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

Friday, January 9, 2015

Xanthi to greet Panathinaikos again for the Cup

Xanthi will clash with holder Panathinaikos in the most appetizing of the eight ties for the round of 16 of the Greek Cup according to the draw conducted on Friday at the Hellenic Football Federation. When Xanthi hosted Panathinaikos last month it beat th... ...


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Davies Seafood an anchor in Greece

Davies Seafood has been serving seafood in Greece since the 1930s. ... Davies Seafood has been a Greece mainstay since it first opened in 1936.


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Some surprises among SYRIZA election hopefuls

Rachil Makri, the former Independent Greeks MP who spent the last few months as a nonaligned lawmaker, was the surprise inclusion on Friday in SYRIZA’s list of candidates for the upcoming general elections. It appeared that the outspoken Makri wouldn’t be... ...


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Oil price strikes low

London (AFP) - Oil prices tumbled this week, hampered by oversupplies and weak global demand despite a pick-up for the US economy, traders said.On Friday official data showed the US unemployment rate fell to 5.6 percent in December, the lowest level in six and a half years, as the country capped its best year for job creation since 1999.OIL: Crude hit a new 5.5-year low point.Brent North Sea crude dropped to $48.90 a barrel Friday and the New York price hit $46.85 on Wednesday -- the lowest levels since late April 2009."The move below $50 shows how momentum is everything here," CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson told AFP."With no sign that OPEC will do anything about overproduction, it seems likely that we could well see further declines towards $40 in the coming weeks -- particularly given that demand shows no signs of picking up."A decision last month by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which supplies about a third of the world's oil, to leave output unchanged despite the price plunge has rattled the market in recent weeks."There is still no indication that US shale production will be reduced or that there will be a sudden surge in global demand for oil," said Shailaja Nair at energy information provider Platts.Rising US and Canadian oil production has contributed to ample global supplies at a time of slowing growth in China, the world's largest energy consumer, and other emerging-market economies, a recession in Japan and a near-stall in the 19-nation eurozone.Oil has lost more than half its value since June, while analysts say lower prices will be a boost to oil-importing countries worldwide.Rajiv Biswas, Asia Pacific chief economist at international consultancy IHS, said oil importing industrial nations in Asia will likely be the biggest winners from cheaper crude."The slump in world oil prices represents an estimated transfer of around $1.5 trillion from global oil producing countries to oil importing countries," he said.By Friday on London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February tumbled to $49.67 a barrel from $57.02 the previous week.On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate or light sweet crude for February slumped to $47.96 a barrel from $53.49.- Gold gains -PRECIOUS METALS: Gold won support from its status as an economic haven amid concerns for the eurozone.Falling industrial output and exports suggest Germany's current economic weakness is not over yet, while concerns persist regarding Greece's future role in the single currency bloc.Germany has made preparations for the possibility of Greece leaving the eurozone, including any run on Greek banks, a German newspaper reported Wednesday.Bild newspaper said the chancellery in Berlin had run through scenarios in the event of a victory in Greece's January 25 snap election by the radical leftist Syriza party.The party has pledged to reverse reforms imposed by Greece's international creditors and renegotiate its bailout deal.By Friday on the London Bullion Market, the price of gold rose to $1,217.75 an ounce from $1,172 a week earlier.Silver climbed to $16.24 an ounce from $15.71.On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum grew to $1,225 an ounce from $1,193.Palladium edged up to $795 an ounce from $791.BASE METALS: Base or industrial metals mostly slid, hit by a stronger dollar and more poorly-received Chinese data. Copper was additionally hit by high stockpiles, analysts said.Sliding oil prices weighed on aluminium, with higher production of the metal forecast owing to the cheaper cost of crude."As the most energy intensive metal to produce, aluminium is particularly sensitive to the fall in oil and coal prices," said Unicredit in a note to clients.Chinese inflation meanwhile rebounded marginally in December, the government said Friday, but economists warned of deflationary threats and called for more monetary stimulus to boost slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy. By Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months dropped to $6,112 a tonne from $6,242.25 the previous week.Three-month aluminium slid to $1,820.50 a tonne from $1,846.Three-month lead retreated to $1,839.75 a tonne from $1,860.25.Three-month tin rallied to $19,630 a tonne from $19,275.Three-month nickel grew to $15,508 a tonne from $14,971.- Cocoa rebounds -COCOA: Cocoa futures rebounded from the previous week's losses, winning support from news of sliding output in key producer Ghana."News from Ghana sparked the price rally," said Commerzbank analysts."In the first 12 weeks of the current crop year 2014/15, this worldwide second-largest cocoa-producing country sold considerably less cocoa than in the corresponding period last year."Sales of 430,800 tons were reported ... equivalent to a 23 percent year-on-year decline."By Friday on LIFFE, London's futures exchange, cocoa for delivery in March rose to £2,050 a tonne from £1,977 a week earlier.On the ICE Futures US exchange, cocoa for March climbed to $2,993 a tonne from $2,915.SUGAR: Sugar prices advanced as output was hampered by unfavourable growing conditions in major producer Brazil."Agriculture commodities lead the table, with sugar and coffee being supported by dryness in some areas of Brazil," said Saxobank analyst Ole Hansen.By Friday on LIFFE, the price of a tonne of white sugar for delivery in March rose to $390.10 from $380.60 a week earlier.On ICE Futures US, the price of unrefined sugar for March fell to 14.25 US cents a pound from 14.81 US cents.COFFEE: Coffee prices also won ground on Brazil production concerns."Futures markets were higher on fund-led buying, tied to expectations for drier than normal conditions in coffee areas of Brazil for the next couple of weeks," added Price Futures Group analyst Jack Scoville."It will not be completely dry, but rains for the next week or two should average below normal." By Friday on ICE Futures US, Arabica for delivery in March rallied to 181.50 US cents a pound from 161.30 cents a week earlier.On LIFFE, Robusta for March jumped to $1,992 a tonne from $1,871.burs-bcp/bocJoin the conversation about this story »


