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Monday, May 11, 2015

Greece Dodges Economic Bullet With Progress Toward Deal

Greece dodged an economic bullet by persuading an increasingly skeptical German-led bloc of creditors that it's serious about delivering the ...


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Moscvici: Good convergence between Greece and its creditors

EU Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici says there is good convergence between Greece and its creditors on some issues, such as VAT rates and how to handle non-performing loans. But there is still “significant divergence” on other subjects, namely the Greek ...


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Dijsselbloem: Greece could get some funds if it implements some steps

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the chairman of the eurozone finance ministers, said Greece could start receiving some emergency funding if it starts reforms agreed with its creditors but warned that a referendum could delay disbursement. "It could be that we cut ...


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Varoufakis: Greece referendum on bailout 'not on radar screen'

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Monday that a referendum on Greece's bailout is not planned for the time being, saying that the country's liquidity situation is a more pressing matter. He said differences with creditors are narrowing on ...


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Tsipras: Greece will closely examine invitation to join BRICS bank

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday spoke on the telephone with visiting Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak, who repeated his invitation to Greece to join a new BRICS Development Bank as its sixth member. Storchak was in Greece ...


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Eurogroup lauds Greek progress in bailout talks

Greece has earned the commendation of its European peers as it negotiates an extension to its bailout agreement with its international creditors, but the cash-strapped country still has a way to go.


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Greek cabinet meeting to meet on Tuesday

The Greek government is “cautiously optimistic” following the Eurogroup statement issued earlier on Monday, a government source said, adding it was an announcement which was sought by Athens.  However, as the negotiations are ongoing, the cabinet will convene on ...


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Greece makes progress but warns of cash crunch

Greece won limited support from the eurozone Monday for the progress it has made in difficult bailout talks but warned that Athens faced a cash crunch within two weeks without a deal.


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Great Beaches in Greece

The post Great Beaches in Greece appeared first on The National Herald.


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Greece Makes Progress, But Deal Still Elusive, No Aid

Greece has made progress in talks with creditors but "more time and effort" is needed to reach a deal to give the cash-strapped country vital rescue money. The post Greece Makes Progress, But Deal Still Elusive, No Aid appeared first on The National Herald.


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Greece to face cash crunch in 'couple of weeks': Varoufakis

Brussels (AFP) - Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis warned Monday that his debt-wracked country would face a cash crunch within two weeks, and was in an urgent need of the last tranche of rescue funds from its 240-billion-euro bailout."The liquidity issue is a terribly urgent issue. It's common knowledge, let's not beat around the bush," Varoufakis said after a meeting with his eurozone counterparts in Brussels."From the perspective (of timing), we are talking about the next couple of weeks," he added.Varoufakis welcomed that the Eurogroup -- the finance ministers from the 19 countries that use the euro -- issued a positive statement about the talks even though it did not unlock even part of the bailout's final 7.2-billion-euro payment."What was of the essence was to establish in public the great strides that have been made... and before the liquidity constraints become binding," Varoufakis said.Short of payout, Greece hopes that the symbolic gesture won Monday will help persuade the European Central Bank to keep emergency funds flowing to Greece's fragile banks.But Varoufakis said that decision was up to the ECB."The ECB receives no order, from us or the Eurogroup and alone decides when and what it decides it should do," he said.The minister refused to take further a suggestion by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble that Greece hold a referendum on getting support for further reforms."A referendum is always available in order to elicit the support of the Greek people," he said."It is a tool available to the Greek government, (but) at the moment it is not on the radar screen."Join the conversation about this story »


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Greece makes progress with creditors as cash crunch looms

BRUSSELS (AP) — Greece may have only a couple of weeks left before it faces real problems meeting its financial commitments, the country's finance minister conceded Monday as talks with European creditors dragged on without agreement. Following a meeting ...


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Debt crisis: Greece temporarily averts default disaster

However, the coffers in Athens are thought to be completely dry and its uncertain how Greece is to meet welfare payments in the coming days.


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Wall St. Slides Back as Hopes Dim for Greece Accord

EUROPEAN ACTION Markets in Europe were mixed as investors assessed the latest developments in Greece. European finance ministers met ...


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Schäuble's subplot – a Grexit, it seems, no longer worries Germany

Berlin is no longer worried if Greece has a referendum on bailout terms and possibly exits the euro - Germany just wants some closureThe late news from the make-or-break talks in Brussels was no news at all, really. There were a few encouraging words for the progress Greece is making on its reform plans. Athens also ordered a €750m (£535m) repayment to the International Monetary Fund. But an agreement on releasing €7.2bn of bailout funds? No.There was, though, one intriguing sub-plot. Germany, in the form of finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble, suddenly seems taken by the idea of Greece holding a referendum. Continue reading...


