Olympiakos ends season with 1-0 win over Apollon

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Javier Saviola's close-range goal in the 88th minute helped already-crowned champion Olympiakos finish the season on a high note by beating Apollon 1-0 in the last round of the Greek league Sunday.

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Greek Week blood drive surpasses goal

The drive collected 1,798 units of blood in three days.

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Commissioners should come from among the MEPs

by  Dan Alexe

“If they came from the ranks of the MEPs, Commissioners would know that they had been elected. They wouldn’t be accused anymore of being mere bureaucrats.” (Danuta Hubner)

Danuta Hubner, Polish MEP, is a former Commissioner for regional policy and development in the first Barroso Commission. New Europe asked her whether, during her mandate, she would have foreseen such a decline in cohesion and solidarity between the various regions of the EU, and more precisely between the north and the south of the continent, as we witness today.

Danuta Hubner: First of all, in those years, between 2004-5-6, I would have never guessed that there would be a crisis. A lot of unthinkable things happened since then. The crisis has affected the member states in an unequal way. Some countries have been more affected than others. Convergence has been reduced. The convergence machinery, the intra-EU trade and investment, has also started to slow down. The destructuring of convergence had already started long before the crisis hit us. But, without doubt, the crisis deepened it.

New Europe: But what happened with solidarity? You come from Poland. You know the deep meaning of “Solidarity”. Why did we end up talking only about money and the markets? Was the present neoliberal drive already present during the first Barroso term? In the last years we only heard about banks and markets. Where are the people in this equation?

Danuta Hubner: It depends with whom you are talking. I took part in many debates across the EU, and I must say that there is a lot of talk about solidarity, and even concrete acts of solidarity. Let’s take Greece. Were it not for European solidarity, or for the common currency, we wouldn’t have been able to help Greece the way we did. Or we couldn’t avoid negative consequences, a spill-over from Greece into the other countries. The challenge for solidarity is that you need financial support for it to function. It’s not only about saying “We are with you, guys”, but also about being able to say “Here is how we can help.” Let’s not forget that those who are helped by others also have to deliver.

New Europe: If you need money in order to show solidarity, then why does popular wisdom say that solidarity is stronger among the poor?

Danuta Hubner: Europe is not only a symbol, but also a network of solidarity. Of course, it was easier in the beginning, for the six founding members, because they had the same level of development, but then, with every enlargement, we had poorer countries joining the EU. The 10 that joined in 2004 were really poor. Then, after Romania and Bulgaria joined, the difference between the richest and poorest regions of Europe became something like 12 to 1. The differences are enormous, but we still have to function in the same internal market, and the philosophy is that we all have the right to the same benefits, regardless of whether we live in the poorest, or in the richest region. That’s why we have a regional policy after all, the sector I have been in charge of. We generously support the poorest regions to catch up.

New Europe: In order for democracy to function, the leading elites have to be credible. Your own example shows that. In 2009, when you decided to run in the European elections in Poland, you quit your job as a Commissioner. Now we see seven Commissioners (six, plus one remaining on the job) taking a leave of absence in order to run in the EU elections.

Danuta Hubner: I see what you are driving at. It is a legal issue, I agree. The Commission acts in line with the existing rules, so if we want to change, we have to have a discussion.

That can only be done after the elections. You cannot blame anybody now for acting in the frame of what the rules allow. Let me take the opportunity to say that we all would like to see Commissioners coming from among the elected.

New Europe: You mean from among the MEPs?

Danuta Hubner: Yes, from among the MEPs. Commissioners will then know that they had been elected. They wouldn’t be accused anymore of being mere bureaucrats.

That would be a plus in credibility. I know that now there is a commissioner who will run and, although he did not ask for a leave of absence, has also announced that he would not take his seat in the Parliament, were he to pass the threshold in the elections.

We know this tradition of popular leaders sitting on a list and then stepping down and letting someone else take their place, which is not really honest. It’s like cheating on the voters. As an ordinary citizen of the EU, I don’t like these tricks.

New Europe: Let’s talk about Ukraine. As a Polish politician you have a more authoritative opinion than many Western politicians. Do you see any solution in the near future?

