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How the world sees Greece
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Greeks Call Strike Over TV Shutdown
The government moved to calm protests over its abrupt decision to shut Greece's public broadcaster while promising again that operations would resume in a few weeks—albeit most likely with a much smaller staff and budget.
Samaras Defies Coalition Partners in Greek State TV Showdown
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras defended his decision to shut down the country’s public ERT broadcaster, setting the stage for a showdown with the two parties that support his year-old government.
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ABC15.com (KNXV-TV) | Share this on: CNN The Greek yogurt industry recently made headlines after a Modern Farmer article claiming companies are “scrambling” for a solution to the “dark secret,” of a byproduct's potentially toxic effects on the environment. The ballooning demand for Greek ... A great combination: Healthy, local and all-natural Greek-style yogurt |
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Greek gov't in deep crisis over state broadcaster
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's fragile coalition government is in a deep crisis, with the dominant conservatives rejecting pleas from their minority partners to save state ERT broadcaster from closure.
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Elizabeth Filippouli: The ERT Shock: Pulling the Plug on the Public in Greece
Is this going to prove another 'mea culpa' on behalf of the troika and the IMF? Are they going to lament, admit yet another 'misjudgment' - when it will be too late again?
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Hamdi Ulukaya: Here's to the Makers: Reinvigorating Entrepreneurial Manufacturing in America
If the Industrial Age belonged to the oil barons; the Post-War Era, to the baby boomers; and the past decade, to the Silicon Valley hackers--this...
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After ERT Troika Packs its Bags
After the rapid political developments caused by the closure of ERT and the barrage of strikes, the Troika decided to postpone the meeting with the Greek Minister of Finance, Giannis Stournaras, which was scheduled for the afternoon of June 12. The meeting was postponed because the Troika fears the strikes, as on June 13 they are scheduled to depart for Rome, where the Euro Working Group ...
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Greece
An employee wipes tears as she works with colleagues to broadcast a Web-Tv signal at the control room of the Greek state television ERT headquarters in Athens, 12 June ...
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Greece unsettles European equities
- European shares fell on Wednesday, pressured by autos and banks, as concerns over Greek politics pushed regional indexes nearer to key support levels which, if breached, could trigger further losses. The FTSEurofirst 300 provisionally closed down 0.3 percent at 1,176.14 points, extending weakness from the previous session when concerns that global central banks were looking to fade their ...
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Britains FTSE dragged down by MA news Greek jitters
* Evraz, Polymetal demoted from FTSE 100* Travis Perkins, Persimmon promoted to FTSE 100* Russian gold miner Petropavlosk relegated to small caps* FTSE reshuffle effective after UK close on June 21By David BrettLONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - Russian companies' exodus ...
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Anonymous Warn Greek Government of Cyber-Attack After ERT?s Shutdown
Hacktivist group Anonymous posted a video on YouTube warning the Greek government of their intention to launch a cyber-attack on state websites beginning on June 15th in retaliation to the shutdown of public broadcaster ERT and the dismissal of more than 2,650 employees. "The Greek government continues its tactics to dismiss people who have children. This is unacceptable" stated the ...
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The 22nd Nafplion Festival Ready
The 22nd Nafplion Festival will take place in the historic city of Nafplion in the Peloponnese, Greece at June 21 to 30. Giannis Vakarelis is the artistic director and Phormigx Concert Agency has the organizational responsibility. The festival will honor Greece and Greek cultural and musical contribution from time immemorial until the creations of today. It aims at reminding the contribution to ...
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Onassis Cardiac Center Marks 20
The Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center (O.C.S.C) celebrated its 20 years of operation since its founding during an event at its headquarters in Athens. Greek Health Minister Andreas Lykourentzos, the First Vice President of the Parliament Giannis Tragakis, representatives of the Greek political parties, MPs, representative of Archbishop of Athens and all Greece Ieronymos, professors, doctors and a ...
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Greek coalition in disarray after state broadcasters closure
Greece 's fragile coalition government is in disarray after the prime minister tipped the country into an unexpected crisis following a decision to shut down the state broadcaster with immediate effect to meet ...
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Greek political jitters unsettle European equities
LONDON, June 12 | Wed Jun 12, 2013 11:38am EDT
LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Wednesday, pressured by autos and banks, as concerns over Greek politics pushed regional indexes nearer to key support levels which, if breached, could trigger further losses.