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Eurogroup hails Greek progress, says more work needed

Finance ministers of the euro zone welcomed progress achieved in negotiations between Greece and its creditors on a cash-for-reform deal but said more work is needed to bridge differences holding up a comprehensive agreement.


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Peace talks to resume on Cyprus on May 15

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Peace talks between estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriots will resume on May 15, a United Nations envoy said on Monday. Espeth Barth Eide was speaking to media after a meeting between Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci. It was their first encounter since Akinci, a moderate leftist, swept to victory in a Turkish Cypriot leadership election on April 26. (Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Kevin Liffey)


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Starbucks has one huge advantage over McDonald's

Starbucks could be the next McDonald's.  Traditional fast food chains are losing market share to up-and-coming establishments like Chipotle as millennial customers search for healthier options.   This shift in consumer mindsets puts Starbucks in a unique position to take over, according to a recent report by Goldman Sachs. "Starbucks is virtually the only large incumbent that can offer millennial parents the convenience of a (fast food chain) and food they would not feel guilty/embarrassed to feed to their kids," Goldman Sachs' analysts write. Starbucks has been expanding its menu to include more food options such as sandwiches and salads. It has also added drive-thrus to many locations.  The coffee chain has also been "steadily expanding kid-friendly snack options, such as organic fruit squeezes, organic food snacks, and organic Greek yogurt," according to Goldman Sachs.  Capturing millennials, defined by Goldman Sachs as anyone aged 15-35, and their children is key because they could become lifelong customers.  "With the continued expansion of the lunch platform and investments in both drive-thru and in-store throughput (Starbucks') advantages in these areas appear set to expand," the analysts write.  With more than 20,000 locations around the world, Starbucks also has the size and power to compete with McDonald's. The fast food giant has more than 36,000 locations around the world. By comparison, Chipotle has 1,700. McDonald's is struggling to convince parents that its food is healthy.  Families with a child age 12 or under represent 14.6% of McDonald's customers today, down from 18.6% in 2011, according to Technomic. "Kids are more sophisticated," Mary Chapman, director of product innovation at Technomic, told Crain's Chicago Business in September. "They're not just looking for the Golden Arches and the toy." Customers are demanding "great-tasting, high-quality food," and McDonald's needs to make changes to some of its core menu items to meet that demand, new CEO Steve Easterbrook said on a call with analysts Monday. In an recent step in that direction, the company pledged to remove antibiotics and hard-to-pronounce ingredients from its chicken. Hayley Peterson contributed to this story. SEE ALSO: 25 companies revolutionizing retail Follow Us: On Facebook Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: We tried all the burgers on the McDonald's 'secret menu'


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Mud threatens Amphipolis tomb

THE excavation of the enormous Amphipolis tomb in northern Greece opened a window to our ancient past. Now austerity budgets and wild weather are threatening to bury it again.


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Greece orders early repayment of €750m loan instalment to IMF

Move aims to banish fears of insolvency in Athens but little optimism exists about a breakthrough in bailout talks any time soonGreece moved to banish fears it was on the brink of insolvency and default on Monday, ordering the repayment of €750m (£535m) in IMF loans hours before they were due.The payment – timed in a calculated gesture to coincide with the latest exercise in brinkmanship with eurozone creditors in Brussels – came as a relief, though not as a surprise, to senior eurozone officials. Continue reading...


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UN envoy says Cyprus reunification talks to resume May 15

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A United Nations envoy says Cyprus' rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders will relaunch stalled talks aimed at reunifying the ethnically divided island on May 15.


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The original Grexit: Greece has form when it comes to leaving a single currency – it happened in 1908

How do you make a Maltese cross? Tell him how much a Greek urns. Substitute Malta for Germany, Holland or Finland and that old joke more or less sums up today's stand-off in the eurozone.


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Church, SYRIZA MP clash over use of saint’s relic

The Church of Greece and SYRIZA’s parliamentary group representative, Nikos Filis, clashed on Monday after the latter complained about the use of a relic of Saint Barbara, one of the most venerated saints in the Orthodox Church, which was brought to Greece over the weekend.


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Germans says 'helpful' referendum could decide Greece's euro fate

The German government has raised the prospect of an in-out referendum to decide Greece’s fate in a sign that Europe’s largest creditor has begun to make contingency plans for a Greek exit from the euro. Speaking ahead of a meeting of eurozone finance ...


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As Greece orders IMF repayment despite cash crunch, bailout deal with creditors still elusive

BRUSSELS - Greece has made progress in talks with creditors but "more time and effort" is needed to reach a deal to give the country the money it needs to avoid default, the eurozone's top official said Monday. Jeroen Dijsselbloem said after a meeting of ...


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German-Greek Business Association concerned about VAT rates

The German-Greek Business Association (DHW) on Monday expressed worries over reported planned tax hikes by the SYRIZA led-government, especially after recent statistics pointing to a 25 percent decline in tourism bookings from Germany.


