materials group Travis Perkins rose 26p to £15.30. Next week sees the latest quarterly reshuffle of the FTSE indices, and analysts believe Travis is in line to move up from the mid-cap index to the FTSE 100.
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Portraits of Desperation: Unemployed and Homeless in Greece
The Atlantic Cities | Portraits of Desperation: Unemployed and Homeless in Greece The Atlantic Cities There are a lot of numbers used to tell the story of Greece's economic crisis. The country's unemployment rate hovers around 25 percent; a whopping 58.3 percent of the country's 15- to 24-year-olds are without a job. The homeless population has doubled ... |
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No One Has Noticed That 1,000 People Were Laid Off From Mobile Ad Companies This Year (VELT)
All those venture capitalists pouring money into mobile advertising startups might want to ask themselves why there have been as many as 1,000 layoffs at mobile ad companies and marketers this year.
The mobile advertising business will grow to an estimated $7.29 billion in 2013, according to eMarketer. But the rising tide isn't lifting all boats equally, it turns out.
Here are the recent losers:
- Velti, the mobile ad network, laid off about 200 of its 1,125 staff in a shakeup in May. Headcount at Velti is now just 900 staffers, according to Mobile Marketer. Velti had $270 million in revenues in 2012, and reduced its revenue guidance for 2013 to $255 - $280 million — flat, in other words.
- Tapjoy, another mobile ad platform, cut 20 people or 10% of its workforce, according to Techcrunch.
- At the Washington Post, the entire mobile team was let go. Fishbowl DC said 54 jobs were axed.
- Zynga laid off 520 people, not all in mobile, but the cuts came in part because the company has failed to gain enough traction in mobile gaming (and the ad revenue that runs on top of it) to keep those workers employed.
- EA laid off hundreds of people as it struggles to adapt to the new, free-to-play mobile gaming world.
- And T-Mobile laid off 200-300 people despite getting the iPhone 5, which ought to be driving sales.
Each of these companies is in a slightly different position. And you could certainly argue that the losses at Zynga and T-Mobile are not strictly driven by mobile ad revenues. Ad revenue at Zynga is still growing — it's the in-game payments side of the business that's in trouble. T-Mobile just merged with MetroPCS, and jobs eliminated there were duplicate redundancies. But they were also marketing related.
Still, these are companies who a few months ago would all have argued that they were well placed to take advantage of the huge tide of money that is sweeping into mobile advertising.
Today, it appears that they all made some miscalculations.
Velti and Tapjoy are the most worrying. Velti is one of the largest pure-play mobile ad businesses on the planet, and it's publicly traded. It provides virtually all services in the mobile "ad stack." The company did not return a message requesting comment.
Velti stock, which once traded above $10 in 2012, is now worth just $1.76. Mobile Marketer blamed turmoil in Greece and the rest of Europe as a driver of the decline. Some have whispered that the company may reconsider staying in its fancy new San Francisco offices.
Tapjoy, like Zynga, appears to have suffered in its attempt to navigate the ever-changing world of incentivized mobile gaming, according to Techcrunch. It's now got a new CEO, former Disney executive Steve Wadsworth. In a statement, the company did not describe what its specific troubles were: "We have made changes in our organization to position the company for continued growth. ... In addition, there have been some reductions across the company to better align our organization with our business plan and strategic direction. We believe these moves will make us more competitive, productive and will enhance our ability to bring innovative products to market."
Tapjoy had taken more than $70 million in venture funding, according to Crunchbase.
The likely macro cause of some of this consolidation is over-capacity in a highly commoditized market. While each mobile ad company claims they have a unique offering, once you strip away the PR jargon they're often offering a similar set of products: ad placement in apps. There are literally hundreds of mobile ad/app companies out there right now, some with just a handful of staff each, subsisting on VC money in the hopes that some of that $7.29 billion will trickle their way. Many mobile ad companies do not make profits. They say they're investing for future growth.
Clearly, they will not all survive. Microsoft already walked away from the business: It cut its entire mobile ad division a year ago, according to Adweek.
We may be seeing the beginning of a long, slow rationalization of the mobile ad world.
SEE ALSO: LAST CALL: Who Are The Most Powerful People In Mobile Advertising?
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