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Sunday, October 26, 2014

Greece's Economic and Political Traps

ATHENS — Five years into the Greek crisis, it is becoming increasingly difficult to hope that it will end anytime soon. Perhaps we expected too much: that the largest international bailout in history would help set the economy back on its feet within a ...


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REALITY CHECK: Euro Zone Debt Looks Unsustainable

EARLIER this year it all looked so rosy. In April, just two years after Greece imposed the biggest sovereign-debt restructuring in history on its private creditors, it raised EUR3 billion ($4.2 billion at the time) in five-year bonds at a yield of less than 5%. In July its ten-year bonds were yielding less than 6% and their Spanish and Italian equivalents less than 3%, not far off Germany's. The troubled economies of Europe's "periphery" were beginning to turn around, it seemed, and the European Central Bank (ECB) would do whatever it took to keep the euro zone together. That all went out the window in the global market sell-off of October 15th-16th. Yields on Greek government debt briefly exceeded 9%; the spread between yields on German government bonds and those of debt-addled euro-zone countries widened and lower-rated corporate-bond yields rose sharply too. Part of the rise might have been due to bond markets' declining liquidity (see "Buttonwood: Liquid diet"). At any rate, some ground has since been regained, with corporate bonds especially buoyed by the rumour (later denied) that the ECB was about to buy corporate debt as part of an asset-purchase scheme. But worries that slow growth in the euro zone will be a serious drag on the world economy are increasing. Deflation, which makes debts harder to bear, has taken hold in the periphery, and threatens to afflict the euro zone as a whole. Faith that the ECB will be able to do much about either problem is declining. Against that background some euro-zone debt--both public and private--looks unsustainable. Between 2007 and 2013 the ratio of government debt to GDP in the euro area rose from 66% to 93%. The spike was more dramatic in the periphery (see chart): in Greece the ratio increased to 175% and in Portugal it virtually doubled to 129%. High government debt itself does not necessarily crimp economic growth. But as bond yields rise, servicing that debt becomes difficult. Italy--with the third-largest stock of government debt in the world, much of it refinanced each year--is a particular concern. According to estimates from Moody's, a rating agency, it will have to find around EUR470 billion of funding next year, worth nearly one-third of its GDP. The financing needs of other peripheral governments are not as drastic, but they are still high. The overhang of private-sector debt is also cause for concern. Overindebted firms struggle to grow and invest, while tying up scarce bank capital, which impedes lending to worthier borrowers. The picture is not uniformly grim. Despite Italy's staggering government debt, its households owe less than Germany's and its non-financial companies not much more. Spain's private sector has deleveraged substantially over the past few years, as big recapitalisations have left its banks better able to withstand write-downs of bad loans. But peripheral countries typically have a long tail of heavily indebted firms. In Portugal around a quarter of listed firms have debts of more than five times their earnings before interest, tax, amortisation and depreciation--the worst ratio in the periphery, points out Alberto Gallo of RBS, a bank. And the proportion of loans in default is still rising in Portugal, Italy and Greece, he says. On October 26th the results of the ECB's review of the books of big euro-zone banks will be released. They are expected to show few serious problems. Banks have been raising capital to be sure not to be found wanting. After it they may write down more bad loans rather than rolling them over. Another change is to corporate insolvency regimes, which typically make it harder to call in debts or seize collateral in the euro area than in America. All the peripheral countries have either reformed their laws or promised to do so, and the European Commission is pushing a common European standard. Government debt looks more intractable, especially in light of the lacklustre growth and slide towards deflation that now seem entrenched. A recent analysis by Fitch, a rating agency, suggests that it will be very hard for any highly indebted euro-zone government to reduce its debt-to-GDP ratio by 20 percentage points over the next eight years, still less return it to its pre-crisis level. Governments need to run primary (ie, before interest payments) surpluses in order to pay off existing debt. The IMF reckons that Italy will reach and maintain a primary surplus of nearly 5% of GDP by 2018, but is less sanguine about other euro-zone debtors. Tax rises and spending cuts are hard to implement. A study of 54 emerging and advanced economies, by Ugo Panizza of the Graduate Institute, Geneva and Barry Eichengreen of the University of California, Berkeley shows that large and sustained primary surpluses are extremely rare. People in the southern periphery are especially fed up with austerity, which has had a massive cost in terms of unemployment and living standards. More bad news, and the situation could look critical once again. Click here to subscribe to The Economist Join the conversation about this story »


