SYRIZA Leader to Greek Voters: Give Us a Self-Reliance Mandate

Greek main opposition SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras delivered his main speech in Omonoia Square, downtown Athens, ahead of the upcoming January 25 general elections. Addressing an audience of thousands of SYRIZA supporters, Tsipras appeared confident that his party will be victorious after the polls close on Sunday, while he requested a self-reliance mandate from Greek voters in order to form a strong government. In addition, the main opposition leader directly attacked Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and his policies. Tsipras opened his speech by saying that Greece will not only have a SYRIZA victory on Sunday, but a historic triumph of the people “who will defeat fear and pain. Who will punish its terrified terrorists.” Furthermore, Tsipras referred to a page break and a change of an era. “No matter what you were voting until yesterday; [We proceed] all together, to roll up the sun again over Greece. The sun of justice, the sun of democracy, the sun of dignity. All together, because poverty does not discriminate. Unemployment does not discriminate. Despair does not discriminate. ‘Padlocks’ do not discriminate. All together, because united people cannot be defeated.” Furthermore, Tsipras declared that his party will not accept receiving instructions from abroad, referring specifically to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “We do not intend to form a coalition with the Memoranda representatives. Neither the old nor the new ones,” he highlighted, referring to minor parties. “This is why we ask you to determine the next day terms. Give us your vote for stability. Give us the power to help Greece take off. Give SYRIZA and Greece self-governance to escape the past of corruption, subordination and destructive Memoranda.”

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Greek Health Ministry Withdraws Nurses’ Prescription Decree After Reactions

Greek Health Minister Makis Voridis has finally decided to withdraw his decree allowing nurses to prescribe drugs and medical supplies to patients, just three days ahead of the critical January 25 general elections and after fierce reactions from healthcare employees, including the nurses themselves. Prior to the repeal of the controversial ministerial decision, Voridis was contacted by Panhellenic Medical Association (PIS) President Michalis Vlastarakos, who highlighted that the Greek healthcare system is at risk. In addition, Panhellenic Pharmaceutical Association (PFS) Vice President Giannis Dagres criticized Voridis, characterizing the decree as a “cheap election campaign favor.” Even representatives of the Panhellenic Nursing Staff Federation (PASONOP) themselves denounced the Ministry’s initiative, saying it was “unprecedented,” which, according to them, was taken without any consultation. As they highlighted, this was a decision of “monumental populism.” Nursing personnel representatives also note that according to the decree, a series of medical actions may be implemented according to nursing protocols. The Federation of Clinical Experts also issued a statement, demanding the decree’s withdrawal. In its statement, the federation pointed out the paradox that non-specialized personnel would be allowed to prescribe medication, when at the same time doctors are banned from prescribing medication that is outside their specialty.

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Slavoj Žižek: The Urgent Necessity of a Syriza Victory in Greece

Only a split from the European Union by Greece can save what is worth saving in the European legacy: democracy, trust in people and egalitarian ...

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Greek leftists widen lead over ruling conservatives

The survey by Public Issue for "Efimerida ton Syntaktwn" newspaper showed Syriza leading with 11 percentage points over Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' New Democracy party. Greece's main opposition, the anti-bailout Syriza party, has widened its lead over ...

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Greece's election marks the start of a momentous year

… be most keenly felt if Greece becomes the first of a … negotiate more favourable terms on Greece’s bailout, that could encourage …

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Massive Crowd For Syriza's Final Rally Ahead Of Greek Elections