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ECB talks tough on state bonds

Senior European Central Bank officials said on Friday that the lender will not be buying any Greek bonds this month as part of its expected bond acquisition program and will definitely not have Greece’s debt to Frankfurt restructured, as poll-leading part... ...


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Tourist arrivals reached a record 19 million in Jan-Sep 2014

International tourism arrivals in Greece reached a new record of 19 million in the first nine months of last year according to the Bank of Greece’s border survey published on Friday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT). This marked a year-on-yea... ...


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Significant rise in exports and industrial output in November

Greek exports and industrial output posted a significant increase in November, the month before political uncertainty began to mount in the country, according to data released on Friday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT). November was the seco... ...


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Some surprises among SYRIZA election hopefuls

Rachil Makri, the former Independent Greeks MP who spent the last few months as a nonaligned lawmaker, was the surprise inclusion on Friday in SYRIZA’s list of candidates for the upcoming general elections. It appeared that the outspoken Makri wouldn’t be... ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Slow Burned Ferry Probe Ires Seamen

Greece's seamen's unions are upset at slow progress into the cause of the fire on a ferry to Italy that killed at least 10. The post Slow Burned Ferry Probe Ires Seamen appeared first on The National Herald.


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Greece: End of Austerity?

The post Greece: End of Austerity? appeared first on The National Herald.