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.businessinsider.com

There Is One Huge Thing Missing From The ECB's Stress Tests (DIA, SPY, QQQ, TLT, IWM)

On Sunday, the European Central Bank released the results of "stress tests" performed on 130 eurozone banks. Twenty-five banks failed. There's a bit of a split on whether or not these results were good. But there is no divide on whether or not the ECB considered one key scenario: deflation. Analysts at Societe Generale said the results show that in an adverse scenario that occurs in 2016, only 7 billion euros of capital would be needed. And given that these stress tests involved banks holding more than 20 trillion euros in deposits, they don't think this is a huge deal. Others aren't so sure, including economist Philippe Legrain who called the results, "Yet another eurozone bank whitewash." In a blog post Legrain, who wrote a book on the eurozone crisis titled, "European Spring: Why Our Economies and Politics are in a Mess — and How to Put Them Right," wrote in a blog post on Sunday that the stress test's capital need assumptions are "ludicrously overoptimistic." But aside from how you choose to argue some of the ECB's assumptions, the central bank said, point blank, that it did not consider a situation where prices fall across the eurozone.  In a press conference following the results, the ECB's Vítor Constâncio said, "The scenario of deflation is not there because indeed we don't consider that deflation is going to happen."  Constâncio added, "But let me highlight that nevertheless, whereas the baseline scenario which is in the stress test has inflation at 1.6 in 2016, in the adverse it comes down to 0.3. So this drop in inflation is indeed factored in, in the exercise and is a very significant drop. So it cannot be said that we did not consider the impact of a scenario of very low inflation. Indeed, we did it in comparison with the baseline." But the problem is that we are already seeing falling inflation across the eurozone, with prices rising just 0.3% across the economic bloc in September. And what's more, deflation has already been a reality for many of the bloc's economies. The Telegraph's Ambrose Evans-Pritchard noted on Twitter that in the last six months we've seen deflation in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Portugal.  And as a whole, the euro area saw prices rise just 0.3% year-over-year in September, according to data from Eurostat, down from increases of between 0.7% and 0.9% a little less than a year ago.  And Legrain goes so far as to argue that deflation would "wreak havoc" on the balance sheets of many eurozone banks, adding that the fact that this wasn't factored into the stress test's scenarios make them a "farce." On Friday, we wrote about how deflation might be a bit of an overhyped worry, as the word's appearance in media reports has surged to a multi-year high in recent weeks.  And maybe deflation fears are overhyped when you look at the US, and specifically when you look at the market's recent obsession with inflation expectations via 5-year forward breakevens. After all, inflation data from the US on Wednesday showed that prices rose 1.7% year-over-year. So, below the Fed's 2% target, but nowhere near outright deflation that sees prices fall year-over-year. But when looking at the eurozone, deflationary fears have been the topic of conversation throughout the late summer and fall. And so it seems that by not factoring this scenario into its stress test, the ECB is missing a huge part of what the market is considering when it thinks about "stress" in the European banking system.Join the conversation about this story »


