Treasuries rose, with 30-year bond yields falling to a seven-week low, amid financial turmoil in Greece and declining inflation expectations as ...
 |
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bloomberg.com |
How the world sees Greece
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Treasuries Rally as Weak Oil Prices, Greece Turmoil Fuel Demand
Greek pensioners protest austerity cuts
"We have reached our limits, we can not take it any more." Hundreds of Greek pensioners have gathered in the capital to protest against austerity measures. Their message for the government: “We will not live on peanuts, we want our money back.”
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.euronews.com |
Times Topic: Greece
The decision rattled the Athens stock market, which closed down 12.78 percent, the biggest plunge since 1987. Bank shares were down 16.6 and 10-year bond yields rose above 8 percent, a level that effectively blocks Greece from raising money in the markets.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.nytimes.com |
One Geeky chart shows how serious Greek risks are
If Samaras can't get the Greek parliament to back him, elections could usher in the opposition SYRIZA party, which leads Samaras's New Democracy ...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com |
German Defense Company Fined Over Greek Arms Deals
A German defense and auto parts firm says it is paying a fine of nearly 37.1 million euros ($45.8 million) over allegations that a company ...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT abcnews.go.com |
Greek poll shows Syriza holding 5-point lead over conservatives
Greek shares tumbled for a second day in a row, falling 1 percent on Wednesday after Tuesday's roughly 13 percent plunge. Samaras will need the ...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT uk.reuters.com |
Political Uncertainty Rattles Greek Stocks and Bonds
The cost of insuring Greek debt against default rose by around 0.95 of a percentage point on the day, to 918 basis points. This means it would cost ...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT news.morningstar.com |
I'm Jewish and Greek. Who Do I Root for On Hanukkah?
The reason is: I'm Greek. Or at least part Greek. My father's family is from Sparta and loves the Greek Orthodox Church; my mother's family is ...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT blogs.forward.com |
TTU task force on Greek organization culture releases preliminary report
Texas Tech University's Task Force on Greek Organization Culture presented its initial findings and recommendations to President M. Duane Nellis on ...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.kcbd.com |
Stock Market Futures Down on Sliding Oil and Greek Concerns
The Greek stock market crashed by more than 13% yesterday on rising geopolitical concerns. The nation moved up its national presidential elections ...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT moneymorning.com |
Prime Minister Samaras: Greeks don’t Want Snap Elections
Greeks don’t want snap elections and will punish those who try to force them, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said at an event organized by the National Conferederation of Greek Commerce (ESEE), adding that MPs will have to behave responsibly. The Premier attacked the main opposition for its persistence on the Greek President issue. “They try to block the country’s path with threats of snap elections, using the election of a new President of the Hellenic Republic as a ‘vehicle’ and violating the spirit of the Constitution.” He stressed that, for months now, some people have been causing instability and creating uncertainty abroad, which the government dissolved by bringing the presidential election forward by a month and a half. “We didn’t have the right to do anything else. The (European) Commission described the move as a democratic decision. It was an act of responsibility,” Samaras stressed and added that the political scene must be clarified, and MPs have a responsibility to recall what happened, what the repercussions of their actions will be and then take their decision. “People don’t want elections, the markets don’t want elections, stock markets are falling because they’re afraid of the opposition’s plans,” the Prime Minister noted, reminding his audience that the opposition supports a closed economy and statism, while it threatens to push the country out of the Eurozone. Samaras underlined that lies were told, including accusations of attempted bribery of MPs to vote for the new President in order to single out those who decide to vote in favor of the government’s candidate. “Ideological terrorism will not succeed. Now they’re spreading rumors that Stavros Dimas (the government’s presidential candidate) will not be a candidate in all three rounds of voting. People will punish the one who is trying to force snap elections,” he said. “Populism destroyed the country and statism destroyed the economy,” Samaras noted, adding that the country is now entering a new era. “Some people are giving the ultimate battle to stop it and return us to the bankrupt past. It is the time of truth and responsibility for everyone. What’s at stake these days is normality and growth,” the Prime Minister said in his speech, expressing his certainty that truth and democratic responsibility will win and Greece will quickly move forward. The Greek Premier then made a brief review of the government’s work and continued to say that in three to four years, Greece will reach one of the top positions in global competitiveness. He said that recession has ended, growth is returning and unemployment is falling steadily. Samaras also underlined that Greece recorded the biggest growth in the third quarter of 2014 in the Eurozone and the country forayed into the markets two years earlier than expected. The government’s target has always been to exit the bailout program earlier than anticipated and it succeeded, he noted. “Greece is standing on its own feet and some people are trying to cancel that.” (source: ana-mpa)
