Greece condemns rap singer's killing

Prime minister says he will not let far-right Golden Dawn party "to poison" and "undermine" democracy.

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Feds Monitoring Greek Segregation at Alabama

Feds monitoring allegations of racial bias, segregation at Ala. fraternities and sororities    

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Backlash against Greek far-right as anti-fascist rapper is laid to rest

Hundreds of mourners turned out in Athens today for the funeral of a hip-hop artist and anti-fascist campaigner who was killed in an apparently politically motivated attack blamed on the far-right Golden Dawn – an episode that has shocked Greece and prompted calls from politicians for a crackdown on the party.

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Greek far-right Golden Dawn rejects Nazi label while hailing Hitler

Golden Dawn refers to illegal immigration into Greece as ‘the Asian danger’, and vows to fight for its own racial survival. This common historic theme is among those central to the party which earn it the branding ‘neo-Nazi’. Last year, it won enough support in elections for 18 members to take parliament seats in Athens. As the economy got worse, the party had gone from ...

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Police call for expert exam on Independent Greeks leader following assault

Police on Thursday called for a state medical examiner to examine the leader of the right-wing party Independent Greeks, Panos Kammenos, who was assaulted on Wednesday afternoon by demonstrators taking part in an anti-fascist protest close to where the leftist rapper, Pavlos Fyssas, was killed by a member of ultra-right Golden Dawn on Tuesday night.The order came as police were seeking the ...

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Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos to attend UN General Assembly

Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos is due to travel to New York on Sunday to attend the 68th General Assembly of the United Nations.The foreign minister is scheduled to meet with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday, with talks expected to center on Cyprus, ...

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Greek government asks court to crack down on far right after anti-racist rappers killing

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Greece PM issues warning to Golden Dawn over murder

ATHENS--Greece's prime minister vowed to rein in the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party after the murder of an anti-fascist singer by one of its supporters sparked nationwide ...

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Greek prime minister speaks out as thousands attend funeral of anti-fascist rapper

16/08/2013 14:16 CET On a hillside in Athens over 2,000 mourners followed the cortege of 34-year-old-Pavlos Fyssas. The killing of the anti-fascist rapper has led to an outpouring of grief, sparked angry protests and ignited heated political debate on the role of the right wing party Golden Dawn. Shouts of ';Fascists'; rang out on the hillside. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras ...

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Local stocks rise further to 1022 points

The combination of positive news from the Greek economy and the US Federal Reserve secured gains for most local stocks on Thursday while turnover increased significantly.The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,022.75 points, adding 2.19 percent to ...

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El Griego Loco My Big Fat Greek Dinner

Thomas Economou – ‘El Griego Loco’ (photo: Sophie Rawe) A country known for its ancient culture, idyllic islands, fresh food, and love of celebrations, Greece has something for everyone, and most importantly, every palate. As chef at ‘El Griego Loco’ (The Crazy Greek) Thomas Economou puts it: "We eat as though we are going to die tomorrow, we build houses as ...

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Greece crackdown on far-right party

The death of 34-year-old Pavlos Fyssas early on Wednesday shocked the country and led to widespread condemnation from across the Greek political spectrum and abroad. The man arrested for stabbing Mr Fyssas admitted to the killing to police and identified ...

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Greece asks court to crack down on far right after rapper's killing

"This activity goes beyond isolated events ... it undermines the authority of law, infringes on human rights and human dignity, endangers public order and the security of the country," Dendias wrote. Authorities have received reports or were ...

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Greek government moves to crack down on far-right Golden Dawn party after fatal stabbing

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Greece's government moved Thursday to crack down on the ultranationalist Golden Dawn party after the fatal stabbing of an anti-fascist rapper, as Europe's top human rights official warned in an interview that Greece was the most ...

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Greece moves to crack down on far-right party

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's government moved Thursday to crack down on the ultranationalist Golden Dawn party after the fatal stabbing of an anti-fascist rapper, as Europe's top human rights official warned in an interview that Greece was the most worrying example of a wider European drift toward radicalization.