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A Possible Grexit Would Signal Merkel’s Biggest Defeat

The explicit affirmation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel from London that no question of changing Berlin’s policy towards Greece gives an end to the speculation regarding the risk of a Grexit, which was fueled by recent reports in the German press. Merkel’s message was addressed to “people and market participants,” as she pointed out, which have reacted with great nervousness when similar articles – the latest by German newspaper Bild – said that the German government is preparing for a possible Grexit if the country’s main opposition, SYRIZA, wins the January 25 elections. Merkel’s assurances are the logical continuation of the strategy she is following during the last five years in order “to bring the Greeks in the path of virtue, with a policy mix of stick and carrot, financial support towards economic reforms, or, according to her own words, solidarity with a strategy at risk if Alexis Tsipras wins the elections,” notes Munich newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. Thus, the consequence of an Athens default would be stopping any assistance to Greece and exit from the Eurozone. The author attempts, however, to substantiate the reasons which he considers will bring Merkel at the same table with Tsipras in order to negotiate. “Even though some government officials would love to exhibit the instruments of torture to Athens (in case of a default), a possible exit of Greece from the Euro would be the Chancellor’s largest political defeat during the time she has been in office, because it would be tantamount to a failure confession regarding a policy, which may have been wrong from the beginning.” The newspaper further claimed that this would not be the worst: “The worst would be that Greece’s exit from the Euro would probably mean the country’s default. In this case, Merkel should address the Bundestag (German Parliament) and admit before the MPs that despite assurances to the contrary, a large part of German credit to Athens would be lost, which would mean a loss of several billion Euros for German taxpayers. This would signal a day of celebration for the Eurosceptic party ‘Alternative Option for Germany’ (AfD) and Pegida (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West).” Therefore, the last days, more and more articles in the German press as well as political analysts estimate that Merkel is forced to negotiate with a possible Tsipras administration as a logical continuation of her policy imposed so far.


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Greece gives ECB quandary over QE

Greece's forthcoming general election, scheduled for January 25, poses a dilemma for the European Central Bank as to whether to include Greek ...


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Pleasant Holidays Adds Greece to Portfolio

Exciting news for Europe-bound travelers today: Pleasant Holidays has announced the addition of Greece and the Greek Isles to its Europe portfolio.


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Samaras: Greece beginning economic recovery

Greece is now on a course of economic recovery, especially in tourism where it is expected to excel, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said while ...


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Greece to sell €625 million treasury bills on Jan 14

ATHENS: Greece is going to sell €625 million ($739 million) of three-month treasury bills on January 14 to refinance a maturing issue, the country's ...


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Seamen worried by Norman Atlantic probe’s slow pace

The representatives of four seamen’s unions expressed concern on Friday at the lack of progress in investigating the causes of the Norman Atlantic tragedy, which has so far led to 10 confirmed deaths, including three Greeks. The four unions (PEMEN, Stefen... ...


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State budget for hospital duty shifts cut once again

Greek hospitals face another difficult year as the state budget for duty shifts has been sliced by 7 percent to 225 million euros, the fifth annual cutback in a row. According to a biministerial decision released on Friday, the sum of 225 million euros ha... ...


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Why hedge fund managers are betting on Greek debt

But some of those managers have come away from meetings with the Tsipras economic team using the word "pragmatic" and concluding that a Greek ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.cnbc.com

Greek 10-year bond yields drop to 10.08 pct

Greek 10-year bond yields dropped to 10.08 percent on Friday after climbing as high as 10.8 percent on Thursday, the most since September 2013. Investor concern that Greece will miss debt payments is reflected in three-year yields that are more than three... ...


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Product Development Trends: The Greek Effect Spreads

If you haven't yet realized that Greek yogurt is jumping categories consider Honey Bunches of Oats Greek Honey Crunch, a breakfast cereal from Post ...


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Govt appoints new envoys to Greece, Lebanon, Turkey

Of them, Md Jashim Uddin, director general of East Asia and Pacific Wing to Greece; Abdul Motaleb Sarker, director general, SAARC & BIMSTEC, ...