Danuta Hubner: I cant see a quick solution, and I can’t see Russia leaving Crimea anytime soon. We should give the Ukrainian business community more access to the EU markets. We also have to wait until the Ukrainian elections and untul a new government is in place, in order to sign the Association agreement with them.

New Europe: To end on a diplomatic note: everybody has seen the tape in which the Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski, mediating in Kiev between Yanukovych and those who were then the leaders of the opposition leaving the meeting room by telling them: “You sign or you die.” The brutality of the formula shocked more than one. Is this the Polish way to handle diplomacy?

Danuta Hubner: It was very unconventional even for us. He was criticised by some, praised by others. I think he wanted to express the importance of that crucial moment... and he really thought that hundreds of people would be killed on the Maidan. For him it was a metaphor, a very strong one. He wasn’t being cynical, it was something coming from his heart.

 

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The European Central Bank decided to buy bonds, finally

by  Christos Kissas PhD

Just three numbers are enough to get the full picture: 0.25; 0.50; 1.2 . The key intervention rate, or “main refinancing operations of the Eurosystem” as it is officially known, stands at 0.25 percent since last November—indeed very close to zero. Inflation in the euro zone runs at 0.50 percent, significantly lower than the two percent official target set by the Bank. And estimated growth for 2014 is optimistically set at 1.2 percent.

So the picture is a rather gloomy one. After several years of recession, Europe is shyly struggling to recover while the risk of a long-term deflation cannot yet be excluded. Christine Lagarde, the head of IMF has issued several warnings to this effect. Even worse, unemployment is so high in a large part of the euro zone that this modest recovery, if prolonged (the forecast for 2016 is 1.8), means that it will take long years before the average citizen sees any change. Indeed a modest performance if compared with an estimated 3.0 percent growth for the US and around 2.0 percent for the UK. Here enters the European Central Bank (ECB) in the picture.

Central banks conduct monetary policy through adjusting the short-term interest rates, in order to control the cost of money. But with interest rates around zero since the financial crisis of 2008, this channel is not operative. Still, there are other ways to intervene in the markets, the most powerful one being to directly control liquidity either through loans to commercial banks or through purchase of long-term securities, especially government bonds—this is the so called Quantitative Easing or QE. All major central banks did it: the US Federal Reserve started in November 2008, initially buying housing agencies’ securities under a program that became famous as Quantitative Easing 1 (QE1); then, in November 2010, it moved to QE2, buying treasury bonds, at a pace of 75 billion dollars per month; followed Quantitative Easing 3 in September 2012. All in all, the Fed bought around 2 trillion dollars during this operation, adding an equal amount of liquidity to the market. The Bank of England and the Bank of Japan did the same, but for lower amounts.  

Following this trend, the European Central Bank’s chairman Mario Draghi announced a few days ago that the ECB’s governing council was ready to take radical measures to fight deflation, and there is nothing more radical than to buy government bonds. Analysts expect the euro zone central bank’s purchases of bonds to reach around 1 trillion euros, but this is pure speculation as neither the amount nor the date are yet known. Still, there are several technical problems in conducting quantitative easing by the ECB. Unlike the US Fed, which deals with only one sovereign issuer, the euro zone central bank has to deal with many; thus it has to find the right mix of securities, and take under consideration various levels of spreads and risks. Some of its governing council members insist to also include corporate bonds— a further complication, given that corporate bonds markets in Europe are rather illiquid. Finally, the purchases of bonds shouldn’t affect too much the euro’s exchange rate, whose strength is a a serious impediment for EU exports and growth.

On Draghi’s announcement, the spreads of South European bonds dropped significantly. More to that, Greece, euro zone’s more troubled economy, made a spectacular comeback to financial markets by floating a five-year bond at 4.75 percent and raised 3 billion euros; demand was overwhelming as the offering attracted more than 20 billion euros in orders. In sharp contrast to what the financial press was claiming two years ago, nobody speaks anymore of Grexit, nor of the euro zone’s breakdown.