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Greek police raid offices of neo-Nazi party after killing

HaaretzGreek police raid offices of neo-Nazi party after killingHaaretzGreek police searched the offices of the Golden Dawn party on Wednesday after an anti-racism rapper was stabbed to death by a man who sympathized with the far-right group. The killing touched a nerve in Greece, where an economic crisis has worsened ...

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Greek PM hits at neo-Nazi 'poison' after rapper stabbing

Golden Dawn leaders insist the party had nothing to do with the killing and have condemned the attack. Greek media and blogs, however, have widely circulated the suspect's name and photos of him at numerous Golden Dawn events. Golden Dawn supporters are ...

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Protecting Pension Promise Tests Greek Austerity

(Photo/Milos Bicanski/Getty Images) Teachers in Athens protested against job cuts and other austerity measures on Sept. 18, 2013. Hundreds of similar demonstrations the last three years have failed. ATHENS -- With a fresh inspection by Greece's foreign creditors looming next week and labor unions leading a new wave of strikes, the government here has drawn a red line: it will keep pushing ...

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Golden Dawn Killing Rips Greece Anew

(AP Photo/John D. Carnessiotis) Rapper Pavlos Fyssas performs in 2011. A hip-hop singer with the stage name Killah P and described as an anti-fascist, he was stabbed to death on Sept. 18. Police arrested a suspect they said was linked to the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party. ATHENS - Just as Greece was enjoying the fruits of a record-breaking tourist summer and Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said he ...

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Residence Permits Granted to Foreign Investors

On September 23, a briefing and working session on Residence permits to Third-Country Citizens for strategic investments and real estate ownership is to be held at the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Athens. According to the Greek Travel Pages (GTP) website, this session is to be held by the Invest in Greece Agency in cooperation with the Greek Development and Competitiveness Ministry ...

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Trabzonspor Lands in Larnaca 39 Years Later

The professional Turkish football club, Trabzonspor, nicknamed The Black Sea Storm, arrived at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus, for the Europa League match with Apollon Limassol, from Trabzon, Turkey, with the first direct flight to Southern Cyprus since 1974. According to the Turkish Cypriot press, the flight was carried out by the Greek airline company Astra and firstly it was announced that a stop ...

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Calls to ban Golden Dawn as Greece mourns slain rapper

Violence The Greek PM vowed to keep Nazism from "poisoning" the country's life as more than 2,000 mourners paid their final respects in an Athens cemetery to Pavlos Fissas, the anti-fascist rapper who was stabbed to death by a suspected Golden Dawn sympathizer. Fissas, 34, was laid to rest Thursday in a graveyard on a hill overlooking the working-class Keratsini suburb where he ...

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Greece: Extremism and Austerity

ATHENS—A recent wave of politically motivated violence—culminating in the killing of a left-wing rapper Wednesday morning—has shocked Greece and once again stoked fears about civil unrest in Europe’s most indebted country. But for Greece ...

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The mood in the Greek capital is at the boiling point

The mood in the Greek capital is at the boiling pointThe EconomistGreece is on track to achieve a primary budget surplus this year before debt repayments, but will still need an extra €4.4 billion ($5.9 billion) from its creditors next year and €6.5 billion in 2015. Some indicators suggest that this year's recession ...

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Greek democracy under siege

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Greece showing signs of recovery, says finance minister

BDliveGreece showing signs of recovery, says finance ministerBDliveATHENS — Greece's economy is inching towards recovery, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said on Thursday before a visit by foreign lenders and as unemployment registered its first quarterly fall in almost four years. The country's battered economy ...Greece heading towards recovery, GDP expanded in Q2, finmin saysReutersGreece is on Way to Recovery: FinMinCRIENGLISH.comGreece on path to recovery after Q2 expansion, says Finance MinisterIFA Magazineall 6 news articles »

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Greece: On the edge

A ghastly new dawn A WHIFF of tear gas, the first in the city centre for almost a year, signalled the start of a new round of protests led by Greek teachers, school and university administrators, and members of the capital’s recently disbanded municipal police. All face being laid off in a long-awaited cull of public-sector workers. Riot police resorted to firing the tear gas on September 16th to dissuade a group of school guards from occupying the ministry of public administration.Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the minister in charge, has been scrambling to find another 1,500 candidates to complete a quota of 12,500 workers, who will be transferred to a “mobility reserve” at the end of September. University rectors objected to his last-minute proposal to include secretaries, laboratory technicians and computer support staff. Mr Mitsotakis had to cast around half a dozen ministries to try to make up the numbers days before the “troika” of officials from the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF arrive to check up on Greece’s progress.Another 12,500 jobs must be cut by the end of 2013. Workers dumped in the reserve on 75% of their...