Greek opposition party Syriza held its final campaign rally in Athens on Thursday, three days before the country heads to the polls in crucial elections. Tens of thousands of people waving Syriza's red and white flags flooded Omonia Square to hear the party's charismatic leader Alexis Tsipras speak, German press agency DPA reported. A new poll showed on Thursday that Syriza had widened its lead over the ruling conservative New Democracy party. The poll by Metron Analysis said the left-wing party would take 36 percent of the vote on Sunday, compared with 30.7 percent for the New Democracy party. The leader of Spain's left-wing Podemos party Pablos Inglesias -- which is also enjoying a surge in popularity -- joined the Syriza leader on stage on Thursday. "People all over Europe are watching us, and we will change Europe," Tsipras vowed to supporters, according to The Guardian's Greece correspondent. Syriza has campaigned against the austerity measures imposed as a condition of Greece's bailouts by the "troika" -- EuroZone countries, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Tsipras' campaign promise to renegotiate the bailout package has raised concerns that Greece might default or leave the Euro. "What have five years of sacrifice got us? In a word: Nothing," Tsipras wrote in an article on Thursday, according to the Associated Press. "All we got is despair: 1.3 million unemployed, 3 million without health insurance, and pensioners who cannot afford to buy medicine." Supporters of Alexis Tsipras, leader of Greece's Syriza party, attend his pre-election speech at Omonia Square in Athens, Jan. 22, 2015. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Supporters of Alexis Tsipras, leader of Greece's Syriza party, attend his pre-election speech at Omonia Square in Athens, Jan. 22, 2015. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Supporters of Alexis Tsipras, leader of Greece's Syriza party, attend his pre-election speech at Omonia Square in Athens, Jan. 22, 2015. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras with Pablo Iglesias, leader of the Spanish left-wing party Podemos, in Omonia Square in Athens, Jan. 22, 2015. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) #grgrks #syriza #alexistsipras A photo posted by Gregorski (@grgrsk) on Jan 22, 2015 at 9:56am PST Greek communists as far as the eye can see. A photo posted by @thestalwart on Jan 22, 2015 at 8:41am PST Προχωράμε όλοι και όλες μαζί. Γιατί η φτώχεια δεν κάνει διακρίσεις. Η ανεργία δεν κάνει διακρίσεις. #ekloges2015 pic.twitter.com/FEGQoNHz81— a.tsipras (@atsipras) January 22, 2015 We move all together. Poverty does not discriminate. Unemployment does not discriminate. Η Ελλάδα από Δευτέρα, θα αποκτήσει φωνή, αξιοπρέπεια, υπόσταση στην Ευρώπη. #syriza #ekloges2015 #ChangeEurope pic.twitter.com/ldGCKMHeW7— a.tsipras (@atsipras) January 22, 2015 On Monday, Greece will acquire voice, dignity, status in Europe. Can't believe how many communists there are in #Greece. Hammer and sickle on the sign on the left. #whatdecade? pic.twitter.com/8D2vJpbEYr— M. Caruso-Cabrera (@MCaruso_Cabrera) January 22, 2015 #Syriza Anhänger auf #Omonia. Mehrere 10tausend. Immer wieder: #Tsipras, Tsipras - Zeit für einen Wechsel #Athen pic.twitter.com/WRaaG7o0PX— Dirk Emmerich (@DEmmerich) January 22, 2015 #Syriza followers on #Omonia. Several 10,000. Again and again: #Tsipras, Tsipras - time for a change #Athen "This is the end of fear" Tsipras starts speaking at SYRIZA's Athens rally. #ekloges15 pic.twitter.com/rIxWBJS2zI— Stratos Safioleas (@stratosathens) January 22, 2015 First we take Athens, then we take Madrid @Pablo_Iglesias_ #syriza #ekloges2015 #ChangeEurope #Podemos @europeanleft pic.twitter.com/ZQ413PwDQn— a.tsipras (@atsipras) January 22, 2015 More On The Greek Elections: -- 7 Keys to Understanding the Greek Elections -- Would A Syriza Win Be Good for EU Integration? -- Greece Has Nothing To Lose But Its Chains

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Tsipras: Give SYRIZA and Greece a single-party majority

"On Sunday the Greek nation will have the last word, not the lenders," the SYRIZA leader stressed

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Syriza's Surge: Radical Left outsiders promising end to austerity prepare for power in Greece

Dressed in an open-collar shirt and blue suede shoes, Alexis Tsipras arrives at his party's headquarters for a live Q-and-A session on Twitter.

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Greek leftist widens poll lead, says to end 'humiliation'

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek leftist leader Alexis Tsipras told thousands of people gathered in Athens that an end to "national humiliation" was near after opinion polls on Thursday showed his Syriza party pulling ahead three days before an election.

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​9 Roman Gods Who Weren't Just Rip Offs Of Greek Gods

We know that the ancient Greeks had a massively entertaining sets of gods and goddesses. So it's no wonder that when Rome conquered Greece, ...