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.businessinsider.com

REALITY CHECK: Euro Zone Debt Looks Unsustainable

EARLIER this year it all looked so rosy. In April, just two years after Greece imposed the biggest sovereign-debt restructuring in history on its private creditors, it raised EUR3 billion ($4.2 billion at the time) in five-year bonds at a yield of less than 5%. In July its ten-year bonds were yielding less than 6% and their Spanish and Italian equivalents less than 3%, not far off Germany's. The troubled economies of Europe's "periphery" were beginning to turn around, it seemed, and the European Central Bank (ECB) would do whatever it took to keep the euro zone together. That all went out the window in the global market sell-off of October 15th-16th. Yields on Greek government debt briefly exceeded 9%; the spread between yields on German government bonds and those of debt-addled euro-zone countries widened and lower-rated corporate-bond yields rose sharply too. Part of the rise might have been due to bond markets' declining liquidity (see "Buttonwood: Liquid diet"). At any rate, some ground has since been regained, with corporate bonds especially buoyed by the rumour (later denied) that the ECB was about to buy corporate debt as part of an asset-purchase scheme. But worries that slow growth in the euro zone will be a serious drag on the world economy are increasing. Deflation, which makes debts harder to bear, has taken hold in the periphery, and threatens to afflict the euro zone as a whole. Faith that the ECB will be able to do much about either problem is declining. Against that background some euro-zone debt--both public and private--looks unsustainable. Between 2007 and 2013 the ratio of government debt to GDP in the euro area rose from 66% to 93%. The spike was more dramatic in the periphery (see chart): in Greece the ratio increased to 175% and in Portugal it virtually doubled to 129%. High government debt itself does not necessarily crimp economic growth. But as bond yields rise, servicing that debt becomes difficult. Italy--with the third-largest stock of government debt in the world, much of it refinanced each year--is a particular concern. According to estimates from Moody's, a rating agency, it will have to find around EUR470 billion of funding next year, worth nearly one-third of its GDP. The financing needs of other peripheral governments are not as drastic, but they are still high. The overhang of private-sector debt is also cause for concern. Overindebted firms struggle to grow and invest, while tying up scarce bank capital, which impedes lending to worthier borrowers. The picture is not uniformly grim. Despite Italy's staggering government debt, its households owe less than Germany's and its non-financial companies not much more. Spain's private sector has deleveraged substantially over the past few years, as big recapitalisations have left its banks better able to withstand write-downs of bad loans. But peripheral countries typically have a long tail of heavily indebted firms. In Portugal around a quarter of listed firms have debts of more than five times their earnings before interest, tax, amortisation and depreciation--the worst ratio in the periphery, points out Alberto Gallo of RBS, a bank. And the proportion of loans in default is still rising in Portugal, Italy and Greece, he says. On October 26th the results of the ECB's review of the books of big euro-zone banks will be released. They are expected to show few serious problems. Banks have been raising capital to be sure not to be found wanting. After it they may write down more bad loans rather than rolling them over. Another change is to corporate insolvency regimes, which typically make it harder to call in debts or seize collateral in the euro area than in America. All the peripheral countries have either reformed their laws or promised to do so, and the European Commission is pushing a common European standard. Government debt looks more intractable, especially in light of the lacklustre growth and slide towards deflation that now seem entrenched. A recent analysis by Fitch, a rating agency, suggests that it will be very hard for any highly indebted euro-zone government to reduce its debt-to-GDP ratio by 20 percentage points over the next eight years, still less return it to its pre-crisis level. Governments need to run primary (ie, before interest payments) surpluses in order to pay off existing debt. The IMF reckons that Italy will reach and maintain a primary surplus of nearly 5% of GDP by 2018, but is less sanguine about other euro-zone debtors. Tax rises and spending cuts are hard to implement. A study of 54 emerging and advanced economies, by Ugo Panizza of the Graduate Institute, Geneva and Barry Eichengreen of the University of California, Berkeley shows that large and sustained primary surpluses are extremely rare. People in the southern periphery are especially fed up with austerity, which has had a massive cost in terms of unemployment and living standards. More bad news, and the situation could look critical once again. Click here to subscribe to The Economist Join the conversation about this story »


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.businessinsider.com

The 1940-1941 Albanian War: Strategic Implications of the Greek OXI

The first aggression in 20th century history perpetrated by a fascist state was carried out against Greece, 12 years before the Italian conquest of Ethiopia, and 16 years before the German invasion of Poland. In August 1923, ten months after coming to power in Rome, Mussolini used the pretext of an Italian-manufactured Greek-Albanian border incident […] The post The 1940-1941 Albanian War: Strategic Implications of the Greek OXI appeared first on The National Herald.