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Cyprus Airways stops flying after EU ruling

Nicosia (AFP) - Cyprus on Friday announced an immediate halt to flights by its national carrier after EU regulators ordered Nicosia to recover illegal state aid granted to the holiday island's ailing airline.Cyprus Airways ticket-holders will be offered alternative arrangements, the government of the small recession-hit EU member state said.Finance Minister Harris Georgiades told a press conference Cyprus Airways was no longer "economically viable" after the decision from Brussels and was ceasing operations.The 68-year-old carrier was to make its last flight Friday night."We are saddened by the turn of events, and the government will seek to maintain air links between the island and abroad," said Communications Minister Marios Demetriades.Demetriades had warned the airline could not survive if the EU decided Cyprus broke the rules by giving it a 31-million-euro ($37 million) capital increase and a 34-million-euro rescue loan.He said the government was looking into the prospects of creating a new airline if they could find serious investors and had already bought the Cyprus Airways logo for such a scenario."Following today's decision for immediate termination of the flight programme of Cyprus Airways, the Cyprus government decided to offer alternative arrangements to all passengers who have in their possession tickets of Cyprus Airways flights," an official statement said.It listed the alternatives as the use of chartered airplanes or passengers being switched to another airline, perhaps with transits, with the Cypriot government footing the bill.In Brussels, EU regulators ordered Cyprus to recover from Cyprus Airways about 65 million euros ($77 million) in illegal state aid."Following an in-depth investigation, the European Commission has concluded that a restructuring aid package... for Cyprus' ailing flag carrier Cyprus Airways gave the company an undue advantage over its competitors in breach of EU state aid rules," Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said."Cyprus Airways has received large quantities of public money since 2007 but was unable to restructure and become viable without continued state support," Vestager said. - Last-ditch survival bid - The carrier, 93 percent state-owned, has struggled to survive against intense competition on its most popular routes to Greece and London.Several cost-cutting plans as part of last-ditch survival efforts failed to stem losses.It posted a net loss of 55.8 million euros in 2012, more than double the 23.88 million euros of the previous year.The government launched a search for potential buyers of the carrier last year but failed to receive any serious interest.Ireland's budget airline Ryanair and Greece's Aegean were whittled down from an initial 14 suitors when expressions of interest for Cyprus Airways were launched last July.But the interested parties were reportedly concerned about the European Commission investigation of a breach of EU state aid rules.A Cyprus Airways back-up plan would reportedly have seen the carrier reduced to three aircraft and its staff cut to 230 from the current 560.The national carrier also sold off assets, including three slots at London's Heathrow airport, and reduced its fleet to six aircraft.Join the conversation about this story »


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Greek business divided on a Syriza-led future

What will happen if the leftist Syriza movement wins the upcoming Greek election? The sitting government predicts economic apocalypse but opinions vary among economic experts.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.dw.de

Bourse index recovers some lost ground

The Greek bourse underwent a technical correction on Friday following three sessions of losses that reached close to 9 percent in total. Once again, though, the daily gains were registered on reduced turnover, while the week’s days of losses were in most ... ...


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Greek judges poised to launch suits against gov't over pay

Greek judges are expected to submit a barrage of lawsuits against the government over its failure to return to them wages that were cut in August 2012, a move which has since been deemed unconstitutional. The judges and prosecutors’ union said on Friday t... ...


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Koumandareas murder suspect claims innocence, remanded

A 25-year-old Romanian national who has been implicated in the murder last month of acclaimed Greek novelist Menis Koumandareas, 83, was remanded in custody on Friday after denying murder charges leveled against him while a second suspect turned himself i... ...


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Captured terrorist Xeros sent to Domokos Prison

Convicted November 17 terrorist Christodoulos Xeros, who was arrested last weekend in Anavyssos, southeast of Athens, after a year on the run, was transferred on Friday to Domokos Prison in central Greece. Xeros was originally returned to Attica’s high-se... ...


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Greek leftists' lead over conservatives widens slightly: Marc poll

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek leftist party Syriza's poll lead over the ruling conservatives marginally widened to 3.2 percentage points from 3 points, a survey showed on Friday, two weeks ahead of an election that is watched with keen interest across Europe. Syriza, which opposes Greece's international bailout program, would take 29.6 percent of the vote, the poll conducted by Marc for Alpha TV ...