The European Central Bank decided to buy bonds, finally. It’s been a long way since the outbreak of the crisis of 2008; Europe managed to create the necessary  defense mechanisms to protect the common currency, and overcame its initial inhibitions about moral hazard and individualized debt responsibility. The ECB also evolved, departing from its early Bundesbank-type inflation phobias. The only serious step that remains to be accomplished is the cleanup of its banks’ balance sheets. To this end, the ECB’s proposed quantitative easing will provide some help, by pushing down yields and boosting bonds prices. One more reason to do it, quickly.

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This could be the moment for Greece to default

KathimeriniThis could be the moment for Greece to defaultFinancial TimesIt not in recession nor is it recovering. It has collapsed. But there is another story. A Greek national flag flies from the roof of Athens University near statues of the ancient ©Bloomberg. While the financial world is celebrating the Greek return to the bond markets, ...'Great Stretch' to secure Greek debt returnReuters CanadaGreece to issue more bonds after sale successDigitalJournal.comall 40 news articles »

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A Rising Anti-Semitic Storm in Greece

A Rising Anti-Semitic Storm in GreeceAlgemeinerThe so-called Affair Baltakos in Greece is one of those eye-opening moments that throws into sharp relief the problems posed by far-right extremist parties in Europe. As I said in a press statement last week, the affair underscores that Europeans need ...

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Fourth-Generation Hellene Emma Wolfe Dedicated to the Big Apple

NEW YORK – When Bill de Blasio, New York’s new Mayor, welcomed the Greek-American community to the annual celebration of Greek Independence at Gracie Mansion, he looked around for his Director of Intergovernmental Affairs who has already established a reputation for self-effacement. “Where is Emma Wolfe; where is she hiding?” He called her “The Greeks’ […]

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11 Dead as Fire Hits Chile’s Historic Valparaiso

Updated 2:46 PM ET MorePowerful Aftershock Rocks Chile a Day After Massive EarthquakeMagnitude-8.2 Quake Strikes Northern ChileMen Charged With Toppling Ancient Rock Formation Avoid Jail Time Huffington PostHere's An Updated Tally Of All The People Who Have Ever Died From A Marijuana Overdose Huffington Post25 Easter Egg Designs to Dye For People(VALPARAISO, Chile) — A…

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Chile Forest Fire Leaves At Least 7 Dead, 500 Homes Destroyed

VALPARAISO, Chile (AP) — A raging fire leaped from hilltop to hilltop in this colorful port city, killing at least 16 people and destroying more than 500 homes. More than 10,000 people were evacuated, including more than 200 female inmates at a prison. The fire began Saturday afternoon in a forested area above ramshackle housing on one of the city's many hilltops, and spread quickly as high winds rained hot ash over wooden houses and narrow streets. Electricity failed as the fire grew, with towering, sparking flames turning the night sky orange over the darkened remains of entire neighborhoods. "It's a tremendous tragedy. This could be the worst fire in the city's history," President Michelle Bachelet said as firefighters contained most of the blazes, mobilizing 18 helicopters and planes to drop water on hotspots Sunday. Bachelet warned that the toll of death and damage would rise once authorities can enter the smoldering remains. Military Police Gen. Julio Pineda said 16 were killed and more than 500 people were injured. Patricio Bustos, who directs the national forensics service, said DNA tests would be needed to identify remains. It was already the worst fire to hit the picturesque seaside city of 250,000 people since 1953, when 50 people were killed and every structure was destroyed on several of the city's hills. While the fires were mostly contained to several hilltops, Bachelet declared the entire city a catastrophe zone, putting Chile's military in charge of maintaining order. "The people of Valparaiso have courage, have strength and they aren't alone," Bachelet said. Valparaiso, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2003, is known for colorful neighborhoods hugging hills so steep that people have to use staircases rather than streets. About 75 miles (120 kilometers) northwest of the capital, Santiago, it has a vibrant port and is home to Chile's national legislature. But many homes in poorer areas above the city center have been built without water supplies or access points would enable firefighters to intervene, so much of the fight was from the air. "This is the worst catastrophe I've seen," said Ricardo Bravo, the regional governor. "Now we have to make sure the fire doesn't reach the city center, which would make this emergency much more serious." While 1,250 firefighters, police and forest rangers battled the blaze, 2,000 Chilean sailors in combat gear patrolled streets to maintain order and prevent looting. Shelters were overflowing, and hospitals treated hundreds of people for breathing problems provoked by the smoke. Maria Elizabeth Diaz, eight months pregnant and trying to rest with her two sons in a shelter set up in Valparaiso's Greek School, said she had been hesitant to flee her home in Cerro Las Canas when she first learned that the hilltop above her was on fire. "I didn't want to move because I was afraid they'd rob me, but I had to flee when I saw the fire was coming down the hill," she said. "I lost everything. Now I've been ordered to rest because I was having contractions. My little one knows that he can't arrive quite yet." Another evacuee, Erica Gonzalez, 74, said her daughter and some neighbors had to carry her to safety because the fire burned her wheelchair. "I was left in the street. My house was completely burned, and that of my daughter a block away," she said, visibly upset as she hugged a grandchild. As fires were contained in some areas, some people managed to return and discover that their homes had been destroyed. "It's frightening, everything is burned," said Francisca Granados, who had spent the night with friends in the neighboring city of Vina del Mar. Thick clouds of smoke surrounded the city prison, where nine pregnant inmates were transferred to a detention facility in the nearby city of Quillota. Another 204 female inmates were being evacuated to a sports arena. More than 2,700 male inmates will remain at the prison for now, prison guard commander Tulio Arce said. ___ Marianela Jarroud reported from Santiago, Chile. Associated Press writer Eva Vergara contributed from Santiago.