The FTSEurofirst 300 provisionally closed down 0.3 percent at 1,176.14 points, extending weakness from the previous ...
LONDON, June 12 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Wednesday, pressured by autos and banks, as concerns over Greek politics pushed regional indexes nearer to key support levels which, if breached, could trigger further losses.
The FTSEurofirst 300 provisionally closed down 0.3 percent at 1,176.14 points, extending weakness from the previous ...
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Greek journalists defy closure order with webcast
'Blow to democracy': People take part in a rally Tuesday in front of ERT headquarters in Athens after the Greek government announced it would shut down the state broadcaster. | ...
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?All blacks out? Human Rights Watch condemns ?racist? Greek police
Police Human Rights Watch has accused Greek police of racial profiling, arbitrary detention and physical and verbal abuse of immigrants in a scathing new report. All are in violation European Union regulations, and disobey international human rights conventions. The report by the international advocacy group, ...
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Rights Group Accuses Greece of Abusive Crackdown on Migrants
LONDON -- Greek police carrying out a crackdown on irregular migration are accused of conducting abusive stop and searches and detaining thousands of people, according to a report published ...
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Fallout in Athens and Brussels over Greek TV shutdown
MEP s have also expressed their dismay with the European Commission’s role in the troika’s handling of the Greek bailout conditions. The co-leader of the European Greens, Daniel Cohn-Bendit asked: ';Is it true that the European Commission called on its troika representative to ask that the Greek public broadcaster be shut down?'; Olli Rehn, Vice-President of the European ...
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Golden Dawn?s Festival Angers Kalamata
A storm of protests has risen in Kalamata after Golden Dawn's decision to organize a festival for its voters around Greece on August 4, the day the dictator, Ioannis Metaxas, carried out his self-coup in 1936. Municipal factions, Kalamata's Anti-Fascism Movement, local organizations and unions are mobilized to prevent the festival from taking place in their region. ';The decision ...
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Greek coalition wobbles after ERT closure
ERT’s sudden closure triggered a backlash across the political spectrum, even though it is seen as a political fiefdom of the governing party
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Greek media outlet off the air for first time since WWII
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — When Nazi troops marched into Greece's nearly deserted capital on April 27, 1941, radio announcer Costas Stavropoulos of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corp. announced the grim news. He then urged his countrymen and women not to listen to future Nazi radio transmissions and signed off with the Greek national anthem.That moment in Greek broadcasting history is indelibly ...
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Greek PM faces political revolt over ERT closure
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's centre-left coalition partners said they were furious at the decision to shut the broadcaster and had not been ...
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TV employees defy Greek government
ERT is making the news but has been denied the chance to broadcast it. There is a vast reservoir of support for the workers after the sudden shut down of the station. Employees have occupied the building and as euronews correspondent Stamatis Giannisis in the building reports they are digging in. ';In spite of government threats to prosecute for trespass anyone who is here inside ...
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ERT?s First Broadcast in 1966
On 23 February 1966, Greece's public broadcaster ERT, which was named National Radio Foundation (EIR) at the time, made its very first official appearance. EIR's broadcaster, Eleni Kypraiou, was the one to welcome the audience, the few people who had a television set at that time, to the new media. The television presenter announced the broadcasts' program, while images were ...
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Greek junior coalition partners demand reopening of state TV
ATHENS (Reuters) - The junior partners in Greece's ruling coalition demanded the reopening of shuttered state broadcaster ERT on Wednesday and called for a meeting with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to resolve the issue. "ERT undoubtedly must be reformed and restructured, it must be upgraded but it is essential that this happens while ERT is open," said Fotis Kouvelis, leader of the small Democratic Left party in the coalition. "It is unacceptable that ERT is shut while there are still outstanding issues. ...
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Greek festival under way
STEUBENVILLE - Volunteers stood on South Street carefully shaving meat, while Frank Mitchell learned how to make a gyro from Nick Maragos. "Is this too much meat," Mitchell asked his mentor. "Naw. That looks good.
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Greek state TV shutdown triggers political crisis
Greece's conservative-led government was facing a political crisis Wednesday after its decision to shut down state-run TV and radio triggered a wave of strikes and fierce opposition from within the coalition ...