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Bitter Spaniards to vote in German poll with 'donated' ballots

By Michelle Martin BERLIN (Reuters) - Spaniards and Greeks bitter about tough austerity measures in their countries for which they blame German Chancellor Angela Merkel hope to oust her in Sunday's national election by using ballots 'donated' by German voters. On a Facebook page called "Electoral Rebellion" foreigners unable to participate in the election can post requests for votes and Germans who believe they deserve a say in a poll whose outcome will affect the rest of Europe can offer theirs up. ...

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BP strikes Azerbaijan gas sales deal

UK oil company at centre of sales deal to produce 16bn cubic metres a year of offshore gas from the Shah Deniz field in the Caspian Sea

BP is at the centre of one of the world's biggest gas sales agreements worth up to $100bn (£62bn) over 25 years after signing a deal with European buyers for supplies from a field it operates in the Caspian Sea.

Over 10bn cubic metres of gas a year will be produced via a $40bn scheme – the biggest ever undertaken by BP – to develop a second stage of production from the huge Shah Deniz field located in the territorial waters of former Soviet republic, Azerbaijan.

The project will involve a massive new transport network of three new pipelines to move in total 16bn cubic metres a year of offshore gas through Georgia, Greece and under the Adriatic Sea to Italy.

The next phase of Shah Deniz, which is double the size of the first part, is expected to be given the go-ahead before Christmas by BP, which is operator and 25% equity holder alongside Statoil of Norway (25%) and others.

The project will help with European energy security but also enhances the position of Azerbaijan, a country whose president Ilham Aliyev is accused by Amnesty international of presiding over a human rights "crisis".

Al Cook, vice president of BP in Azerbaijan, said the deal with nine companies including Shell, E.ON and Enel of Europe – on the back of a summer deal with BOTAS of Turkey – was another "vital milestone" in developing this project.

He added: "We are confident we can take a final investment decision at the end of the year for a scheme that will open up the southern corridor and bring gas direct to Europe for the first time from Azerbaijan."

Asked whether the scheme could enhance the reputation of a controversial regime, Cook pointed out that the project was supported by the European Union and would only proceed as a "sound economic proposition".

Shah Deniz 1 brought 8bn cubic metres of gas out of the Caspian for sale to Azerbaijan itself plus Georgia and Turkey. Shah Deniz 2 involved 16bn more going to Bulgaria, Greece, and Italy.

The second phase will involve drilling 26 new wells at a cost of more than $5bn, 500 kilometres of subsea pipelines and 3,500 kilometres of onshore links including a Trans Adriatic Pipeline. BP and its partners, which includes the local Azerbaijan state-owned oil group, SOCAR, will also need to construct two new giant pumping stations in Georgia which will each be the size of 50 football pitches.

The signing of the gas sales deal comes as Aliyev runs for a third consecutive term as the country's president after changing the constitution in 2009 to allow him to serve an unlimited number of years.

BPOilOil and gas companiesEnergy industryAzerbaijanGasTerry Macalistertheguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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Golden Dawn is growing – Europe must help curb the rise of the far right

The inability of both the Greek and Cypriot states to stand up to fascist groups is a call to action at European level

The rise of the far right is a daily reality in austerity-striken Europe. Its effects are more prominent in countries like Greece and Cyprus, where the impact of the crisis has been most severe. Yesterday, in Greece, a self-confessed member of the far-right party Golden Dawn allegedly killed leftwing activist and singer Pavlos Fyssas. This is not the first time that members of Golden Dawn have been in the news for violence – they routinely attack immigrants, anarchists and communists, but they are rarely prosecuted for doing so.