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Rising dough and the raising of Lazarus at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church

Rising dough and the raising of Lazarus at Annunciation Greek Orthodox ChurchThe Birmingham News - al.comMOBILE, Alabama – Young and old gathered to make palm crosses for Sunday worship, but in the process, the children of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church also got a tasty lesson on one of Christ's last miracles. They were making lazarakia, small ...

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Chile: 16 Dead, Toll Rising in Valparaiso Fire

Updated 1:15 PM ET MorePowerful Aftershock Rocks Chile a Day After Massive EarthquakeMagnitude-8.2 Quake Strikes Northern ChileMen Charged With Toppling Ancient Rock Formation Avoid Jail Time Huffington PostHere's An Updated Tally Of All The People Who Have Ever Died From A Marijuana Overdose Huffington PostBeyoncé, Jay Z and Gwen Stefani: Coachella's Cameo-Packed Saturday People(VALPARAISO, Chile)…

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Samaras Says Bond Float Shows No Third Greek Bailout Needed

After Greece floated a bond, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has rejected talk a third bailout is needed.

The post Samaras Says Bond Float Shows No Third Greek Bailout Needed appeared first on The National Herald.

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Greek invasion of Dubai’s Safa Park: For football filled with hope

A large group of Greek nationals recently came together for the first ever ‘mini’ Greek Football Tournament in the UAE The mood was one of sending thoughts and solidarity to their co-patriots back home, who are still amidst one of the deepest socio ...

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'Never on Sunday': Greece riots over shop openings end with tear gas, clashes ...

RT'Never on Sunday': Greece riots over shop openings end with tear gas, clashes ...RTGeneral Secretary of the Union of Private Sector Employees of Greece, Thanos Vasilopoulos, said that Sunday opening would not necessarily increase turnover, but would lead to further worsening of working conditions. He added that in Athens there are ...Greek police clash with retail employee protestersSunHerald.comall 5 news articles »

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How There Came To Be A Massive Bull Market In Eurozone Government Bonds

This past week, Greece made its triumphant return to global financial markets, with its successful floatation of a 5-year bond offering. In total Greece borrowed .16 billion at a rate of 4.95%.

But Greece's success is just a small slice of a much bigger story, which is the incredible appetite for European sovereign debt.

The above chart goes back 5 years and it shows borrowing costs for several European countries, including the US (in grey). Probably the most striking lines are the Italian and Spanish ones (yellow and blue). At current trends, it won't be long until Italy and Spain are borrowing for less than what the US does for 10 years.

So what's the story?

There's a few things going on.