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Greek Govt VP and German FinMin: Political Stability Is Key for Greek Economy
To the reforms and the progress Greece has made during all this time, referred the German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, after his meeting with Greek government Vice President and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos, earlier this afternoon in Berlin.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Athens now less of a threat to eurozone
Investors treat Greece as outlier rather than source of contagion
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ft.com |
Prosecutor Suggests Greek Social Security Fund Chief to Face Trial
The indictment before the three-member Felonies Court of Appeals of Greek Social Security Fund (IKA) chief Rovertos Spyropoulos on charges of infidelity, called with his suggestion a Greek prosecutor. The case concerns the lifting of the accounts’ confiscation decision imposed on supermarket chain “Arvanitidis,” which had some 18 million euros of debts to IKA. The prosecution motion also suggested the trial referral of the company’s two owners, with charges of moral instigation. The prosecutor suggested that Spyropoulos’ decision caused financial damage to the Fund. According to the prosecutor’s indictment, the company, based in northern Greece, on September 25, 2013, owed an amount of around 18 million euros to IKA, for the collection of which the local IKA office proceeded to levy actions against the company’s legal representative, providing him a 15-day period so that after the payment of a portion of the total amount, the company would benefit from debt restructuring. The IKA chief is accused that, without a previous formal application filed by the company, ordered the local IKA office to temporary lift the seizure so that the company would proceed with its staff payments, debt reconstruction etc. The head of the local IKA office rejected Spyropoulos’ request and informed his superiors that the seizure lifting he ordered is not based on any official provision, while he also informed him that the company was asked to settle the debt and it did not. On October 17, 2013, according to the indictment, Spyropoulos sent a second letter, calling again for the seizure lifting until November 15, 2013. The local IKA head complied with the order but once again expressed his legal reservations. After the seizure lifting, the company did not settle its debt and on November 18, a new foreclosure process was ordered. In the meantime, though, hundreds of thousands of euros were deposited in the company’s bank accounts but its debt to IKA was still not settled, while the owner withdrew some 1.35 million euros. Spyropoulos denies the accusations, arguing that all his actions were lawful. IKA is the largest Social Security Fund in Greece. It covers 5,530,000 workers and employees and provides 830,000 Greeks with retirement pension.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Greece brings forward presidential election
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is pressing ahead with his decision to accelerate the timetable for the presidential election.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.smh.com.au |
Greece in Much Better Situation Now, German Fin Min Says
BERLIN--German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said Wednesday Greece is in a much better economic situation than years ago as reforms are ...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.nasdaq.com |
Greek Cops Destroy Athens Bank Bomb
Greek police set off a bomb outside an Athens bank, allegedly planted in solidarity with a convicted bank robber who held a month-long hunger strike. The post Greek Cops Destroy Athens Bank Bomb appeared first on The National Herald.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com |
Maths works against Greek premier in presidential gambit
ATHENS (Reuters) - The odds are stacked against Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in his gambit over electing a new Greek president, as only by persuading at least a few opposition lawmakers to rebel can he win the parliamentary vote - and avoid a likely political crisis.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT feeds.reuters.com |
German Finance Minister: Greece in Much Better Economic Situation Now
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said Wednesday Greece is in a much better economic situation than years ago as reforms are paying off.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT online.wsj.com |
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Visits Corfu