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DAVOS WATCH: Merkel upstaged, more protests, currency wars

Greece's left-wing Syriza party, which is leading in the polls, has been calling for easier terms on bailout loans the country owes to fellow EU countries.

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Tough voices over Greek debt

As Greece races headlong into a snap election, Germany’s chancellor has warned the country that it must take responsibility for its debts. At a keynote speech at the World Economic Forum, Merkel insisted that she wanted Greece to remain in the eurozone. But she also signalled that Germany would persist in its insistence that the Greek debts be repaid.

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Here Are The Owners Of European Sovereign Debt (EUR, USD, DIA, SPY, QQQ, TLT, IWM)

The European Central Bank just announced a €60 billion per month bond buying program. Following this announcement, Deutsche Bank economist Torsten Slok circulated an email with the following chart, showing who own the debt of some of the world's biggest economies, including several members of the eurozone who will participate in this QE program. Slok first circulated this chart back in December, making these points on who own this debt at the time: Foreign central banks hold a very small share of Japanese and Italian government bonds. Of Greece, Portugal, and Ireland, foreign nonbanks hold the biggest share of Irish government debt. In Italy and Spain, domestic banks hold a significant share of their government debt. And so after Thursday's big announcement, here's your friendly reminder: Join the conversation about this story »

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The European QE Purchases Are Actually Being Done The Right Way

Editor's note: This post was first published on Ello on January 19, 2015, before the ECB QE announcement on Thursday. Last Friday Der Speigel published details of possible ECB QE modalities. This post takes the report at face value and looks at what the sovereign purchase plan might mean. Firstly, ECB QE with national central banks (NCB) buying only their own sovereign's debt does not end risk sharing. When a NCB purchases anything outright, it creates euros. Those euros are a eurosystem liability. That's a pretty fundamental part of being in a monetary union. So, is the NCB QE plan a political sop to ease (mostly German) worries? And as such, is it meaningless to the effectiveness of the plan? After all, QE is QE. Most of what I have read so far on this points to it either being meaningless, or worse, a watering down of QE. Having thought about over the weekend, I've come to the conclusion that NCB QE is actually likely to be more effective than ECB level QE. The template for this is the Irish Central bank's unwind of its ELA with the now defunct Anglo Irish Bank. It was a but of a three card trick, so worth going through to see similarity. Anglo Irish Bank was a nationalised bank that was completely bust after the ending of the Irish property bubble. In order to keep the zombie animated (in order to avoid a dis-orderly default) the Irish central bank provided over €40 billion of emergency liquidity (ELA) to Anglo. This ELA was backed by an instrument called a 'promissory note' issued by the Irish government. The arrangement in place was that the Irish government would pay the promissory note over ~10 years, paying €3.06bn annually to the Irish central bank. So, for all purposes, the promissory note was sovereign debt on balance sheet of the Irish central bank, as it was the collateral backing ELA - ELA which Anglo Irish bank had no hope of ever paying. In February 2013, the Irish government took the decision to wind up Anglo (by this time it was called IBRC). This meant that the Irish central bank's ELA counter-party no longer existed, so it needed to get the ELA covered. The Irish government covered the ELA by giving sovereign bonds to the Irish central bank. Now, as Anglo was an arm of the Irish state (as a nationalised bank), so we can simplify and retell that story like this: Irish central bank accepts promise from arm of Irish state in return for euros. Arm of Irish state defaults, so Irish central bank accepts another promise from Irish state in lieu of repayment of euros. All of which means if an NCB buys the debt of its sovereign and when the time comes for repayment it can (under the above precedent) accept new sovereign debt in lieu of repayment. Even more importantly, the Anglo precedent means that even if a euro member state defaults (as Anglo effectively did) then there is no reason the NCB cannot replace the defaulted bonds on its balance sheet with new sovereign debt. This scenario can only arise under an NCB QE operation. If the ECB is the holder of the sovereign debt, then it will - as Greece knows well - always insist on full payment. If you had to pick a QE, surely the one with zero default cost would be the better one.SEE ALSO: European Government Bond Yields Cratered After The ECB's QE Announcement Join the conversation about this story »

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Far Left Poised for Victory in Greek Election

The results of the Greek general election seem a foregone conclusion as Alexis Tsipras of the left wing Syriza party looks set to saunter home ...