One is that in the summer of 2012, with the Eurozone crisis raging, Mario Draghi issued his famous three words "whatever it takes" which preceded a policy of implicit government guarantees for sovereigns. If a government gets in trouble in the debt markets, the ECB will backstop them and buy unlimited amounts of debt (provided the government agrees to oversight and restructuring). The ECB has never had to spend a penny on this program, but just the knowledge that the program exists has had a significant palliative effect on markets.

Meanwhile, the Eurozone economy still stinks, and there's a real threat of deflation across Europe. Some countries are already experiencing deflation.

That raises the pressure on the ECB to cut rates even further, and possibly engage in some sort of QE-style program.

Meanwhile, the yields on some of these government bonds just look juicy. Compared to British, German, and US debt, the debt of Italy and France is high-yielding, and opportunities like that are not abundant in this economy, especially given the risks in emerging markets these days.

So what was once one of the world's most hated asset classes — European government debt — is now in the throes of a vicious bull market.

SEE ALSO: Greece makes its triumphant return to the market

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Greek Unity Week celebrates community

Creighton’s Panhellenic and Interfraternity Councils worked together to put on the annual Greek Unity Week this past week. Greek Unity Week consists of activities that facilitate interaction and togetherness, with some events requiring chapters to work ...

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Banks fiddled while Rome burned: how to predict the next global financial crisis

Amid signs of another asset bubble, and as memories of the last crisis fade, we might be seeing the beginnings of the next crash

Looking back, it was easy to see that the crash was coming. There had been too much cheap money. Debt had exploded. Speculation was rife. The gap between rich and poor had widened. Welfare spending had risen. The financial system was so stretched that even a modest tightening of policy was enough to make it impossible for over-borrowed debtors to service their debts.

The US in 2007? No, this was imperial Rome during the reign of Tiberius in AD33. It was not the first documented financial crisis; that dubious accolade goes to the states of the Delian League in ancient Greece, which defaulted on their debts following a naval blockade by Sparta.

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Terrorists Seen Behind Bank Blast

Police said they fear a car bomb that exploded outside a main Bank of Greece office was the work of two terrorists on the loose.

The post Terrorists Seen Behind Bank Blast appeared first on The National Herald.

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No Minister Phone Wiretaps Found

A government check of phone lines between key minister's phones didn't show any wiretaps, Greek officials said.

The post No Minister Phone Wiretaps Found appeared first on The National Herald.

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Greek Police Clash With Retail Employee Protesters

(ATHENS, Greece) — Hundreds of protesters battled with riot police in one of the Greek capital’s main shopping districts. No injuries or damage have been reported. About 500 protesters, which included retail employees but also several anarchists, closed access to shops on a central Athens street and handed leaflets protesting the extension of Sunday shopping…

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Eurobank Needs 2.86B Euro Capital Raise

Despite being largely recapitalized by the government, Greece’s Eurobank said it needs another 2.86 billion euros ($4 billion) to bolster its reserves.

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Why The Market Reaction To China Has Been Encouraging

Editor's note: Below is an interview with Adrian Miller, director of fixed income strategy at GMP Securities. This Q&A went out to subscribers of our "10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell" newsletter on Thursday morning. Sign up below to get the newsletter and more of these interviews in your inbox every day.

BUSINESS INSIDER: What is the most exciting trade out there right now, in your opinion?

ADRIAN MILLER: Given the lingering uncertainty about whether the U.S. economy will be able to gain sufficient momentum to achieve our full year 3.0% GDP target and whether the Fed will effectively negotiate its wind-down of QE and manage the market’s expectations of its future monetary policy, the most exciting opportunity right now is trading the US Treasury curve.

BI: Which developments in global financial markets, if any, would you flag as most concerning for risk appetite?

AM: The most concerning trend in risk appetite is the dramatic compression of the euro zone periphery debt yield premium versus the German Bund. As investors search for yield with their presumed safety net of the ECB, they are not paying enough heed to the credit risk profile differentiation between the "have" and "have not" countries of the euro zone. This trend has provided a window for Greece's return to the capital markets before they have completed structural reforms, even after the March 2012 sovereign debt restructuring resulted in a 70% haircut.

BI: On the other hand, what is the most encouraging sign?