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Rock Star Turned Orthodox Priest Leads Fight Against Ebola in Sierra Leone

An Australian rock star who renounced fame and fortune to become a Greek Orthodox priest is leading the fight against Ebola in crisis-struck Sierra ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ibtimes.co.uk

Greek tourist numbers could soar to 27 million

“The year 2014 sees Greek tourism contributing 14 billion euros directly to the economy, and along with air and maritime transport and domestic ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.eturbonews.com

Olympiakos beats Panathinaikos 1-0 in Greek league

ATHENS, Greece — Tassos Avlonitis scored with his first touch in the 59th minute Sunday to give defending champion Olympiakos a 1-0 win over ...


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Eastern Europe in focus amid bank test failures and extra losses

"The Greek banks have relatively profitable units in eastern Europe and selling them off looks like the easy and fast way to ensure capital. This is a ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.dailymail.co.uk

Int'l demand for marine equipment

A new sector worth some 1 billion euros a year is expected to emerge thanks to a new strategy being adopted by Greek marine equipment ...


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Funding picture is better than thought

This means that Greece must have at its disposal the total amount needed to fill the 2015 funding gap and replace the IMF loans, assuming no market ...


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Greece Puts a Happy Face on Stress Test Results

ATHENS — As Greece continues trying to claw its way out of its debt hole, the results of the European Central Bank’s review of the country’s lenders were hailed in Athens on Sunday — because they were not worse. The review indicated that two big ...


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BC-SOC--Greek Standings

by  Associated Press BC-SOC--Greek Standings Associated Press - 26 October 2014 15:01-04:00 BC-SOC--Greek Standings Greek Football Standings Greek League GP W D L GF GA Pts PAOK Thessaloniki 7 6 1 0 19 3 19 Veria 7 5 0 2 11 11 15 Kalloni 7 4 2 1 7 2 14 Asteras 7 4 1 2 10 9 13 Olympiakos 6 4 1 1 13 5 13 Atromitos 7 3 2 2 5 4 11 Kerkyra 7 3 1 3 9 8 10 Panathinaikos 6 3 1 2 8 7 10 OFI Crete 7 3 0 4 6 12 9 PAS Giannina 7 2 3 2 7 8 9 Platanias 7 3 0 4 8 10 9 Panetolikos 7 1 4 2 6 6 7 Panionios 7 2 1 4 6 8 7 Xanthi 6 1 3 2 7 7 6 Levadiakos 7 1 2 4 7 11 5 Panthrakikos 7 1 2 4 5 10 5 Ergotelis 7 1 2 4 9 13 5 Niki Volos 6 1 0 5 3 12 3 Saturday, Oct. 25 PAS Giannina 0, Kalloni 0 Levadiakos 1, Panionios 0 Atromitos 1, Ergotelis 1 Sunday, Oct. 26 OFI Crete 2, Asteras 3 Kerkyra 1, Platanias 2 PAOK Thessaloniki 4, Veria 1 Panetolikos 3, Panthrakikos 1 Olympiakos vs. Panathinaikos, 1730 GMT Monday, Oct. 27 Xanthi vs. Niki Volos, 1730 GMT Saturday, Nov. 1 Platanias vs. PAS Giannina, 1300 GMT Veria vs. Panionios, 1515 GMT Asteras vs. Olympiakos, 1730 GMT Sunday, Nov. 2 Ergotelis vs. PAOK Thessaloniki, 1200 GMT Niki Volos vs. Kerkyra, 1415 GMT Panetolikos vs. Xanthi, 1415 GMT Panthrakikos vs. OFI Crete, 1415 GMT Panathinaikos vs. Atromitos, 1630 GMT Monday, Nov. 3 Kalloni vs. Levadiakos, 1630 GMT News Topics: Soccer, Men's soccer, Sports, Men's sports People, Places and Companies: Thessaloniki, Crete, Greece, Western Europe, Europe Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Major Flooding Impacts Thousands Around Athens Greece

A moisture-laden cyclone, partly associated with the remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo, moved slowly through Greece on Friday and Saturday bringing ...