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Avocado caprese bites and Greek yogurt covered berries 1/22/15

Using a toothpick or skewer, stab a berry and dip it in the Greek yogurt. Ease the berry off the skewer onto a parchment-lined sheet tray and freeze.

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Bloomberg: Draghi corners Tsipras by attaching strings to stimulus

The European Central Bank set limits on accessing its bond-buying program that will exclude Greece for at least six months, raising pressure on whichever party wins Jan. 25 elections to heed the demands of official creditors. The ECB decision locks Greece out of ...

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Greek Public Debt at 176% of GDP in Q3 2014

According to data released by Eurostat, the Greek public debt increased to 176% of the country’s GDP during the third quarter of 2014, from 171% in the same quarter of 2013. Public debt within the Eurozone stood, on average, at 92.1% of GDP in the third quarter of 2014, compared to 91.1% in the third quarter of 2013. Meanwhile, in the EU28, public debt reached 86.6% of GDP, while a year ago it stood at 85.3%. Regarding Greece, the country’s public debt reached 176% of GDP during the third quarter of 2014, amounting to a total of 315.5 billion euros, while during the second quarter, the debt stood at 177.5% (317.5 billion euros) and 171% (317.7 billion. euros) in the third quarter of 2013. Greece recorded the highest public debt rate in the EU in the third quarter of 2014, followed by Italy (131.8%), Portugal (131.4%) and Ireland (114.8%). The lower debt rate was recorded in Estonia (10.5%), Luxembourg (22.9%) and Bulgaria (23.6%). Compared to the third quarter of 2013, the public debt rate showed an increase in 18 EU member-states, while it dropped in 10. The largest increases were recorded in Slovenia (16.8 percentage points), Croatia (7.3 percentage points) and Bulgaria (6.6 percentage points). Furthermore, the greatest public debt reduction was recorded in Ireland (-9.4 percentage points), Poland (-8.0 percentage points) and Luxembourg (-5.0 percentage points).

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Juncker: ‘Greece Must Respect Its Commitments’

“Any new government in Greece is expected to respect the commitments of its predecessors,” noted the European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, on Thursday, January 22, during a joint press conference with the President of Finland. When asked if he felt worried about the political situation in Greece, Juncker said he does not wish to interfere with the upcoming elections. “We do not want to interfere in the Greek election debate, for obvious reasons. It is up to the Greeks to elect those they want to be governed by,” he said. However, he stressed that “The only thing we can say, and we have to say it, is that we do think that the commitments made by Greece will have to be respected by any new Greek government,” he added. His words were considered a warning toward Greek leftist party SYRIZA that is currently in the lead to win the January 25 elections. It should be noted that during an interview with Reuters on Monday, January 19, Juncker said the European Commission expects the next Greek government to commit to the reforms arranged by its predecessors.

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‘Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei’ Plot to Assassinate Xeros Uncovered, Greek Police Says

An assassination attempt against their alleged associate, convicted terrorist and former “November 17” member Christodoulos Xeros, were plotting imprisoned members of radical anarchist organization Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei (SPF). According to Greek Police chief Dimitris Tsaknakis, in a press conference held earlier today, the attack was to be held after their escape from Korydallos prison in Athens, Greece, which was planned to take place with the assistance of Xeros himself, but was finally exposed by authorities, just a few days before launch. The operation had the codename “Gorgopotamos.” The announcement was based on elements drawn from previous police investigation and the arrest of two more criminals associated with the anarchist group in Athens and Thessaloniki. As Tsaknakis described, the assassination plot was revealed after the examination of encrypted letters exchanged between SPF members, referring to Xeros’ “dismissal” because they considered him a “traitor” and responsible for the failure of the bombing attacks at the Itea police station and Korydallos’ Tax Revenue Service, which they thought was intentional. Xeros is already serving multiple life terms for his involvement in Greece’s most active and dangerous terrorist group, “November 17.” He had escaped a year ago by disappearing during a prison leave and was arrested again on January 3, 2015.