Their rise has been spectacular. Contrary to popular belief, Golden Dawn has been around for a long time. It was created in the 1980s, became registered as a political party in 1993 and elected 18 MPs in 2012 with 6.9% of the vote.

Worryingly, the political establishment in Greece seems willing to tolerate Golden Dawn. The veteran New Democracy MP, Vyronas Polydoras, has said that the troika poses a greater threat to Greece than Golden Dawn. Now that the core members of Golden Dawn are elected MPs, they enjoy parliamentary immunities, which their fellow MPs, like those of the ruling New Democracy and Panhellenic Socialist Movement, seem reluctant to remove. This reluctance has meant that the leaders of Golden Dawn can freely go about slapping female MPs on TV without facing any consequences for their actions.

What explains the rise of Golden Dawn? The short answer is chronic corruption, economic austerity and the perpetuation of populist lies about immigration. Golden Dawn has managed to channel the ensuing public anger to its favour. It capitalises on the fact that its members were not in previous governments, which contributed to Greece being considered one of the most corrupt countries in the EU.

The clientelism that rules political conduct in Greece has largely been one of the reasons behind the discontent of the Greek voters – it was fun while the urban middle classes could get some pieces of the pie, but when the pie became smaller in the age of austerity, those left out inevitably reacted.

At the same time Golden Dawn exploited the fear of immigration that has been masterfully constructed in Greek society. The party leaders have depicted themselves as the problem-solvers: honest people who have never taken a bribe, whose main interest is the welfare of Greek people. They portray themselves as "men of action", that don't make promises that they cannot keep. These actions consist of attacks on immigrants, anarchists and communists, all in the light of helping the Greek people, some of who, to their shame, ask for their help – "to clean the area". A horrible euphemism for "please come here, beat the immigrants and make them leave our neighbourhood".

Where will this end? How far will a rising Golden Dawn with ties with the police and military go before Greece becomes a totalitarian military state? There is no easy answer to this – I don't think this downward spiral can be stopped without an external intervention. The current state of the Greek political scene is such that it requires coalitions. Since leftist Syriza and communist KKE refuse to form a government with either of the two ruling parties whose power has been significantly reduced, the only solution for the two mainstream parties is to look to the extreme right. As the two governing parties continue implementing the troika-prescribed austerity policies, they will keep getting increasingly unpopular. Eventually, they will have no option than to form a coalition that involves Golden Dawn, which has scored highly in opinion polls, rising from 6.9% to 11.5% after it entered parliament.

This is where external factors may come in. European partners will not be able to ignore the social impact of their economic policies for long. The fascists are winning seats, or masquerading their extremism and joining the mainstream parties, where they have even bigger platforms to spread their racist views. The next step is Golden Dawn's expansion beyond Greece. Its officials often visit Cyprus and give talks to its sister party, the far-right Elam, which, thankfully, is nowhere near as popular as Golden Dawn. Like Greece, racist violence is tolerated both by the authorities and by the mainstream political parties.

The inability of both the Greek and Cypriot states to curtail the racially motivated violent actions of these groups, as well as the inability of the mainstream political parties to stand up to them, is a call to action for our European partners, who can no longer afford to sit back in their economically recovering countries as if nothing is happening elsewhere. What is naively considered a Greek problem is much more than that – it is no accident that Marie Le Pen's Front National and Nigel Farage's Ukip have increased in popularity recently. The far right is on the rise and collective action at a European level is needed. When parties like the Greek Laos or the French FN become part of the mainstream right, what is considered extreme becomes even more so. The result is what you see happening in Greece – violence, vigilantism and murder.

This article was commissioned after a suggestion from Kizbot.

GreeceEuropeThe far rightGolden Dawn partyAusterityEuropean UnionRace issuesGeorge Iordanoutheguardian.com © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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Quarterly Unemployment in Greece Drops to 27.1

unemployment figures in Greece fell for the first time in almost four years in the second quarter of 2013, declining from 27.4% in Q1 to 27.1%. ...

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Greece Moves To Block Neo-Nazi Party After Member Murders Anti-Facism Activist

CREDIT: Yorgos Karahalis/Reuters/Corbis The Greek government is taking emergency steps to consider banning a prominent ultra-national party — that holds seats within the legislative body — after a man registered with the party brazenly stabbed an anti-fascist musician to death in public on Wednesday. In the face of Greece’s economic problems, the far-right party known as ...