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Silencing of broadcaster ERT shocks Greece
Broadcaster's closure shocks employees and Greece
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Spanish Bonds Rise Amid Stimulus Outlook; Greek Securities Slide
Spanish Bonds Rise Amid Stimulus Outlook; Greek Securities Slide Bloomberg Spanish government bonds rose, with 10-year securities halting a two-day decline, as investors weighed the outlook for additional central-bank stimulus. Portuguese and Irish bonds also rallied amid speculation judges in Germany's highest court will ... |
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State Broadcaster's End a Blow to Greek Identity
ABC News | State Broadcaster's End a Blow to Greek Identity ABC News When Nazi troops marched into Greece's nearly deserted capital on April 27, 1941, radio announcer Costas Stavropoulos of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corp. announced the grim news. He urged his countrymen and women not to listen to future Nazi radio ... |
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'The Greek House' by Christian Brechneff
'The Greek House' by Christian Brechneff New York Times After reading “The Greek House” by the painter Christian Brechneff (written with Tim Lovejoy; Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $27), I wanted to drop everything and go to Sifnos, the rocky island in the Aegean Sea lovingly portrayed in his memoir But that ... |
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ERT shutdown: Greek government reveals plans for new state broadcaster
Smaller version unveiled by Antonis Samaras government, with leftwing politician calling closure an 'institutional coup'
The Greek government has unveiled plans to open a slimmed down version of the state broadcaster just hours after taking the draconian step of shutting ERT down with the immediate loss of 2,700 jobs.
As ERT journalists continued to defy the shutdown on Wednesday with a live web feed from the occupied studios at the broadcaster's headquarters in Athens, draft legislation was unveiled to launch a replacement service, but not until the end of August.
Simos Kedikoglou, a government spokesman, said the proposed slimmed down state broadcaster would run on just 1,200 employees.
"We tried during the past year to find a way of overhauling public television but it wasn't possible to change anything," Kedigolou added.
A journalist inside ERT's radio HQ who has just returned from a succession of meetings with the leaders of the centre and left-of-centre Greek government coalition partners told the Guardian they are trying to draft fresh legislation which could offer the prime minister, Antonis Samaras, a face-saving compromise that will keep the broadcaster on air.
Anastasia Zigou, a member of Strike Struggle, a group formed by ERT journalists in November 2011, said: "Many of us haven't slept for 48 hours, but we won't give in. We are sustained by the huge response we've had from citizens, not only here but at local radio stations all over the country."
She said she believed the decree to close ERT may be a bid by Samaras to bring about early elections as his New Democracy party has been doing well in the polls. It is also a quick way of fulfilling the International Monetary Fund, European Union and European Central Bank's demands that public sector staff numbers be shrunk by 2,000 by the end of the summer.
Zigou said the closure of ERT's radio stations would have a particular impact on the Greek islands.
"There have been people in tears at local radio stations in border regions – in Crete, in Samos, in Thrace. In those areas, ERT was the only Greek language radio you could hear, and the signals of other TV stations are weak too," she added.
"Without ERT they feel cut off from the metropolis. But it's much more than that, more than the firing of 2,600 workers. The sudden, undemocratic closure of a public broadcaster was a kind of coup. This isn't a private station that someone can just decided to close. This doesn't happen in democratic countries."
Zigou continued: "We need solidarity from around the world, not just from fellow journalists and unions but from ordinary citizens. This matters to everyone."
The decree to shut ERT, citing the need to cut the "incredible waste" at the broadcaster, has been condemned by Greek opposition politicians, sparking calls for a general strike and widespread international criticism.
Leftwing opposition leader Alexis Tsipras, who met the Greek president Karolos Papoulias to discuss the ERT crisis on Wednesday, issued a statement calling the decision an "institutional coup", saying "we are all obliged to resist it".
He asked the president to intervene and initiate a debate in parliament on Wednesday afternoon.
Greece's two largest unions have called a 24-hour general strike for Thursday to protest against the government's move that has shocked the public and triggered a political crisis.
The government said it tried in vain to negotiate a new deal with unions representing ERT staff with a voluntary redundancy and early retirement scheme and had no other choice.
ERT started radio broadcasts in the 1930s and launched a TV service in the mid-1960s. Though it was widely regarded as reflecting government positions – it had a channel run by the military during the 1967-74 dictatorship – the broadcaster was also valued for showcasing regional and cultural content and for covering major sporting events such as the football World Cup and the Olympics.
The broadcaster is largely state-funded, with every Greek household paying a €51 (£43) fee through its electricity bills whether they have a TV set or not. There are also several commercial broadcasters in Greece, including Mega and Sky.