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ECB says banks overvalued assets by €48bn

Greek banks will have to lower their asset values by €7.6bn, or almost 4 per cent of their risk-weighted assets. The ECB examination formed part of the ...


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Greek Gaming Giant Intralot Quits Victoria Gaming

scratchie Greek-based gaming company Intralot is abandoning its Keno and scratchies business in Victoria and suing the Australian State ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT au.greekreporter.com

Which banks failed the European stress tests? Italy came out worst, followed by Greece and Cyprus

When considering only those banks that have yet to cover their shortfalls, Italy is still in the lead with four banks, followed by Greece and Slovenia with ...


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ECB fails 25 banks in landmark review

Twenty-five European banks have failed an in-depth review of their balance sheets but most have already taken remedial action. Italian, Cypriot and Greek banks were found to have the biggest shortfalls.


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20,000 Euros to “Buy” an Infant in Greece

Greece is currently ideal for infant trade, with traffickers charging between 7,000 and 20,000 euros to secure a baby for couples who have failed to have a child of their own. Many factors determine the price of an infant – the speed of delivery, for instance, or the race of the infant. If a baby has brown hair its price drops. Fair-skinned babies with blonde hair tend to be more expensive. If a baby is “available for purchase” it is more expensive. Another important factor is the age of the infant. Most babies are sold three to five days after birth. They cannot be sold after they are more than one month old. Infant traffickers charge more if the couple demands being able to select their newborn out of a group. Traffickers also try not to let the couple meet the birth mother, especially if she is a Roma or comes from countries such as Bulgaria. In fact, in several cases traffickers have presented a woman from Russia as the birthmother, so that perspective buyers have the impression that the child will grow up to be tall and blonde. In addition, the deliveries usually take place outside of private clinics so that buyers are under the impression that the newborn belongs to a wealthy family and will therefore be healthy. Most circuits are controlled by Bulgarian nationals, who find pregnant women in their country of origin and transfer them to Greece for childbirth. In fact, they usually convince women to become pregnant and sell the infant for at least 3,000 euros. Many Greek lawyers and notaries work as accomplices to these circuits and manage their paperwork. The birthmother signs a form to authorize a lawyer to attend court in her place in order to ratify the adoption. Consensual adoption is legal provided that there is no money involved. Otherwise it is prosecuted as a felony.  


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Cases of Mental Illness in Greece Have Increased

Mental illness is another dark aspect of the Greek financial crisis which typically goes unseen, but the drastic changes in Greeks’ daily lives over the last years have had serious consequences on the state of the country’s mental health. Psychiatric hospitals all around Greece are filled with patients whose mental condition is occasionally shocking. Dafni, Attica’s Psychiatric Hospital, admits approximately 200 new patients every month. The number of patients surpasses the hospital’s capacity by 30%. Patients are loitering in the corridors and sleeping on cots. Furthermore, the number of involuntary commitments has risen dramatically since 2010. At the moment, almost 55% of patients are admitted to the hospital involuntarily, either by police intervention or by a prosecutor’s order. Doctors have connected the dramatic increase to the financial crisis. Patients who are admitted in these institutions are mostly the unemployed, bankrupt businessmen or parents who have no means of taking care of or feeding their children. Most are over 40-years-old and have never showed previous signs of mental illness. Moreover, hundreds of homeless people also end up in psychiatric hospitals with severe mental illnesses. They usually stay in the hospital for a short period of time and then return to the streets without any medical care. Scientific studies in Europe and the US have found a convincing connection between homelessness with mental illness. Last month, a 44-year-old homeless man who suffered from depression committed suicide in central Athens. One day before the incident he was admitted in Dromokaiteio Hospital, where doctors saw no need to hospitalize him. He was shortly discharged. According to local media, doctors are usually prompted by hospitals to discharge patients due to the fact that their institutions are consistently full. During the first nine months of 2014, 3,412 patients were examined in Dafni and just 1,757 admitted. “Unfortunately we don’t have the necessary structures to support these people at this time and the pensions of patients’ relatives have been significantly reduced,” notes Theodoros Megalooikonomou, director of Dafni Psychiatric Hospital.  