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Young Greek Opens Popular Barber Shop in Germany

frankfurt-barber A young Greek professional hairdresser and self-taught barber, fulfilled his dreams five months ago when he opened his own ...


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Greek league leader PAOK signs Ecuadorean Noboa

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greek league leader PAOK has signed Ecuadorean international Christian Noboa on a two-and-a-half year contract.


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Greece, Germany And The ECB And What They Mean For Bonds, Stocks And The Euro

Greece is back in the spotlight amid renewed fears of a break-up of the Euro as the Syriza party show a 3.1% lead over the incumbent New ...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT seekingalpha.com

Man Shot by Greece Police Officer Arraigned in Court

Manza was shot and wounded by Greece Police Sergeant Jared Rene November 9 after police responded for a report of loose dogs. Greece police ...


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Greece's Samara says they're ready to tie up a final deal with creditors

I'm assuming he's talking about the final deal to help facilitate the exit from the bailout. In election terms taking Greece out of that is possibly his biggest ...


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Is A Greek Euro Exit Finally About To Happen?

The Eurozone crisis involving Greece has been a nagging thorn in the side of the European Union ever since the financial collapse of 2008–2009.


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Greek-Australian Saves Family from Drowning

A Greek-Australian man from Sydney managed to save three young girls and their father from drowning, despite the fact that he did not know how to swim. When asked to describe his experience, Nick Papadopoulos said that he felt like a dog that had been ...


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Weighing the Options the Greeks Face

As a result the Greek upheaval, despite sending Greek equity and bond markets into a downturn, has produced no contagion to asset markets in other ...


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Election Candidates Switch Parties to Save Their Skin, Not Greece

The January 25 elections are considered the most important in modern Greek history. Then again, a look back in previous elections will show that Press and candidates say the same about every election since the return of democracy in Greece in 1974. The same people who crossed swords in the 2012 elections and will do so again in two weeks, were telling us then that “these are the most important elections for Greece.” It must be one of the most repetitive, empty, unimaginative slogans we hear every such time. Not as good as “change” though; a promise made by any politician who would be happy if things stayed exactly as they are. Truth is that these elections have some specificities. Big and medium parties of the past are shrinking or disappearing from the political map. At the same time, we have some of the 300 MPs decorating the Parliament seats, making spectacular switches. First, we had the break-up of the once mighty PASOK in two fragments: One with George Papandreou, son of the party’s founder, Andreas Papandreou, and Former Prime Minister with the stigma of “selling” the country to the International Monetary Fund. The other part of PASOK, with a new middle name as Democratic Party and Evangelos Venizelos at the helm, will continue on the rocky road of depreciation. At the same time, Democratic Left (DIMAR), which used to be part of the coalition with New Democracy and PASOK, seems to be non-existent, losing almost all of its MPs after siding with SYRIZA in the Presidential election. Independent Greeks (ANEL) have also lost members and there are speculations that they will not get enough votes to enter the House again. Even the manufactured bribery scandal didn’t help them win the political gravitas they crave. Also, there are politicians who have unexpectedly changed colors, from Left to Right and backwards, as if the party that made them is of no importance to them. They changed sides with the same ease they would change a suit. Disregarding their voters’ expectations. For example, Vassilis Economou who was with DIMAR, turned independent for a while and now will be in the New Democracy ballot for January 25. Angela Gkerekou, well-known PASOK MP with big success in her district, will be with New Democracy from now on. Her change of color has made PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos to turn against his coalition partner and New Democracy chief Antonis Samaras, and accuse him of an “immoral act.” Giorgos Davris of ANEL also jumped into the New Democracy lifeboat. Who would have thought that Rachel Makris would leave rightist ANEL and try to go to SYRIZA, and after failing that, she would flirt with the communists of ANTARSYA? Οr that former PASOK deputy Minister and now independent Markos Bolaris would be rejected by SYRIZA? Or that Chryssoula Giatagana, previously with ANEL, would turn down SYRIZA? The fact is that many MPs, independent or not, certain that SYRIZA will win, rushed to offer their presumed political weight and expertise to SYRIZA, regardless of previous political affiliations. That can only mean one thing: Ideologies and political convictions mean nothing in the prospect of winning a seat in the Greek Parliament. Others, ran to close second New Democracy. After all, the salary is the same for all MPs. Given the fact that the Greek electoral system gives a bonus of 50 seats to the first party, it’s a surprise that SYRIZA didn’t see more candidates begging. The SYRIZA ranks are already full of former PASOK members who didn’t have a chance to enjoy the perks of power. A recent study on switching party affiliations in the 2010-2012 period, 75 Greek MPs switched party, as compared to eight in Ireland and none in Spain or Portugal. These figures show that in Greece, for the Red, Blue or Green, politics is business; and business is good. No wonder Ireland is out of the economic crisis and Spain and Portugal are close. In these elections, many Greek politicians unwillingly admitted that all they care about is to save their skin, not Greece. All this talk about “I joined this other party where I can work with all my power to help Greece come out of the crisis” is no more believable than the phrase “Your check is in the mail.”