In Corfu, western Greece, arrived at 11:00 am today Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who responded to the invitation of Archbishop Nektarios of Corfu, Paxos and Diapontia Islands to visit the island as part of the celebration of its patron saint, St. Spyridon, on this coming Friday, December 12. The head of the Orthodox Church was formally received by local authorities, church representatives and numerous citizens, schools and the island’s infamous municipal philharmonic band. Upon his arrival, the Ecumenical Patriarch expressed his feelings, saying that he was very moved, and highlighted that Corfu acts as crossroads of people and civilizations, neighboring to the west with Italy and to the east with Albania. He noted that the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s mission is vital for the entire world and not just for Orthodoxy, sending a message of “ecumenical rapprochement and cooperation.” Soon after his arrival, Bartholomew visited the St. Spyridon Cathedral, where the Saint’s sacred relics are being kept. Numerous events have been scheduled during the Ecumenical Patriarch’s four-day visit to the Greek island. The last official visit of the Primate of the Orthodox Church to Corfu took place 51 years ago, in 1963, by the late Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Greece’s Syriza softens its sharp edges
Market panic belies the fact that party leader Alexis Tsipras has tempered his rhetoric
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ft.com |
German defense company pays $45.8 million fine over alleged wrongdoing in Greek arms deals
A German defense and auto parts firm says it is paying a fine of nearly 37.1 million euros ($45.8 million) over allegations that a company representative in Greece made improper payments during arms deals in the country.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT feeds.foxnews.com |
European Commission Officially Backs Govt Candidate in Greek Presidential Election
In an unprecedented move, the European Commission on Wednesday decided to formally back a political candidate running for President in Greece, and applauded the government for calling for snap presidential election. Yesterday, the Greek government and Prime Minister Antonis Samaras moved the presidential vote forward by two months and announced that former European Union Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas has been chosen as the government’s candidate for President of the Hellenic Republic. Annika Breidthardt, a Commission spokesperson, said during a press conference on Wednesday that EU’s executive team has taken note of the Greek government’s decision to advance the presidential election, where three rounds are foreseen. “This is a democratic decision of the Greek authorities and Prime Minister Samaras. The decision can help remove uncertainties around financial markets. It is a strong signal to Europe that Prime Minister Samaras has decided to bring his presidential candidate Stavros Dimas forward, a former Commissioner and a convinced European. The choice is now in the hands of the Greek Parliament and people,” Breidthardt said. The EU tends to stay away from trying to promote candidates, political parties and influencing national elections, but the sudden backing of Dimas could be a sign of Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker‘s intentions of leading a more political European Commission. Breidthardt later added that she does not believe that there has been a change in the Commission’s policies, “but at this point, we wanted to make this statement.” (source: euractiv)
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Greek borrowing costs invert as default fears resurface
Greece's short-term borrowing costs climbed above long-term rates on Wednesday, a sign that investors fear political upheaval in Athens could push the country back towards default. The move follows a sell-off ...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT finance.yahoo.com |
Greece: Next Steps to Presidential Elections and Beyond
After Greece's government announced that it would start the process of electing a new president early, here's what the constitution says about what ...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bloomberg.com |
Gold trades near 7-week high amid political uncertainty in Greece
Investing.com - Gold futures traded near a seven-week high on Wednesday, as political uncertainty in Greece and lower oil prices boosted the appeal ...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.nasdaq.com |
Dollar almost unchanged amid Greece, China jitters
The Greek stock market suffered fresh falls on Wednesday and the yield on Greece's 10-year bond rose to 8.55% from 8.12% late Tuesday.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.nasdaq.com |
Gold rises to 7-week high with Greece in focus
Investing.com - Gold futures rose to the highest level in seven-weeks on Wednesday, as political uncertainty in Greece boosted the appeal of the ...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.nasdaq.com |
Greece: Politics, anarchy and a hunger strike
Athens, Greece - In a volatile political terrain, where anger is rampant and long-simmering political tensions dominate public debate, hunger-striker ...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.aljazeera.com |
Why Is Greece's Presidential Election Moving Markets?
The Greek coalition government has announced it will bring forward to next week a high-stakes parliamentary vote for the country's president.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT blogs.wsj.com |
Greece's Growing Threat to the Euro Project
The complicated and unstable politics of Greece have come down to a new moment of truth: On Monday, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras called for a ...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bloombergview.com |
Asia, Europe stocks bounce, but oil, Greece keep sliding
In Europe, most stockmarkets bounced after falling Tuesday on fears that Greece may be on the verge of a political crisis. Greek markets continued to ...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT fortune.com |
Will Greek History Repeat Itself?
