A German Minister Has Been In Secret Talks With Syriza For Weeks To Save The Euro

German chancellor Angela Merkel has been preparing for weeks for a new, centre-left government in Athens, according to the Italian newspaper La Stampa. The paper wrote that Jörg Asmussen, a minister in the German cabinet, has been for some time in secret talks with senior members of Syriza, the anti-austerity Greek party currently on the opposition but expected to take power in the next general election in Athens.  Asmussen, who previously sat on the European Central Bank Executive Board, is described as a favourite of both ECB's president Mario Draghi and Germany's economic minister Wolfgang Schäuble. He is the man chosen by Frankfurt and Berlin to deal with Alexis Tsipras, the leader of Syriza who is advocating for a total wipe out of the Greek foreign debt.  At the same time, Niko Pappas, a spokesman from Syriza, said that the party will not pull Greece out of the eurozone and "will not take unilateral decisions" if it takes power in the elections, scheduled for Jan. 25. Earlier this month, Schäuble said that "any new government must compel with the duties taken by its predecessor," meaning that even if Syriza wins the elections, Greece will still have to act according the bailout agreement with the ECB and IMF. Schäuble is firmly against any form of quantitative easing in the early months of 2015, a move that would boost the support of other anti-austerity parties across the continent, from Spain's Podemos to Italy's Five Star Movement. The mediation between Asmussen and the new leaders of the Greek parliament is therefore more important than ever.Join the conversation about this story »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT uk.businessinsider.com

Ship heads for Italy after scare

A cargo ship believed to be carrying hundreds of migrants heads to Italy after a passenger sparks an alert, later discounted by Greek authorities.

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

Euro Sinks Near 30-Month Low Due to Political Developments in Greece

The Eurozone currency hovers near a 30-month low against the US Dollar today due to the uncertainty spread in the union by the developments in the Greek political scene. The Greek Parliament yesterday failed for a third consecutive ballot to elect a new President of the Republic and the country is driven to snap general elections, to be held on January 25. Such a development seems to worry global markets. The Greek main opposition leftist party, SYRIZA, that is steadily leading the polls in Greece, opposes many of drastic spending cuts of Greece’s bailout program. Lee Hardman, an FX strategist at the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi said to Reuters,”The developments in Greece have prompted some concerns among global investors, at least in the near term, which is boosting safe-haven demand for the yen. It’s probably fair to say Greece could leave the euro and it would have less of an impact than in 2012, but it would be dangerous.” The market’s reaction to the outcome of the Greek presidential vote was by far better than the first time around, in 2012, when the previous general elections were held in Greece. Since then, the Eurozone has set up a new banking watchdog and the European Central Bank is scoping out government bond buying. The Euro had touched 1.2130 US Dollars, its lowest since August 2012, although its slip against the Dollar has been limited thus far — down by only 0.2% on the day — as the outcome of the Greek parliamentary vote was not a total surprise and was already priced by some. Still, other participants urged caution, as the political turmoil in Greece was only in its early stages. Apart from the two-and-a-half year low the Euro recorded compared to the US Dollar, the oil prices also reached a five-and-a-half year low, as there are persistent worries about a global supply glut grow, as its pricing currency, the Dollar, hovered near an eight-year high.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Roads Closed in Greece Due to Heavy Snowfall

Icy weather and heavy snowfall has hit a large part of Greece, resulting in many roads closing in northern and central Greece, as well as near the capital. Near Athens, a part of Pendeli Highway has been closed off by order of the police, while snow was falling in the north suburbs. The snowfall in the capital has not created any problems in traffic, however, in northern Greece, police are shutting down rural highways and roads which connect towns such as Kastoria and Ioannina, some of Greece’s major winter tourism destinations. The heaviest snowfall that has occurred in recent years has also resulted in many ski resorts being closed since there is no way to access them. The ski resorts of Pella and Northern Peloponnese have been blocked due to the heavy snowfall. Motorists have been advised to avoid certain major roads on the Greek island of Euboea, as well as avoiding any type of travel in northern Greece. The extreme weather conditions are expected to subside by Thursday.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

European and Irish stocks flat after Greek drama

European stocks ended little changed yesterday, erasing an earlier decline, while Greece's ASE Index fell as the nation faces early elections after Prime Minister Antonis Samaras failed a third time to get enough backing for his presidential candidate.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.independent.ie

Wall St equities slip in early US trade

Euro remains resilient as Greek politics stay centre stage

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ft.com

Global markets lower as New Year break nears

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. and global stocks fell Tuesday as investors closed their positions ahead of the New Year and amid concern over political uncertainty in Greece.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT hosted2.ap.org