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Moody’s: Political Uncertainty Negative for Greek Banks

Moody’s ratings agency estimates that the January 25 snap elections in Greece, which create political uncertainty, will have a negative effect on Greek banks. “The political uncertainty regarding the Greek government and the consequent resurgence of rumors about a possible Greek exit from the Eurozone affects the confidence of depositors and impedes the access of banks to liquidity,” highlighted Moody’s in its latest report. The ratings agency said the speculation follows polls that indicate Greek main opposition SYRIZA as winner of the upcoming elections. SYRIZA, is noted in the report, is firmly against the fiscal consolidation measures and reforms agreed between the Greek coalition government and its international lenders. “Although there was a slight decrease in deposits in recent weeks, Greek banks maintained their liquidity, increasing their dependence on European Central Bank funding,” underlined Moody’s, adding that the availability of the European Social Fund (ESF) for Greek banks implies that Greece complies with the conditions set by the Troika and remains in the EU support program. “We expect that the funding recently acquired by Greek banks with their borrowing from the interbank market and the securitization of loans will be temporarily ‘dry’ and this will worsen their liquidity, at least until the normalization of the political situation and the new government reach an agreement with the Troika for the support program, which was extended until the end of February 2015,” was further estimated in the report. In addition, it was noted that interbank lending has been marginally reduced during the last two weeks and was replaced by funding emerging from the European Central Bank (ECB). “Borrowers are likely to negotiate with banks for non-performing loans in the hope that any new government will promote friendly measures for them, including debt cancellation, a topic widely discussed by political parties in recent months,” Moody’s concluded, revealing that the chances are high for a delay in the improvements of banks’ asset quality, which was expected within the second half of the year by the agency.


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Greek minister moves to allay fears of bank run

Gikas Hardouvelis says probability of a bank run is small and deposits are safe, as Greece prepares for snap general electionGreece’s finance minister has sought to allay fears that political uncertainty prompted by snap polls later this month will spark a run on banks, amid worrying signs that savers are rushing to withdraw deposits.As Athens prepares for a general election on 25 January, Gikas Hardouvelis said the banking system was safe, although he acknowledged mounting evidence that the rich were transferring money abroad. In December alone, €2.5bn left lenders. Continue reading...


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ECB: Greece must play along

Continued access to European Central Bank funding for Greek banks depends on completing a final review of prior bailout funds and negotiations for ...


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Greek Tragedy II

The latest Greek crisis, again threatening stability in Europe and beyond, is not principally financial. At any rate not yet. Instead, it stems from a serious anomaly that can be traced to the two consecutive referenda that summarily abolished the monarchy ...