Well, it is official: The Greek coalition government will not be able to elect the President of the Hellenic Republic from the present parliament in December, and much to SYRIZA’s delight, the country will go to general elections in the first two months of 2015. Alexis Tsipras and company are already riding the high horse. After all, they lead steadily on opinion polls for months now. “On December 29, the people will be in power,” stated the opposition party leader, referring to the date of the third presidential ballot that he is certain it will fail to elect a new President. SYRIZA MP Panayiotis Lafazanis, the party’s hardcore communist, talks publicly about a new day in Greece where the Left will rule, and Europe, as well as our international creditors, will see something they haven’t seen before. He never specified what he meant by that but it sounded scary to everyone who knows Greece’s difficult situation right now. He also declared on the radio that SYRIZA will win by a landslide and there is no reason for the reporter to ask him who would SYRIZA collaborate with if they don’t get enough seats in Parliament to form a government. All that would be perfectly fine if it didn’t bring the months before the 2009 elections to mind, when George Papandreou, leading the mighty PASOK of yore, demanded snap elections after two years of New Democracy rule. Prime Minister at the time Costas Karamanlis was suffocating under the weight of the upcoming economic crisis. The U.S. economic crisis of 2008 was knocking on Europe’s door and the blow for weak and corrupt Greece would be much stronger. Karamanlis decided this was too much to bear. He probably thought, “let Papandreou handle the hot potato, I’m out of here.” Then he almost disappeared from political life. George Papandreou took the hot potato indeed. He soon found that it burned his hands. From his famous pre-election motto “there is money,” he went running to the International Monetary Fund for help within months. From the October 2009 exultation until May 2010, when Greece passed to the “Memorandum” era, Papandreou and PASOK didn’t have much time to enjoy victory. There are more familiar themes between now and 2009. New Democracy was losing in popularity because Greece was out of money and there was nothing to disperse to voters. It is the same currently. Now we actually borrow to keep the country afloat. But SYRIZA insists there is money, they just use different words. They haven’t told us where is it yet, but somehow potential voters seem to have been convinced there is, somewhere. What if then all this is an Antonis Samaras scheme, a clever Plan B to get rid of SYRIZA after a few years, and then come back again as savior. Because if indeed New Democracy loses in the snap elections and SYRIZA comes to power, even in a coalition, they will have to be the ones to negotiate with our creditors and implement the required reforms. If they don’t, and Greece is forced to leave the Eurozone, then the economy will suffer and subsequently the Greek people will suffer too. Because the harsh truth is that there is no money for all the policies and welfare measures they are promising, like requisition of privatized public property, free electricity to 300,000 households or across the board raises in pensions and salaries in the public sector. It is possible that under the exultation of the impending victory, there is some skepticism for SYRIZA members. Some “what ifs” that can’t be erased by the percentages in opinion polls or the buzz of political obsession. Like “what if the presidential election is a bait set by shrewd Mr. Samaras,” “what if Europe stops lending us,” “what if people turn against us if we fail to deliver what we promised,” “what if there are disputes amongst us when we are in power.” Maybe there is something to be learned by Papandreou’s spectacular fall, who entered the arena full of lions without a Plan B. He is the one who took the blame for putting Greece in the harsh bailout program and reduced his party to one digit percentage figures. It remains to be seen whether history will repeat itself and the 2015 elections will bring Greece back to 2009.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
On This Day: Charilaos Trikoupis Declares Greece Bankrupt
“Regretfully, we are bankrupt” is one of the most famous phrases in modern Greek history and was uttered by Prime Minister Charilaos Trikoupis at the Parliament on December 10, 1893, referring to the state’s economic situation and its inability to repay its public debt. His government went bankrupt, which led to the imposition of Greece’s international auditing. Since then, the phrase has been used to indicate failure, mostly in financial issues. Although it is assumed that the phrase was said during a Parliament speech, that has been disputed since there is no such evidence from the House records. However, the opposition took advantage of the situation and said that the Prime Minister had officially declared Greece’s bankruptcy on the Parliament stand. Meanwhile, the newspapers reported it as it was presented by the opposition, thus disappointing Trikoupis’ supporters. A few decades later, in May 1932, Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos used a similar phrase. His government declared the country bankrupt due to its high debt to international lenders. Venizelos blamed the Asia Minor Catastrophe, which had occurred ten years before, and the global economic downturn since the Great Depression of 1929 as the main reasons for Greece’s situation, however, it was actually the accumulation of debt since the beginning of the century that led to the bankruptcy.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
3 reasons why Greek turmoil matters
Read full story for latest details.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT rss.cnn.com |
We Are Happy to Serve You