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No Surprises in Greek Banks’ ECB Stress Test Results

Three out of four systemic banks in Greece have failed their ECB stress tests. The results aren’t entirely devastating, however, since the banks’ capital needs are minimal and the European Central Bank is willing to re-examine the banks’ dynamic balance sheets. “Greece’s Eurobank Ergasias SA (EUROB) and National Bank of Greece SA’s pledged restructuring measures may cut the 2.7 billion-euro ($3.4 billion) capital shortfall uncovered by European regulators to almost zero,” said a recent Bloomberg article. Since the ECB took into account the dynamic balance sheet, Eurobank’s 1.76 billion-euro capital gap has proved no real shortcoming. The same stands for NBG’s 930 million-euro capital gap, according to the ECB’s website. The four Greek systemic banks (Euroban, NBG, Alpha Bank and Piraeus Bank) were able to raise the necessary 8.3 billion-euros, now that the country is slowly recovering from a six-year recession. “The results are manageable under the dynamic balance sheet approach,” Maria Kanellopoulou, an analyst at Euroxx Securities (EX) in Athens, stated in the Bloomberg article. “This means the banks have passed their last test and can go back to business.” Greek Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis was satisfied with the stress test results and noted: “It’s extremely important that the reserves of 11.4 billion euros at the HFSF are left unused.” In addition, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras expressed his satisfaction, stating that the Greek Banks’ stress test results have exceeded expectations. Meanwhile, three out of four banks in Cyprus (Bank of Cyprus, Central Co-op and RCB) passed the stress tests, while Cyprus’s Hellenic Bank failed with a capital shortfall of 176 million-euros.  


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Three Greek banks fail stress tests, relief over shortfall

Three of Greece's top four banks failed the European Central Bank's health check but the country's central bank said only one bank had to raise any money, in a major respite for the country where the euro zone crisis began. The results of the ECB's comprehensive assessment showed that National Bank (NBGr.AT) and Eurobank (EURBr.AT) had too little capital at the end of last year - showing ...


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Soccer-Greek championship results and standings

Oct 25 (Infostrada Sports) - Results and standings from the Greek championship matches on Saturday Saturday, October 25Atromitos Athinon 1 Ergotelis 1 Levadiakos 1 Panionios 0 PAS Giannina 0 Kalloni 0 Standings P W D L F A Pts 1 PAOK Salonika 6 5 1 0 15 2 16 -------------------------2 Veria 6 5 0 1 10 7 15 3 Kalloni 7 4 2 1 7 2 14 4 Olympiakos Piraeus 6 4 1 1 13 5 13 5 Atromitos Athinon 7 3 2 2 ...


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A look at what European banks flunked the review and need to boost finances

by  Associated Press A look at European banks that flunked test by The Associated Press, Associated Press - 26 October 2014 10:59-04:00 FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — A total of 13 European banks have been asked to strengthen their finances after a broad review of their books. Here is a look at which banks they are, what country they are based in, and by how much they must increase their capital buffers. Country Bank Required increase to financial buffers Austria Oesterreichische Volksbanken-AG 860 million euros ($1.08 billion) Belgium Dexia NV 340 million euros ($430 million) Cyprus Hellenic Bank Public Company Ltd 180 million euros ($228 million) Greece Eurobank Ergasias 1.76 billion euros ($2.2 billion) Greece National Bank of Greece 930 million euros ($1.18 billion) Ireland Permanent TSB PLC 850 million euros ($1.08 billion) Italy Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA 2.11 billion euros ($2.67 billion) Italy Banca Carige SpA 810 million euros ($1.03 billion) Italy Banca Popolare di Milano 170 million euros ($215 million) Italy Banca Popolare di Vicenza 220 million euros ($279 million) Portugal Banco Comercial Portugues 1.15 billion euros ($1.46 billion) Slovenia Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor 30 million euros ($38 million) Slovenia Nova Ljubljanska Banka 30 million euros ($38 million) Source: European Central Bank, European Banking Authority News Topics: Business, General news People, Places and Companies: National Bank Of Greece, Banca Monte Dei Paschi Di Siena, Banca Carige, Italy, Germany, Europe, Greece, Western Europe Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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A look at European banks that flunked test

A cleaning worker walks past the headquarters of National Bank of Greece, in Athens, on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014. The European Central Bank says 13 ...