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Greek FM in Turkey in confidence-building push

Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias on Monday held talks with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and gave a flurry of interviews to Turkish media on the first day of a visit to Turkey aimed at paving the way for bilateral talks on confidence-building measures.


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Greek could get some funds if it implements some steps

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the chairman of the euro zone finance ministers, said Greece could start receiving some emergency funding if it starts reforms agreed with its creditors but warned that a referendum could delay disbursement. "It could be that we cut the remaining implementation process in parts and let the disbursements follow that in parts," Dijsselbloem told a news conference.


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Eurogroup in statement welcomes progress in Greece talks

The Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers issued the following statement on Greece on Monday: "The Eurogroup today took stock of the state of play with the ongoing negotiations between the Greek authorities and the institutions. "We therefore welcome the intention of the Greek authorities to accelerate their work with the institutions, with a view to achieving a successful conclusion of the review in a timely fashion. "The Eurogroup reiterated that its statement of 20 February remains the valid framework for the discussions.


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Greece: 3 reasons to breathe easier

Finally, some positive news about Greece. After months of unproductive -- and occasionally undiplomatic -- exchanges with its creditors, the Greek government is finally inching toward a deal that would unlock the billions of euros in bailout funds it so ...


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Moscvici: Good convergence between Greece and its creditors

EU Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici says there is good convergence between Greece and its creditors on some issues, such as VAT rates and how to handle non-performing loans. But there is still “significant divergence” on other subjects, namely the Greek ...


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Fingers crossed: What does Dijsselbloem try to say to Varoufakis?

Jeroen Dijsselbloem’s gesture to Yanis Varoufakis during the encounter at the Eurogroup meeting is the subject of discussion and comment in the Greek social media. Is the Eurogroup chief saying good luck to his Greek colleague? 


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Referendum talk sends Greek bond yields higher

Greek government bond yields rose on Monday as Germany raised the idea of a referendum on the painful reforms Europe is asking Athens to ...


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Grexit chances less than one in four – Reuters poll

The chances Greece will leave the eurozone are slightly less than one in four, according to a Reuters poll of traders. That 23% median compares with the 40% probability traders gave a couple of weeks ago, when more than half ...


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Watch live – Varoufakis press conference after the Eurogroup

Watch live Varoufakis press conference after the Eurogroup meeting.  Video in Greek.  


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Pulp's 'Common People' Inspired By Greek Politician's Wife? Her Husband Weighs In

The Athens Voice thinks it's found the answer -- Greek installation artist Danae Stratou, wife of the Greek Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis.


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Greece makes progress with creditors but deal still elusive

BRUSSELS — Greece has made progress in talks with creditors but "more time and effort" is needed to reach a deal to give the cash-strapped country vital rescue money, the eurozone's top official said Monday. Jeroen Dijsselbloem said after a meeting of ...


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Greece orders debt repayment one day early

Greece has narrowly avoided default by ordering a major payment to one of its international creditors. The move allows negotations to continue on loosening the conditions of the indebted nation's repayments.


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Boring as Promised – Eurogroup on Greece: “Progress made, but… gaps”

It was short and rather …painful for Greece as it did not give a breath of liquidity to the cash-drained country. The eurogroup meeting ended with a rather usual statement stating: “There is progress, but..” The first message to Athens came from Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commission Vice-President for the […]


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Greece to repay IMF but eurozone deal far off

Greece said on Monday it would meet a huge IMF payment deadline to avoid a catastrophic default but despite some progress in talks with its eurozone partners a bailout deal still seemed far out of reach.


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“I could go back to my village, lay down and die” – Jobless middle-aged women in Greece

She sat in front of the television set Monday morning and watched the party of the cleaners who have been hired again by the Finance Ministry. She watched the smiling faces of the 595 women who had been protesting outside the ministry in downtown Athens for 20 months. She watched […]


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Greek Government Agrees to Rehire Cleaners

After a 20-month-long protest of layoffs, cleaners declare a victory that Greece’s creditors see as an affront ATHENS—At a makeshift protest camp near Greece’s Finance Ministry, a group of cleaning women punched rubber-gloved fists in the air on ...


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Greece Moves to Pay Debt, but European Finance Ministers Unsatisfied

Athens authorized a payment of about $848 million to the International Monetary Fund as eurozone officials noted “open issues.”