Everyone from New York knows the genre of restaurant known as a "diner." Diners have cheap food, they never close, they serve any meal at any time of day, and typically have as many items on the menu as the phone book -- back when we had phone books -- used to have names. At a diner you can eat breakfast at four in the afternoon or sip soup at six in the morning. You can have any one of hundreds of items at any time you like. Diners, at least until the '90s, were almost all owned by Greeks, or what we in New York call Greeks but who in Greece are Greek Americans. Diners are so typically Greek that they used to be called "Greek Diners," and when choosing where to eat people used to say, "let's go to the Greeks." This didn't mean you were going to eat Greek food (though you might -- the typical diner menu, even today, even if the diner has been sold to an Indian family or is operated by Mexican employees, invariably includes spanakopita, Greek salad, pastitsio, and moussaka). It meant: let's go to the diner. It is because of diners that every New Yorker knows (sort of) what the Greek alphabet looks like. Until the advent of Starbucks and the endless gourmet coffee-houses that followed in its wake, approximately 90 percent of the take-out coffee served in New York City came in blue and white cardboard cups emblazoned with the words "We are Happy to Serve You," written in fake Greek script. At their peak in the late '80s there were over a thousand diners in New York City alone. Now that New York, along with every other major city in the Western World, has turned into a high-end shopping mall, there are far fewer. But nearly every neighborhood still has several, and everyone has their favorite. With diners, you always go to the same one, and you use the definite article when you refer to it. When you say "let's go to the diner," friends know which one you mean. The point of eating out, when you go to a diner, isn't to try something new. The point is to go with the same friends to the same place you've been to a hundred times, to sit in the same seat at the same table, to order the same thing, and to be served by the same waiter -- who always used to be Greek but now probably is from Central America and works for a Greek. The original Greek diner owner, if he's been successful (and many have) has over the decades finally made enough money to move out of the city and hire other people to run his diner, if he hasn't sold it all together. This sounds like a happy ending, but to be blunt, the reason the Greek owner has enough money to do this is that he has worked his ass off for 20 or 30 years, clocking 100 hours a week, never closing his diner, never taking a break, and only very, very rarely flying back to Greece to visit his distant friends and family. The Greek diner owner may be successful, but he is also exhausted. In October of 2012, a massive hurricane ravaged the east coast of the United States. She was named "Sandy," for the letter S, the nineteenth letter of the Latin alphabet: Sandy was the nineteenth tropical storm of the season. Sandy was an improbable name: usually given to perky blonde cheerleaders, it's not a name one would associate with apocalyptic events. But in terms of potential to damage the human landscape, she ranked number one. New Yorkers were warned to prepare. We filled the bathtubs with water. We bought flashlights and batteries. We hoarded canned food and bottled water. It felt exciting, but also scarily anarchic in the way of 9/11 -- which had taught all of us just how isolated the island of Manhattan can feel during a crisis. Millions of people living in skyscrapers on a tiny island in the middle of an ocean harbor is a preposterous notion once you're forced to consider it. The evening of the storm, a curfew was declared. All businesses were ordered to close by sunset. As night fell, I hurried home through the empty streets. The wind was coming up, and branches were falling from the trees in the park. Two blocks from my home, I passed the diner -- my diner -- where I've eaten a hundred times. It was the only business in the neighborhood that hadn't closed. The lights were dimmed, and no one was inside. But the door was open and Nikos, one of the sons of the original owner, was standing on the front step. "Hey," I shouted. "Lock up and go home!" He smiled at me, then shrugged. "I'd like to," he answered. "But we don't have a key." The diner had been open for so many years that no one knew any longer where it was.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.huffingtonpost.com |
At Least 348,000 Migrants Risked Death At Sea This Year, U.N. Says
ISTANBUL -- The United Nations’ refugee agency slammed the international community today for “losing its focus on saving lives” as hundreds of thousands of people risk death at sea in search of a better life. At least 348,000 people have made dangerous and illegal sea voyages this year in an attempt to migrate or seek asylum, the agency said, and 4,272 have been reported dead. The U.N. agency warned that governments are too focused on keeping foreigners outside of their borders and not on aiding them. "This is a mistake, and precisely the wrong reaction for an era in which record numbers of people are fleeing wars,” High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said in a statement. "Security and immigration management are concerns for any country, but policies must be designed in a way that human lives do not end up becoming collateral damage.” Most migrants are bound for Europe, with over 207,000 people having crossed the Mediterranean since the start of the year. Despite record numbers, search-and-rescue missions and funding to support lifesaving endeavors have been slashed. Italy -- one of the major ports of entry for migrants -- announced in late October it was ending Mare Nostrum, its large-scale search-and-rescue operation that cost $11 million a month. Humanitarian groups decried the