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Demetrios Visits Occupied Cyprus

NICOSIA – Although Archbishop Demetrios had visited Cyprus on three previous occasions, his recent trip was particularly monumental insofar as it was his first visit to the region occupied by the Turks. The few hundred Greek-Cypriots remaining in the northernmost points of the island welcomed the archbishop, who visited the villages of Agia Triada Yialousa, […] The post Demetrios Visits Occupied Cyprus appeared first on The National Herald.


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New Book: Onassis Repeatedly Cheated on Jackie with Maria Callas

New York Times bestselling author Christopher Andersen in his upcoming book, The Good Son: JFK Jr. and the Mother He Loved, writes how Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis, who married President John F. Kennedy’s widow, Jackie, in 1968, routinely cheated on her with the woman he really loved, Maria Callas. Andersen writes that after Kennedy’s assassination, […] The post New Book: Onassis Repeatedly Cheated on Jackie with Maria Callas appeared first on The National Herald.


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Greek Politics in the Age of the Euro Crisis and the Urgent Task for Left Unity

In a politically, economically and socially underdeveloped Balkan country in which corruption, cronyism and clientelism largely constitute the driving forces of "development," "social mobility" and "social progress," Greece's only hope of revival from its ...


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ECB Finds $32 Billion Gap as 25 Banks Including Paschi Fail Test

Of the 13 banks that the ECB identified as having not raised enough capital, two Greek ones are exempted because their repair plans are already in ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bloomberg.com

Gallery: SpeedSector Racetrack Experience at Serres Racing Circuit in Greece

Speed Sector has held a selection of incredible track days in the past. Not too long ago, their latest track day was held at the Serres Racing Circuit in ...


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Greek diplomat: 100 large Greek companies plan investments in Egypt

Economic and Commercial Counselor at the Greek Embassy in Cairo Evangelos Dairetzis revealed that 100 large Greek companies plan to pump ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.egyptindependent.com

UTPA TRAVEL SERIES: Licorice and Greek Statues

Freud, a notorious collector of antiques and statues of Egyptian, Greek and Chinese mythology, came to England with three items smuggled from ...


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Eurobank, National Bank Plans May Cut Capital Gap to Zero

Greece's Eurobank Ergasias SA (EUROB) and National Bank of Greece SA's pledged restructuring measures may cut the 2.7 billion-euro ($3.4 billion) capital shortfall uncovered by European regulators to almost zero. By taking planned cost cuts and fund raisings in the so-called dynamic balance sheet into account, a capital gap of 1.76 billion euros at Eurobank, the country's third-biggest lender ...


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Football Frenzy 10/25/14: Zembiec Returns for Aquinas, RH Rolls, Athena Wins Greece

The first Saturday slate of playoff games did not disappoint with the biggest surprise coming from Class AA. Aquinas quarterback and defending State ...


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13 European banks flunk test, must raise money

Eurobank and National Bank of Greece had no or practically no shortfall due to later measurements, while Nova Ljubljanska Banka and Nova Kreditna ...


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Greece satisfied that ECB tests leave bank bailout buffer untouched

Greece's finance minister expressed satisfaction on Sunday that the country's banking system "passed successfully" the ECB's stress tests, noting that Athens still has a buffer of 11.4 billion ...


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Greece satisfied that ECB tests leave bank bailout buffer untouched

Greece's finance minister expressed satisfaction on Sunday that the country's banking system "passed successfully" the ECB's stress tests, noting that Athens still has a buffer of 11.4 billion ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT finance.yahoo.com

Greece returns to market spotlight with nosedive

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — After months out of the spotlight, Greece was back at the center of Europe's financial troubles on Wednesday, when concerns over the stability of the government and its bailout program triggered a massive sell-off in stocks and bonds.