AM: The most encouraging sign has been the market’s growing skepticism of China’s ability to properly balance its growth initiatives while also enacting historic financial and regulatory reforms and rebalancing its economy from exports driven demand to domestic demand. Getting the balance right will be a Herculean task and requires a fair amount of risk premium to be applied to Chinese financial market assets.

BI: What pieces of new information (e.g. economic data releases, price action in a given market over the next few days/weeks, etc.) do you think have the biggest potential to alter your outlook?

AM: In the near term, I'll be focused on the economic development of what I call the "global growth bookends" — the U.S. and China — and the bond market’s reaction to the Fed's forward guidance message. An excessive hike in long term rates due to an overreaction by the bond market ahead of the domestic and global economy’s ability to absorb the higher rates would significantly risk a stall in global growth.

BI: What do you perceive to be the most misunderstood trend or event in or characteristic of today's markets?

AM: The most misunderstood characteristic is the degree of fragmentation in emerging-market economic trends and the related reform developments. The IMF often claims we are in a two speed global economy, but in truth, the emerging-market region is running at multiple speeds depending on the region and country. Notable differentiation can be found between the EMEA, LatAm and Asia (ex-Japan) regions.

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Merkel worried by Putin letter, as fighting breaks out in Ukraine

by  Dan Alexe

 

As clashes broke out on Sunday in a series of Ukrainian cities, it appears that, on the diplomatic front, Vladimir Putin’s letter to 18 European countries, sent on Thursday 10 April, has worried the capitals.

The EU is taking seriously President in which he warned that Ukraine’s debt crisis could affect gas transit from Russia, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. "There are many reasons to seriously take into account this message […] and for Europe to deliver a joint European response,”Merkel said on Friday in Athens. 

She added that the issue would be discussed in a meeting between European Union foreign ministers Monday.

Speaking in Athens on Friday, Merkel stressed that the price on natural gas should be negotiated. She also said that EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger and representatives of European states should talk to Russia’s biggest gas producer, Gazprom.

“When we take all these steps, we can be sure that we have reached a joined response for the countries that face this problem because they are getting gas from Gazprom,” Merkel said, adding European states "would like to be good clients but we would also like to be sure Russian gas supplies are not interrupted.”

On Thursday, Putin wrote a letter to the leaders of 18 European countries, major consumers of Russian gas such as Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Moldova, Poland and Romania, warning that Ukraine’s debt crisis reached a “critical” level and could threaten transit to Europe.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov says security forces have launched an "anti-terrorist operation" in the eastern city of Slovyansk. One Ukrainian state security officer was killed and five others were wounded on the side of government forces in an "anti-terrorist" operation on Sunday against pro-Russian separatist militants in a city in the east, the interior minister said.

On the side of the separatists there had been an "unidentifiable number" of casualties during the operation in the town of Slovyansk, the minister, Arsen Avakov, said on his Facebook page. "There were dead and wounded on both sides," Avakov said. About 1,000 people were giving support to the separatists, he added.

Ukrainian media also reported that pro-Russia separatists have seized the mayor's office in the city of Mariupol. The reports say the building was seized by the separatists after a peaceful rally by some 1,000 pro-Russia protesters.

The White House says U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will travel to Ukraine on April 22 to meet with government leaders and civil society groups, where he will "underscore the United States' strong support for a united, democratic Ukraine."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a phone call that Russia would suffer "additional consequences" if it did not act to de-escalate the situation in eastern Ukraine and pull its troops back from the border.

Lavrov in turn told Kerry that any armed action by Ukrainian authorities in eastern Ukraine would put planned talks at risk. He said that any use of force against ethnic Russians in the east of Ukraine "would undermine the potential for cooperation ... including the holding of planned four-party talks in Geneva" on April 17.

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A View from the Bridge review spartan makeover for Arthur Miller

Young Vic, LondonArthur Miller's 1955 Brooklyn drama is stripped right back to showcase rich behavioural accuracy and high-quality performances

Ivo van Hove is an audacious Belgian whose production of Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage, seen at the Barbican last November, was a model of hyper-realism. But his highly impressive revival of Arthur Miller's 1955 Brooklyn drama goes to the opposite extreme by stripping the play of naturalistic detail and returning it to its roots in Greek tragedy.