decision, citing the thousands of lives it has saved. A greatly scaled-back EU-led operation is set to take the reigns in January, focusing on border patrol and not search and rescue. Just last week, 17 African migrants died from hypothermia when they tried to travel from Libya to Italy in a small dinghy. Theirs were the first reported deaths since Italy announced it would halt Mare Nostrum. In October, Britain voiced its opposition to any search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean, claiming they only encourage migrants to make dangerous sea trips. But rights groups warn that migrants won’t stop coming. “People are still taking these dangerous sea routes to get to Europe,” John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s director for Europe and Central Asia, said last week after news broke that yet another group of migrants had died making the sea voyage from Europe. “If the EU is serious about preventing the Mediterranean from becoming a cemetery, it must be prepared to deploy search and rescue operations all along the routes that desperate refugees and migrants are taking.” Asylum-seekers from war-torn Syria make up one of the biggest migrant groups to be smuggled by sea this year to Europe, closely followed by Eritreans, according to statistics provided to The WorldPost by the International Organization for Migration. “I don’t care about the dangers of this trip,” a 29-year-old Syrian man who goes by Arwa told The WorldPost this September in Istanbul. Hours later, he packed his bags to head to the coast, where he planned to board a small, crowded vessel illegally bound for Greece. “I feel like it’s my last chance in life,” he said.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.huffingtonpost.com |
Greek stocks take hammering
The Greek stock market had its biggest plunge since 1987 yesterday as concerns mounted that the country is heading for a political crisis that could jeopardise its financial rescue programme.The benchmark stock index in Athens dropped...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT ri.search.yahoo.com |
Greece Reruns Doomsday Scenario
Political tumult in Greece , plunging stock and bond markets, the threat of default and exit from the euro: the script is eerily similar to the nightmare scenarios of 2010 and 2011. Debt-infested Greece ...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT finance.yahoo.com |
Greece ETF Crashes as Political Uncertainty Returns
Political risks have returned to Greece, sending shares in the nation far lower.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT finance.yahoo.com |
DIMAR Leader: Will not Vote for President of Republic
“Democratic Left (DIMAR) deputies have pledged that they will not vote for Greece ‘s President of Republic in the current parliament, because the implemented policy does not offer the conditions of a consensual procedure,” the party’s leader Fotis Kouvelis told private TV SKAI on Wednesday. Moreover, Kouvelis rejected press reports that preannounce DIMAR’s dissolution and its incorporation to main opposition SYRIZA’s ballot tickets and called them “figments of political imagination.” He clarified that DIMAR is ready to discuss the conditions of a progressive governance for the country with SYRIZA under the condition of its political and organizational autonomy and reiterated that he is open to the possibility to meet with SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras as well as with political groups such as the Ecologists-Greens. Kouvelis estimated that the government’s decision to speed up the presidential election procedure is in essence only a governmental move to declare Greek general elections. (source: ana-mpa)
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
The Mediterranean Sea of Death
More than 3,400 people - many drowning off Greek islands in rickety craft - died in the Mediterranean this year trying to reach Europe, the UN refugee agency said. The post The Mediterranean Sea of Death appeared first on The National Herald.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com |
Chios Mastiha Makes UNESCO List
A Greek agricultural treasure, the aromatic evergreen resin Mastic that grows on the island of Chios, has been given special status by the United Nations. The post Chios Mastiha Makes UNESCO List appeared first on The National Herald.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com |
New Azeri Gas Pipeline to Pass Through Greece
Greece and other eastern European countries may be looking for alternatives after Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to scrap a pipeline bypassing Ukraine, according to Bloomberg. The alternative is a new Azeri pipeline. The eastern European region has suffered a shortage of gas in 2006 and 2009 after Russia cut off supplies to Ukraine. Today, after Russia’s annexation of Crimea and alleged support of separatist movements in eastern Ukraine, relations with Europe are at a bad point. Now eastern European countries have turned to Azerbaijan and the Southern Corridor, for a series of pipelines that would carry Azeri gas to Europe. It is “a project led by BP Plc beat out the OMV AG-led Nabucco pipeline after both had vied for the same Azeri gas source. The 3,500-kilometer (2,175-mile) route from the Shah Deniz field would have initial capacity of 10 billion cubic meters a year, just one-sixth of South Stream’s capacity,” the Bloomberg report says. BP, Statoil ASA, Total SA and the State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan plan to start delivery in 2016. The fuel would flow to the Turkish-EU border and from there through Greece to Albania and Italy. The project is “realistic and can be executed in the medium term,” the Hungarian Foreign Ministry said after a meeting with representatives from Greece, Bulgaria and Romania in Athens.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Huge Drop in Christmas Turnover?