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SYRIZA Comments on ECB President Draghi’s Announcements

The announcements made by European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi on Thursday were characterized by Greece’s main opposition SYRIZA as “an important decision that will be utilized by the next Greek government for the country’s benefit.” “All those who spread fear and panic are debunked by Draghi’s statements,” SYRIZA said, adding that “the ECB President announcement on the launch of a government bond-buying program responded to the extremely restrictive policies by being in favor of quantitative easing and keeping a distance from the extreme neo-liberal voices, among which, unfortunately, is that of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.” “Everybody knows what moves were made by the outgoing Prime Minister,” SYRIZA underlined, pointing out that Samaras had opposed quantitative easing instead of supporting it, in alliance with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. SYRIZA said it was worth noting that Samaras had intensified his scaremongering propaganda in recent days, anticipating that his imminent election defeat would be less extensive this way. (source: ana-mpa)

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Greece is not the only country where the euro vision has fast become a nightmare

… higher rate even than in Greece, Spain or Portugal. Yet the …

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Draghi Corners Tsipras by Tying QE Access to Good Greek Behavior

… creditors. The ECB decision locks Greece out of the quantitative easing … Draghi said Thursday in Frankfurt. Greece must also complete a stalled … additional quantitative effects of buying Greek bonds can also be achieved …

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EZ Cooking: Stocking a Greek pantry

Kalamata olives: This almond-shaped, dark eggplant-colored Greek olive has a rich fruity flavor. It is not at all like the common tangy, salty Spanish ...

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Austerity takes its toll in Greece

As the elections in Greece draw closer, the radical-left party SYRIZA has increased its lead in the polls by promising to ease austerity measures and ...

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Naysayers Aside, Greece Has Nothing to Lose but Its Chains

The international media's favorite soap opera is back... this time, with even more suspense and scandal, triumph and tragedy. The Greek elections, true to the Greek psyche, are full of pathos. Leading stars? The three main parties -- the ruling (and conservative) New Democracy, the socialist Pasok and the leftist Syriza -- and a handful of their ideological offspring, including fledgling parties created by everyone from former TV journalists and sexy actors to head shaved extremists and starry-eyed environmentalists. With the dawn of 2015, elections were announced for January 25, giving players less than three weeks to groom, grill and sway voters into dropping their ballot for the best man (or woman, or singer, or...). And then the spotlight turned to world's naysayers, who were quick to point out that Greece is doomed should the leftist Syriza party (which polls are hinting could win) clinch to the country's top spot. The EU, the IMF, our lenders, all sorts of financial, political and economics analysts, Germany, and so many others participating in (and benefiting from) this constructed crisis are warning that if Greeks break the two-party hold -- responsible for bringing Greece to the brink of destruction some five years ago -- they may as well cry their savings and lives goodbye. Truly, do people believe that in the 21st century, the Peron-styled Alexis Tsipras and his clan will just break our piggy banks, steal our cash (or what has remained of it) and send us to a Greek version of gulag camps? Just for the sake of argument, should we remember the Cyprus haircut a couple of years back which robbed Cypriot depositors of almost 50 percent of their savings? Should we remind ourselves that almost half of Greece's young people under 25 are without a job? Or how about even take a stroll down central Patission Ave, once bustling with life, where every one in three shops has closed? And all this... with a little help from our friends, who are neither leftist nor radical. I'm sure this is not what the Beatles had in mind. And yes, our friends and (EU counterparts) in northern Europe, plagued by a selective memory, seem to forget that it was after all Germany's debt that was suspended after World War I and then dropped altogether (courtesy of the Lausanne Conference) in order for the country to stand back on its own two feet. So does Greece have anything to lose with these elections? Well, yes and no. It could be a Greece Groundhog Day yet again, or it could change. Either way, the saying goes something like this: you have nothing to lose when you really have nothing. And liberally tweaking Karl Marx's words, Greece's has nothing to lose but its chains.... The Greek myth of Pandora (her name meaning 'of all gifts') probably best describes the Greeks' current predicament. Greece, much like the maiden Pandora, is all gifted. Located in one of the world's most geographically strategic locations, with endless miles of coastline, hundreds of islands, majestic mountains, with a mild climate all year round, boasting one of the world's healthiest diets and home to a fresh, educated and diligent workforce, Greece has it all. And yet, like Pandora, all is never enough. So she opens the box (or jar) and releases all wickedness onto the world. Well, the evil has already taken its toll, its time now for the last item in the box to emerge... hope, if not for a better future at least for a different one.

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Greek reforms? What Greek reforms?