The action, in Jan Versweyveld's design, is played out on a long, rectangular platform that resembles a sunken bath; and the extraordinary opening image shows the longshoreman, Eddie Carbone, and a colleague standing beneath what might be a purifying, or possibly elemental, torrent of water. But signs of the ensuing tragedy are instantly apparent. When Eddie returns home, his niece Catherine leaps exuberantly into his arms and wraps her bare thighs round his torso. Their relationship is clearly tactile and intimately physical. And, when Catherine falls for Rodolfo, one of the two Sicilian immigrants lodging in Eddie's home, we know there can only be one outcome.

Continue reading...

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Papandreou Rejects Blame For Crisis

Former Greek premier George Papandreou says the EU and his predecessor were to blame for an economic crisis.

The post Papandreou Rejects Blame For Crisis appeared first on The National Herald.

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Greece to issue more bonds after debt sale

Telegraph.co.uk (blog)Greece to issue more bonds after debt salegulfnews.comGreece on Thursday raised €3 billion ($4.2 billion, (Dh15.3 billion) at under 5 per cent interest, a move welcomed by its creditors in the European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). A day later, visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel ...Greece has made an impressive comeback but it still faces huge challengesTelegraph.co.uk (blog)Samaras Says Greece Doesn't Need Third BailoutGreek ReporterGerman Bonds Rise With Yield Below 1.5% as Greece FallsBloombergSeeking Alpha -Focus News -Bloomberg Viewall 28 news articles »

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72% Of Greeks Need More Work To Make Ends Meet

Almost 10 million out of 43.7 million part-time workers in the European Union were under-employed in 2013. As Bloomberg Brief’s Niraj Shah

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Samaras Says Greece Doesn’t Need Third Bailout

Fresh on the heels of Greece floating a sovereign bond for the first time since an economic crisis began four years ago,

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Greece to issue more bonds after sale success

Greece will issue more bonds after last week's successful five-year debt sale that ended a four-year drought, the head of the debt agency said Sunday. "The bond sale was just the first step," Stelios Papadopoulos, head of the public debt management agency (PDMA) told Kathimerini daily. Greece on Thursday raised 3.0 billion euros ($4.2 billion) at under 5.0 percent interest, a move welcomed by ...

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'Great Stretch' to secure Greek debt return

Two years ago, Greece's debt crisis almost brought the euro zone crashing down.

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Basking in Greece's healing waters

Independent OnlineBasking in Greece's healing watersIndependent Online“Greece invented the therapeutic use of hot springs thousands of years before the birth of Jesus Christ,” says Zisis Aggelidis, a professor of hydrogeology at Thessaloniki's Aristotelio University. In ancient Greece, healing temples known as Asclepieia ...and more »

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Crete family holiday: one island, three villas and two small boys

And snorkels. We chose Crete. It was my first return in 32 years to a Greek island. I had happy memories of dusty donkeys, sparkling coves and hot sun. I booked three diverse villas in the hope that one would offer us the Greek family-holiday magic of my ...

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Greek confections a must-have at St. Vasilios biannual bake sale

Greek confections a must-have at St. Vasilios biannual bake saleWatertownDailyTimes.comWATERTOWN — In the days leading up to the biannual St. Vasilios Greek pastry sale Saturday, a schedule of pastry preparation was available on the church's website. For Amber L. Spinks, of Croghan, that solidified her resolve to visit the bake sale for ...

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Let's get mythical: Unlock the 'secrets of Greece'

Let's get mythical: Unlock the 'secrets of Greece'Daily StarThe cash-strapped country is unveiling one of its most mythical and beautiful regions to tourists to boost its economy. You can forget your troubles – and theirs – in the secret Greece favoured by the Athenians. But the Peloponnese will soon catch on ...

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Greek Student from Montreal in Greek Youth Parliament

A Greek student from College Platon in Montreal was selected as “teen MP” in the sole seat of Canada’s Youth Parliament. According to the results of the draw — which takes place in order to decide which students are going to participate in the ...

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