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Op-Ed Columnist Why Greece Is Not Weimar

ATHENS ...

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Greek trip off for drug accused

EMPTY CHAIR: Stelios Macris won't be heading to Greece after a court on Tuesday deemed he was not allowed to leave the country. He is facing charges over a 50 kilogram drug ...

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Greece: Assassination and Responsibility

What they have to offer now is too little and too late. What comes next is almost anybody’s guess. Pavlos Fyssas’ murder has brought Greece’s little problem to the world’s attention; there are calls inside and outside the country for Golden Dawn to ...

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2-day strike in Greece public sector shuts down

High school students shout slogans in solidarity with their striking teachers during a 48 hour general strike in Athens, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. The two-day strike comes during a week of a series of strikes in various sectors. High school teachers have embarked on rolling five-day ...

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Greek Banks do not Need Approval to Sell Claims to Third Parties

The sale of credit institutions’ claims to third parties does not require approval or updating by the Bank of Greece, which has the responsibility over the supervision of such claims to evaluate risk management, a report by the central bank said on Wednesday. The report was submitted to Parliament in response to deputies’ questions over the possibility foreign distress funds would ...

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Protesters and police clash in Greece

Police have fired tear gas at protesters in Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras following unrest sparked by the stabbing death of a left-wing hip hop ...

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Greece Protests After Neo-Nazi Killing

Clashes broke out in several Greek cities after a member of the country's far-right Golden Dawn party was arrested over the killing of Mr Fyssas, who was described as an anti-fascist activist. Click through for more ...

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Greek PM calls for calm amid rising anger at Golden Dawn party

The GuardianGreek PM calls for calm amid rising anger at Golden Dawn partyCNNAthens, Greece (CNN) -- Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras pleaded for calm Thursday after rising anger at Greece's right-wing Golden Dawn party exploded into violence in a working-class Athens suburb. "This is not a time for internal fighting, nor ...Greek prime minister calls for calm after murder of leftwing musicianThe GuardianFuneral for Greek Man Stabbed to DeathABC NewsGreek police raid offices of neo-Nazi party after killingHaaretzAljazeera.com -Christian Science Monitorall 307 news articles »

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Angela Merkel's Rise To Power: How Germany's First Female Chancellor Achieved Historic Success