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Greece Pays 750-Million-Euro Installment to IMF

The Greek government paid the latest 750-million-euro installment to the International Monetary Fund, according to Reuters. The agency spoke with two Greek Finance Ministry officials who confirmed the news. “The order to pay the IMF has been executed,” a senior Greek finance ministry official said to the agency. Given the economic suffocation that Greece is experiencing at the moment, there were several people who doubted that the country would be able to make the payment in time. “Athens is close to running out of cash and there had been doubt about whether it would pay the IMF or choose to save cash to pay salaries and pensions later this month. Greece’s government in recent days had insisted it would honor its obligations, but officials in the past have warned that the country may not have enough money to make the payment,” noted Reuters. In the end the Greek government chose to pay its installment to the IMF. Meanwhile, the critical Eurogroup meeting is still ongoing in Brussels. The Greek government’s actions are interpreted as a gesture towards the country’s partners, perhaps in an attempt to elicit a positive statement at the end of the critical meeting.


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Greece Pays 750-Million-Euro Installment to IMF

The Greek government paid the latest 750-million-euro installment to the International Monetary Fund, according to Reuters. The agency spoke with two Greek Finance Ministry officials who confirmed the news. “The order to pay the IMF has been executed,” a senior Greek finance ministry official said to the agency. Given the economic suffocation that Greece is experiencing at the moment, there were several people who doubted that the country would be able to make the payment in time. “Athens is close to running out of cash and there had been doubt about whether it would pay the IMF or choose to save cash to pay salaries and pensions later this month. Greece’s government in recent days had insisted it would honor its obligations, but officials in the past have warned that the country may not have enough money to make the payment,” noted Reuters. In the end the Greek government chose to pay its installment to the IMF. Meanwhile, the critical Eurogroup meeting is still ongoing in Brussels. The Greek government’s actions are interpreted as a gesture towards the country’s partners, perhaps in an attempt to elicit a positive statement at the end of the critical meeting.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

New delays possible for Greek Golden Dawn trial

The long-awaited trial of leaders of Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn was facing potential new delays after Greek authorities revealed Monday the case will change venues in September.


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Apple Could Make Money by Bailing Out Greece

That Apple should buy Greece with all the useless cash it has on hand is just a joke that won't go away. Yet it's true that, if big American corporations ...


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FOREX-Dollar gains against euro on Greece worries; kiwi plunges

Greece default risk hurts euro as Eurogroup meets. * U.S. dollar set for third straight session of gains against euro. * Kiwi slides on New Zealand rate ...


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Apple Could Make Money by Bailing Out Greece

That Apple should buy Greece with all the useless cash it has on hand is just a joke that won't go away. Yet it's true that, if big American corporations ...


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FTSE 100 slips as election rally falters, but Royal Mail rises

Investors turn cautious despite Chinese rate cut and Greek IMF paymentAfter a positive start to the day, the market’s euphoria in the wake of the Conservative election victory last week wore off slightly.Despite a cut in Chinese interest rates giving a lift to the mining sector, and the Bank of England leaving UK borrowing costs unchanged, the FTSE 100 finished 16.97 points lower at 7029.85, having earlier climbed as high as 7083.There is likely to be ongoing UK uncertainty:a majority of 3 or 4 MPs is small given that there tend to be five by-elections a year; the Scottish National Party’s near clean sweep of Scotland requires a resolution to the West Lothian issue (i.e. Scottish MPs voting on English issues, without English MPs having the corresponding right), as well as raising the possibility of a second independence referendum on a 5 to 10 year view. Finally, without the need for a Lib Dem coalition partner, the terms of the EU referendum are not likely to be watered down.While trying to compete with the universal coverage services of Royal Mail may seem like a great market opportunity, without significant scale or market share in our opinion it is very difficult to get the appropriate level of return. The requirement for scale should also be considered in the context of Whistl’s letter service having an apparent market share of around 24% in the areas in which it operated.In our opinion, the only way a new entrant can hope to compete successfully and profitably is if a large part of its infrastructure and delivery costs are more than covered by the distribution of other items, say newspapers & magazine. The same is true of parcel home delivery, where despite the continued growth of internet fulfilment, very few companies make an acceptable return. This is neatly illustrated by the fact that Yodel has 18% of the UK home delivery market yet still doesn’t make a profit.Inevitably there will be selling pressure as Glencore shareholders do not own Lonmin for its shares, but equally if there were any buyers of Lonmin they would have waited for this buying opportunity.Diploma has delivered first half results marginally ahead of our expectations. However, we are lowering our forecasts fractionally (1%-2%), to bring us in line with consensus, owing to a slightly more cautious outlook for organic growth in the second half of 2015. Acquisitions have been a key driver of performance in the first half, and further accretive bolt-on deals are possible in the second. Given recent strong share price performance, and having gone through our 843p price target, we downgrade to hold [from add] and would look for a better entry point into the shares.In an environment where industrial companies are struggling to find much growth, 4% organic in the first four months is very respectable (and much as we expected for the first half and full year). On unchanged estimates, our target price rises by around 4% to 3,350p (including the 120p special dividend) due to peer group re-rating, but the shares have performed very strongly since the results in March. We consider that consensus estimates, which are higher than ours, are vulnerable along with the share price. We move from hold to sell. Continue reading...


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