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Greek industrial output Nov yy +2.3% vs revised -0.4% in Oct

Mike Paterson has more than 30 years of experience trading FX including key market-making roles as a senior spot trader with UBS and Credit Suisse ...


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Terrorist Xeros Transfered to Domokos Maximum Security Prison

To the newly established maximum security prison of Domokos was transferred earlier today former November 17 (N17) member and convicted terrorist Christodoulos Xeros after his temporary detention to Korydallos prison in Athens, Greece. During the previous days, other N17 convicts were also transferred from Korydallos to Domokos prison where they will serve the remaining of their sentences. Meanwhile, the stolen van discovered by the counter-terrorism unit in a deserted area of Mount Egaleo in Athens earlier this week is being examined by police in order to establish if it is connected to Xeros and his associates. The vehicle has been transferred to the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DEE) for further investigation. It should be noted that in one of Xeros’ hideouts in Loutraki, police found 45 explosive mechanisms inside Tupperware containers as well as the names and addresses of possible targets. His plan was to orchestrate the escape of the leadership team of terrorist group Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei (SPF) from Korydallos prison and then conduct several terrorist hits with their assistance. The attacks would take place during the pre-election period. The explosive mechanisms found are similar to the ones used by N17 in the past. They are the kind of trapped mechanisms that Xeros used to construct and use. They were either made by Xeros himself or someone put them together under his instructions.


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ECB's Hansson says full-scale QE before Greek elections 'problematic': Bloomberg

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - European Central Bank Governing Council member Ardo Hansson said he would find it "problematic" to announce large-scale purchases of government bonds this month that included Greek debt.


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Greek leftist Syriza maintains lead over ruling conservatives

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek leftist opposition party Syriza maintained a lead over the ruling conservatives, two polls showed on Friday, with one indicating the gap had narrowed slightly.


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Greece: electoral campaign heats up, 17% still undecided

(ANSAmed) - ATHENS - A few days from early elections in Greece, the electoral campaign is heating up, with leaders from the two top parties, Antonis ...


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Greg Palast: Greece Is a Crime Scene, and Vulture Funds Are to Blame

Continuing this narrative of Greece being a so-called success story: After so many years of IMF and troika involvement in Greece, there are many who ...


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HelpMeVote: The University of Thessaloniki App Assisting Undecided Greek Voters

Latest polls have found that more than 15% have yet to decide which political party they will vote for in the fast approaching critical elections of January 25. For those who can’t seem to find any party covering their criteria 100%, a new electronic application developed by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is available to aid voters in making a decision before the ballot box opens. “HelpMeVote” is an online application that allows voters to compare their views on politics and current affairs with the positions of the candidates and their parties. In essence, it is an electronic voting adviser (Voting Advice Application or VAA). Consultant Voting is presently used in many countries for presidential, parliamentary, regional or municipal elections. HelpMeVote initiative is a scholarly work, not linked to any political party or movement and all information collected is under the responsibility of the research team. Furthermore, political parties had no effect on the project design How does it work? Before the election, the positions of the candidates or parties are encoded by a group of academic researchers. Then voters are asked to complete the same questionnaire and to express their views. The electronic system compares the responses of the parties/candidates to those provided by the voters (users of the online application). The final result shows the ranking of parties or candidates based on their degree of agreement with each voter. The degree of agreement between the party and citizen are finally calculated using an appropriate statistical factor. HelpMeVote is available online at www.helpmevote.gr.


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Economic Sense: Greece And The Euro

An employee walks at the reception hall of the Athens stock exchange in Greece on April 8, 2013. (Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images) As the euro keeps plunging and Greek bond yields are soaring, markets are preparing for the worst case: A Greek exit of the ...


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Eurozone sovereign duo ignore Greek drama

LONDON, Jan 9 (IFR) - Ireland and Belgium raised 9bn at yields below 1% this week despite mounting concerns about a potential Greek exit from the ...


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