BERLIN -- It's been called the Merkel mystery: How did a pastor's daughter who once marched in the uniform of East Germany's communist youth end up leading a conservative, male-dominated party from West Germany to become the country's first female chancellor? With Angela Merkel favored to win Sunday's national elections, observers at home and abroad are once again puzzling over the reasons for her success. Is it her doctorate in natural sciences that gives her an edge when it comes to solving problems? Or does the experience of watching the state in which she grew up collapse mean she takes nothing for granted? One point most pundits can agree on is that almost all of Merkel's opponents have underestimated her from the moment Chancellor Helmut Kohl picked her for his first Cabinet just a year after she entered politics. "She didn't start at a local level. She went straight to the Cabinet table," said Jacqueline Boysen, her biographer. "Everyone thought this was because she was young, she was a woman, she was from the east and she wasn't involved with the regime there." "But things weren't that simple because she proved that it was a place she was suited for. She found that she was talented and enjoyed politics," Boysen said. Merkel is now widely regarded as Europe's most powerful leader. Comparisons have been drawn with Catherine the Great, the German-born czarina who ruled Russia in the late 18th century and whose portrait graces the chancellor's otherwise spartan office. Both women grew up in the Prussian heartland, northeast of Berlin, displaying a sharp mind from an early age. And both were prepared to be ruthless in their pursuit of political power. While Catherine reputedly had her husband Czar Peter III murdered, Merkel famously turned on Kohl, her long-time mentor, after he became embroiled in scandal. Her election as chancellor in 2005 was the culmination of 16 years of patient toil. It reflects her philosophy, summed up in one of her favorite phrases: "step by step." This has been her response to almost all challenges, including the European debt crisis from which Germany was largely spared – one of the reasons Merkel's approval ratings remain around 70 percent after eight years in power. Some observers have accused Merkel of having no grand vision. With the exception of her abrupt 2011 decision to phase out nuclear power within a decade, Merkel has been wary of pursuing major projects. "I think that Mrs. Merkel doesn't think that political visions are the task of a chancellor," said Ralph Bollmann, a correspondent for the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper. "She's accused of having no convictions and being super-pragmatic. I would say that it's precisely that pragmatism that's her biggest conviction." To make that point, Merkel whipped out her party's traditional slogan – "No experiments" – at an election rally last week in the western city of Duesseldorf. The chancellor is hoping voters will see things the same way come Sunday. Still, mindful of an unexpectedly narrow victory in 2005 and stung by her party's loss of an important German state earlier this year, Merkel has downplayed recent polls that put her coalition in the lead and warned Germans that they could wake up with the ex-communist Left Party in government if they don't vote for her. Merkel has also learned to employ her wry, self-deprecating sense of humor to full effect. In a recent discussion with female voters, Merkel was asked whether she can ever switch off from her job as German leader. "Of course," she replied. "When I'm stirring a saucepan I don't say to myself, `Now the chancellor is stirring a saucepan.'" Another trademark feature is the prayer-like way she folds her hands while posing for photographs. So recognizable is the gesture – known as the "Merkel diamond" – that her party has used it on their biggest election poster near Berlin's main train station. Alongside is the slogan: "Germany's future – in good hands." The idea that Merkel is good at what she does is reflected in another phrase used to describe the way voters feel about her: "Mommy will sort it out." The motherly reference to Merkel, who has no children of her own, was once used by her enemies to poke fun at her dowdy demeanor. With two terms behind her, "Mutti" – "Mommy" – has become a term of endearment and familiarity. "Germans feel they don't have a whole lot to lose if things just stay the same," says Juliane Mendelsohn, a columnist who lectures at Berlin's Free University. That hasn't been the response that has greeted Merkel on her trips to Greece, Cyprus and Italy, where her demands for national belt-tightening have provoked fierce popular anger and accusations of Nazi-style imperialism. Talk of austerity has been largely absent in her campaign for re-election. Instead, Merkel has promised to spend billions expanding state childcare, increasing pensions and improving Germany's autobahn network. But on her election website, Merkel appears keen to show that she is prepared to impose austerity even at home. Her husband, a noted chemist, rarely complains about her cooking, the website says. "But my cakes always have too little streusel for his liking," Merkel is quoted as saying, referring to the butter, sugar and dough flakes traditionally sprinkled on German fruit cakes.

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ECBs Asmussen says Greek program is working

European Central Bank Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen said on Thursday that Greece was making progress with its reform program ahead of an inspection by international lenders.Speaking after a meeting with the left opposition leader Alexis Tsipras at the ECB's headquarters in Frankfurt, Asmussen said the latest economic data was encouraging.Greece's Finance Minister Yannis ...

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Human rights watchdog condemns extremely dangerous development in Greek politics

The human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe (CoE), has condemned the murder of the musician Pavlos Fyssas, saying that it represents part of an "extremely dangerous" trend in European politics towards populism and extremism. CoE Secretary General, Thorbjrn said that the killing of the rapper Pavlos Fyssas at the hands of a supporter of the far-right Golden Dawn party "stems ...

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Greece How far can wages plummet

I Kathimerini "Many of the young people who send us their CVs to apply for a job are highly qualified. I'm literally ashamed to read them, especially when you know that among the hundreds of candidates, we can choose only one." This confession by the head of human resources in a large company who asked that his name be withheld, is symptomatic. He is not the only one in this ...

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Golden Dawn Killah P Stabbing: Clashes Erupt Across Greece

Golden Dawn Killah P Stabbing: Clashes Erupt Across GreeceIBTimes.co.ukThousands of Greeks have demonstrated in the western Athens suburb of Keratsini against the fatal stabbing of hip-hop artist and left-wing anti-fascist Pavlos Fyssas, known as Killah P, allegedly at the hands of a Golden Dawn "ideological sympathiser".