The idea of austerity reforms caused an uproar in Greece, but were they really ever implemented in the first place?

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Greece elections: Syriza party tops polls raising fears that a win will lead to 'devastating' European exit

Two years since its last elections, and more than four years since it was first bailed out by its neighbours, Greece is poised to vote in a historic election that could usher in Europe’s first radical leftist government in a country still stricken by austerity. 

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Radical Left political outsiders prepare for power in Greece

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Dressed in an open-collar shirt and blue suede shoes, Alexis Tsipras arrives at his party's headquarters for a live Q-and-A session on Twitter. The session is moderated by a leftwing newspaper that normally sells less than 2,000 ...

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Merkel: I am confident that Greece will continue to show its sense of responsibility

Once again the German Chancellor reiterated her interest in seeing Greece remain in the euro

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JP Morgan: Greece to remain within the euro but on close watch

All eyes on the upcoming election - In the Investment House’s estimation, SYRIZA is going to win but not attain single-party majority

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Greeks set to vote for hope

Open the Google Chrome browser Click Tools icon Or type in Go to chrome://settings/ to the URL window, hit enter Click 'Advanced settings' Select Privacy Content ...

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ECB will cease funding if Greece halts or renegotiates programme, until such time when deal is made

Mario Draghi and the ECB's statement details

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Greek reforms? It's not clear they ever happened

Austerity reforms caused an uproar in Greece, but were they really ever implemented in the first place?

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The Greek Election is Closer and so is a Possible Syriza Victory

If Syriza wins, as all polls indicate they will, this might be a serious setback for Greece, just at the time when the Greek economy was emerging out of a five-year deep recession. Economic turmoil is expected, primarily because Syriza insists on achieving ...

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AP PHOTOS: Faces of voters ahead of key Greece elections

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Six years of deep recession, galloping unemployment and repeated income cuts have jolted the average Greek out of a relatively comfortable — albeit often credit-fueled — lifestyle. For many, Sunday's national elections are ...

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Renewed Greek Tensions Highlight Europe's Challenge

Greece, the eurozone’s most troubled economy, remains tethered to an unforgiving bailout machinery, built at Berlin’s behest.

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Greek Review Needs To Be Completed for ECB QE

Greece’s Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said Thursday the European Central Bank’s debt-purchasing program will include Greece if a continuing review of the country’s bailout program is successfully completed.

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ECB may buy Greek bonds in July

The head of the European Central Bank (ECB), Mario Draghi, said on Thursday the bank could start buying Greek bonds in July as part of its massive quantitative easing programme, if certain conditions apply.  "The ...

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Draghi Corners Greek Anti-Austerity Candidate by Tying Stimulus to Good Behavior

Tsipras has pledged to persuade the ECB and the euro region to write down the value of their Greek debt holdings to let him ramp up public spending ...

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MarketsGreek bonds party on ECB QE inclusion

Yields on Greek bonds are dropping like a rock following the news that Greek debt can be included in the ECB's government bond-buying programme.

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The Intimidation of Greek Voters

At the same time, the German government appears to be trying to influence the Greek election scheduled for January 25 by saying that if the left party ...

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Austerity and Financial Panic? Why the Whole World is Watching Greece

Greece's economy is fairly small by European standards, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of $242-billion in 2013, compared to $2.1-trillion for Italy ...

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Greece out of ECB's QE plan unless bailout review sealed-PM

Countries like Greece will be eligible as long as they are under EU/IMF bailout programmes but the eligibility is suspended until any pending review is ...

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Europe's Massive Quantitative Easing Scheme Just Arrived — Here's Everything You Need To Know