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An OXI Day Story for the Ages: A Bishop’s Courage – Archbishop Damaskinos

By Margie Burns, edited by Sophia S. Huling An estimated 87 percent of the Greece’s Jewish population – 60,000 to 70,000 people – perished during the Holocaust. Thanks to the refusal of some Greeks to cooperate with German plans for deportations, 10,000 survived. The man who led those efforts was the Church of Greece’s leading […] The post An OXI Day Story for the Ages: A Bishop’s Courage – Archbishop Damaskinos appeared first on The National Herald.


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13 European Banks Don't Have Enough Money To Survive A Financial Crisis

The European Central Bank said on Sunday that 25 eurozone banks showed a capital shortfall, after a year-long review of finances for 130 of the largest banks in the euro area.  The assessment goes through Dec. 31, 2013. Since then, 12 of the 25 banks have already covered their capital shortfall, which totals €25 billion, the ECB said. That means 13 banks still do not have enough money to whether a financial crisis.  The banks with existing shortfalls, which have not been named, now have two weeks to submit plans to the ECB detailing how the firms plan to raise capital. The banks will have nine months to cover the shortfall, the ECB said. Out of the 25 banks, Cyprus, Greece, Portugal, and Italy have the proportionally highest shortfall, the report said. You can see Italy leads the pack in the pie graphs below.  In a statement, the ECB said, "By identifying problems and risks, [the review] will help repair balance sheets and make the banks more resilient and robust. This should facilitate more lending in Europe, which will help economic growth.”SEE ALSO: Credibility Meets Compromise In Europe's Bank Stress Test Join the conversation about this story »


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Clientelism will dog post-austerity Greece

The bailout is a reminder of how big powers have often exercised control, writes Tony Barber


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Patronage and bribery will persist in Greece even if it escapes austerity

At first sight it is puzzling that Greece should be in a hurry to exit the EU-International Monetary Fund bailout on which it has depended since 2010. The yield on Greek 10-year sovereign debt soared above 9 per cent a couple of weeks ago. Even at 7 per ...


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EU says 24 banks fail stress test, capital hole of 25 bln euros

Three Greek banks, Eurobank Ergasias, National Bank of Greece and Piraeus Bank, had a combined shortfall of 8.7 billion euros. Three lenders from ...


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EU says 24 banks fail stress test, capital hole of 25 bln euros

Three Greek banks, Eurobank Ergasias, National Bank of Greece and Piraeus Bank, had a combined shortfall of 8.7 billion euros. Three lenders from ...


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Clean bill of health for Greek banks from stress tests

Greek banks received what amounts to a virtually clean bill of health from the European Central Bank, as the results of the stress tests Frankfurt ...


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Orthodox Christians Hail St. Demetrius

St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki, a Christian martyr who lived in the 4th century, is an important saint for Greeks, Bulgarians, Serbs, and Russians.


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Twenty-four European banks fail financial stress tests

European Banking Authority finds 25bn black hole in finances with nine banks in Italy failing the testsEuropean banking regulators warned on Sunday that 24 banks in the European Union had a 25bn (£19.6bn) capital hole after being tested over their financial strength.The outcome puts the focus on Italian banks, nine of which were found to have a total shortfall of 9.4bn, the largest of which was at Banca Monte del Pashi di Siena. In Greece, three banks failed the stress tests and another three in Cyprus. Continue reading...


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BRIEF-Greece's National Bank fails ECB's stress test

ATHENS Oct 26 (Reuters) - National Bank Of Greece. * Had 3.432 billion euros capital shortfall at end-2013, has already raised 2.5 billion euros, ECB ...


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There are no words

When translated into Greek later, the term "Yikhidayah" became "Monoganace," which meant "Only Begotten." In the lecture he argues that the Greek ...


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Athens: 7 hidden gems to explore when visiting Greece's ancient capital

The very first time I set foot on Greek soil many years ago, I instantly felt like I had come home – not all that surprising, given that I'm a diaspora Greek.


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