The turnover of stores in Greece is expected to show a huge drop this holiday season, in contrast with its usual increase, due to the risk of early elections. Meanwhile, tourism is also expected to drop significantly because of SYRIZA’s negative comments regarding all-inclusive vacation packages. Even during the crisis’ worst moment, store owners could always relax before winter holidays. The Christmas shopping season used to the most profitable time of the year. However, in 2014, store owners are not so optimistic. According to a survey conducted by PwC and published in Euro2day, Greeks’ average expenditure during Christmas shopping season dropped by 12.5%, compared to last year, while Greeks are expected to spend less than 400 euros per capita. The possibility of a significant turnover drop in Greece is attributed to the political developments and the possibility of early national elections, which scares people into holding on to any money they have left. Furthermore, store owners are not the only ones who have felt the impact of political developments. Tourism, Greece’s largest industry, has also shown worrying signs. SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras made a public statement regarding all-inclusive vacation packages, saying that they are the memorandum program of the tourism industry. His statement may possibly affect the hotel industry. Meanwhile, hotel owners are calling for stability, while defending their all-inclusive packages which have helped them get through the hard times.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Greece Spooks Markets As Bullish Traders Flee The Greenback
The euro edged up on the U.S. dollar on Wednesday despite political uncertainty in Greece weighing on the common currency. Meanwhile, disappointing Chinese data is leaning on the fortunes of commodity-sensitive economies, as a fresh wave of negativity washes over currency traders.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.forbes.com |
Anarchist Nikos Romanos Ends Hunger Strike
The 21-year-old anarchist Nikos Romanos who had been convicted of robbery ended his hunger strike after 31 days when Greece ‘s parliament voted on a new amendment that allows him to attend university courses under electronic supervision. Meanwhile, SYRIZA characterized the new amendment as a win for Romanos and a win for democracy and the parliamentary system. This morning Romanos decided to stop drinking liquids, after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal against an earlier court decision regarding the prisoners’ educational furloughs. SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras, spoke with the Greek President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias and the Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos noting that “a person’s life comes first. We need to find a solution.” According to the new amendment, prisoners who have been admitted to university institutions will have the right to attend on-campus courses, while wearing monitoring bracelets if they have successfully completed the first two months of the semester via distance learning. Romanos had been on a hunger strike since November 10. Authorities refused to give him educational leave so that he could attend on-campus courses at the technical university where he was admitted after passing the Pan-hellenic exams. He is currently serving a 15-year-and-11-month sentence for armed bank robbery.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Jailed Anarchist Ends Hunger Strike
Greek anarchist Nikos Romanos ended a hunger strike after the government said he would be allowed to attend college classes wearing a monitoring bracelet. The post Jailed Anarchist Ends Hunger Strike appeared first on The National Herald.
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com |
Global Markets Rattled by Greek Crisis, China Credit Tightening
While Brazil, Greece, and China saw a bearish market on greater concerns about emerging market growth, U.S. stocks reversed from an early morning decline as greater confidence in American stability overtook concerns about a global slowdown. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Global investors panicked Tuesday after Greek stocks fell over 10% and China signaled a tightening of its credit market amidst fears of growing defaults and oversized risk in local bonds. Global investors panicked Tuesday after Greek stocks fell over 10% and China signaled a tightening of its credit market amidst fears of growing defaults and oversized risk in local bonds. read more
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.economywatch.com |
Greek Stock Market Drops As Left May Win Early Elections
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras provoked a Black Tuesday in the Greek stock market, after he decided on Monday to hold snap elections two months ...
|
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.telesurtv.net |