The ECB has held rates steady in its latest monetary policy announcement. But all eyes are on the live press conference. Pretty much everyone is now expecting some sort of big stimulus package. Here's what they've said so far, and Draghi's full statement: Draghi just announced "expanded asset purchases" — quantitative easing (QE). The ECB will purchase €60 billion of assets per month — that combines the purchases of covered bonds and asset-backed securities they were already doing with investment-grade government debt. This is more than people expected. Greek debt isn't investment-grade, but the statement says there's "some additional eligibility criteria" for countries currently in bailout programmes, so Greece's bonds may still be eligible for the new scheme. Here are some of the technical details. Purchases are expected to run until the end of September 2016. Crucially, if the job of raising inflation back toward the ECB's target isn't done by then, the programme can keep rolling on. 12% of the new purchases will be subject to "loss-sharing" — the ECB will hold another 8% of the bonds, so a fifth of the risk will be shared in total. But that means most of the default risk will be held by national central banks. The ECB won't buy more than 25% of the new debt any country is issuing, and not more than 33% of its outstanding total debt. It will buy bonds with maturities between two and 30 years, longer than people were expecting. It will buy bonds with negative yields, too.  Draghi says a "large majority" of the ECB board was in favour of the QE package. Enough that it didn't take a vote, but it doesn't sound unanimous. It looks as if this was more than the market had priced in: the euro is sinking against the dollar. Government bond yields across the eurozone are plunging to record low levels. Draghi says there is "continued moderate growth" and that lower oil prices will help disposable incomes in Europe. But he adds that high unemployment is going to keep weighing on the eurozone. The ECB is expecting inflation to increase gradually later in 2015 and through 2016, and countries should use any "available scope" in fiscal policy to boost the recovery (he's talking to you, Germany). Analysts were betting on a quantitative easing scheme worth about €500 billion ($580.95 billion) to €600 billion. Anything smaller would have been a negative surprise for markets are would probably have sparked a nasty reaction. Pretty much every leak and official comment from the ECB in the last couple of months has been leading up to this. ECB press chief Michael Steen notes that the ECB has 13 camera crews in Thursday, as opposed to the usual two to three. The eurozone officially dropped into deflation in December, with consumer prices falling 0.2%, the first negative figure since 2009. It is likely to be falling further and further in the months ahead, with plunging oil prices driving the index down.  Whatever happens, this will be one of the most important ECB meetings since the worst days of the euro crisis in 2012.  NOW WATCH: How To Make Your Own Custom Charts In Excel OO.ready(function() { OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer', 'g2aWFsbTp7d19oAMA-ZC2gWX5asp4-V4'); });Please enable Javascript to watch this video   Join the conversation about this story »

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Greece Will Be Blocked From ECB's QE if Troika Review Isn't Concluded--Greek PM

ATHENS—Greece will be blocked from the European Central Bank's debt purchasing program if a review by the country's international creditors isn't ...

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Anti-Semitism: Be not afraid

IN ONE Jewish school in London, pupils drill for a possible terrorist attack. A synagogue has cancelled a children’s trip to Disneyland in France. Police and community groups have stepped up patrols in Jewish areas. After the murderous attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris on January 9th, British Jews are scared. Should they be?Jews worried even before the killings. In a study of British Jews last year by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), almost 70% said that they felt anti-Semitism had increased in the past five years. Considering the atrocities in Paris, it should come as no surprise that many Jews feel uneasy in a way that they have not for some time, says Ephraim Mirvis, Britain’s chief rabbi. But he cautions against alarmism. Indeed: though some statistics suggest otherwise, anti-Semitism is not rising.Research last year from the Pew Global Attitudes survey suggests that just 7% of Britons harbour unfavourable views of Jews. That is a little less than in France and much lower than in Italy or Greece, where the rates are 24% and 47% respectively. The figure in Britain has been fairly stable—hovering between 7% and 9%—for a decade, points out Daniel Staetsky of JPR. Levels of prejudice against Muslims are higher in Britain, as in other European countries.The Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that monitors anti-Semitic incidents, reckons that there...

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Greece's Syriza party widens lead as election looms, polls show

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's anti-bailout party, Syriza, has widened its lead over the ruling conservatives, two surveys showed on Thursday, with just over a day of campaigning left before a national election. A poll by Metron Analysis to be published on Friday showed Syriza's lead over the New Democracy party of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras growing to 5.3 points from 4.6 points in a previous ...

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Merkel praises EU, criticizes Russia at Davos

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the German Chancellor gave her outlook on a wide array of issues. Her talk touched on everything from Ukraine, to digitization, to a Greek exit from the euro.

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PM Samaras warns bailout assessment must be over ahead of QE for Greece

In a brief speech on state TV NERIT, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said that the Quantitative Easing programme announced Thursday by European Central Bank head Mario Draghi would apply to Greece only if ther assessment of Greece's bailout programme, ...

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