The decision to close ERT was announced on Tuesday during an inspection in Athens by officials from Greece's bailout creditors.
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FTSE falls for third day to seven week low on takeover tales and Greek woes
Leading shares hit by corporate and eurozone worries, as well as continuing central bank concerns
Two takeover developments and renewed trouble in Greece have combined to send shares lower for the third day running.
After a brightish start the FTSE 100 finished 40.63 points lower at 6299.45, its third daily fall in a row and its lowest level since 22 April. Investors continued to be concerned about the prospect of central bank money taps being turned off and removing a key support for the market. This week's decision by the Bank of Japan to keep monetary policy on hold fed into that fear, and next week's US Federal Reserve meeting will be closely watched for further clues.
Meanwhile in Greece, the government's decision to close the state broadcaster led to demonstrations and talk of a vote of confidence, even a new election.
As for the takeovers, one was a failed bid and the other a new one.
Severn Trent slumped 172p to £17.65 after its potential bidder, the LongRiver consortium, announced it was walking away, having failed to engage in constructive talks before Tuesday's deadline. LongRiver, comprising Canada's Borealis, a Kuwait sovereign wealth fund and the UK Universities Superannuation Scheme, was offering £22 a share.
Severn is now below the £18.25 level prevailing before the bid was revealed. Analyst Verity Mitchell at HSBC said:
Given that the previous offers for water and sewerage companies have been successful, this is a surprising development. We had remained cautious about the success of the bid throughout given that it was so close to the 2014 regulatory price review and in the light of the water regulator, Ofwat's, scrutiny of privately-held companies.
Meanwhile Vodafone confirmed long standing, and growing, speculation that it was interested in Kabel Deutschland, saying it had made a preliminary approach but there was no guarantee an offer would be made.
A move on Germany's biggest cable operator would add its infrastructure to Vodafone's mainly mobile network, and at around €10bn, it would be the company's biggest deal since 2007.
Vodafone shares, which also went gone ex-dividend, closed 11p lower at 181p. Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, said:
It looks like it wants to spend on M&A now, which brings risk to the table with the possibility of acquired assets failing to deliver growth desired and needed to revive growth in a stagnant Europe.
Miners came under pressure as investors avoided riskier assets, with Vedanta Resources down 40p at £11.49 and Randgold Resources falling 111p to £48.15.
But Aberdeen Asset Management recovered a little from its recent poor run, rising 6.7p to 402.5p.
Elsewhere BT added 4.3p to 309.3p after analysts at Exane BNP Paribas raised their price target from 250p to 277p. BSkyB was 10.5p better at 788.5p for a similar reason, as Exane lifted its forecast price from 920p to 970p. There was also talk that News Corporation could have another tilt at the satellite broadcaster.
National Express accelerated 3%, up 6.2p to 212.4p, despite one of its biggest investors selling its remaining stake in the transport group for around £101m. UBS placed 50.6m shares at 200.5p on behalf of US hedge fund Elliott Advisors, its last remaining shareholding after it sold a 9.9% stake in March.
Heritage Oil, which is in danger of being demoted from the FTSE 250 to the small cap index at the latest reshuffle, jumped more than 4% to 142.4p following news that production at its flagship project in Nigeria had recovered after a period of low output. In April the company unsettled investors by failing to give an output forecast for 2013. Now it says:
The temporary factors which caused lower than expected production levels over the first quarter have been successfully addressed. We are on track to meet our production target for the year.
Meanwhile price comparison site Moneysupermarket.com led the FTSE 250 fallers, down 14.7p to 183.8p, mainly due to its shares going ex-dividend. But analysts at Canaccord Genuity issued a buy note, saying:
[Its valuation] looks attractive for a structural growth story, with a strong brand, which is raising the barriers to entry.
Online fashion retailer Asos added 51p to £40.32 after reporting a 45% rise in third quarter sales to a better than expected £194m. Its recent tie up with Primark has seen "phenomenal" demand in the first week of its trial, the company said. Bethany Hocking at Investec said:
Our target price moves to £48 [from £39]. On a five year view, we see £70 as eminently possible.
Finally Intandem Films fell 33% to 0.65p after raising £831,000 with a placing at 0.5p a share. The company - which has nine films on the slate with four fully financed including a comedy thriller called Killing Hasselhoff starring David Hasselhoff himself - has also arranged a £1m funding facility with investment group Darwin Strategic. The funds will be used to pay down debt, to invest in new projects and for working capital.
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