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EPP president condemns Fyssas murder but backs Greece for EU presidency

KathimeriniEPP president condemns Fyssas murder but backs Greece for EU presidencyKathimeriniThe head of the European People's Party (EPP) group in the European Parliament, Joseph Daul, has condemned the murder of Pavlos Fyssas by a Golden Dawn member but expressed his support for Greece to assume the rotating European Union ...and more »

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We'll stop 'Nazi descendants', vows Greek Prime Minister

We'll stop 'Nazi descendants', vows Greek Prime MinisterThe Times (subscription)The Greek Prime Minister has vowed to stop “Nazi descendants” from destroying his country after its most prominent far-right party was blamed for a murder that led to nationwide rioting. Dressed in black as he delivered a television address to the ...and more »

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Greek strike shuts off public services

Boston GlobeGreek strike shuts off public servicesBoston GlobeATHENS — Thousands of civil servants marched through Greece's capital and the second-largest city of Thessaloniki on Wednesday as a two-day nationwide strike against planned job cuts shut down all public services. Schools and courts were closed and ...

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Greek prime minister calls for calm after murder of leftwing musician

The Greek prime minister, Antonis Samaras, has appealed for calm, urging people to settle "differences democratically" after the murder of a leading leftwing musician allegedly at the hands of a member of the far right Golden Dawn party ...

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10 Things You Need To Know This Morning (SPX, QQQ, DJI)

Good morning. Here's what you need to know.

Asian markets went absolutely nuts, with Japan's Nikkei up 1.80%; Australia's S&P/ASX up 1.10%; and Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 1.67%. European markets were also all up big, and U.S. futures were pointing higher. Stocks and bonds were juiced by yesterday's monster announcement from the Federal Reserve that it will not taper its asset purchasing program known as quantitative easing. Most analysts had expected the Fed to reduce its monthly purchases of Treasury bills and mortgage bonds by around $10 billion. One reason the Fed may have been wary to take its foot off the accommodative gas pedal? Weak bank lending. As Reuters' Peter Rudegeair reports, "Since the bottom of the recession just over four years ago, commercial bank loans and leases have grown 4.0 percent, one of the weakest post-recession recoveries in terms of borrowing since the 1960s... For comparison, over the same period after the July 1990-March 1991 recession, loans and leases grew over four times faster." Economists now seem to be converging on December as the new taper announcement. JP Morgan's Michael Feroli sums up what the Fed will look for before making that call: "First, a desire to see more data (presumably labor market data) before feeling comfortable with the outlook, second, a desire to assess the degree to which tighter financial conditions -- particularly mortgage rates -- are affecting the real economy, and third, a desire to gain some clarity on 'upcoming fiscal debates.'" By the next meeting, the Fed will only have more visibility on the last item, Feroli writes, so he believes a December taper is more likely than October. Today at 10:00 A.M. we'll get U.S. existing home sales for August. Economists are expecting a drop of 2.6%, compared to a 6.5% gain the month prior. This indicator will hopefully offer us information if rising mortgage rates are impeding the housing recovery.  U.K. retail sales fell 0.9% in August, well worse than the 0.4% gain analysts expected. The British pound instantly dropped as a result. Small signs of life emerged in Greece when for the first time in four years, the unemployment rate dropped. The country's jobless rate fell slightly to 27.1% in the second quarter from 27.4% in the quarter previous. Japan is seeing signs of easing deflation, with land prices falling nationwide at 1.9%, the slowest pace in five years. As Reuters' Junko Fujita reports, "The gradual narrowing of land-price declines is good news for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose top priority is ending Japan's long battle with deflation and spurring sustained growth with an expansionary policy mix of monetary, fiscal and structural reform measures." As promised, the new conservative government in Australia has begun to uproot its predecessor's initiatives, abolishing an independent climate change commission. Prime Minister Toby Abbott, whose government plans to repeal the Labor Party's tax on corporate pollution, said the country did not need an independent watchdog and that the role would be assumed by the Department of the Environment. JPMorgan Chase is preparing to pay about 0 million to settle last year's 'London Whale' trading debacle that saw $6 billion in trading losses, Bloomberg's Dawn Kopecki reports. This legal battle is just one of many currently faced by the bank. 

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