How the world sees Greece
Dresden, Germany: Greece’s debt crisis dominated talks of the Group of Seven finance ministers on Friday, with the United States and Japan pressing Europe to reach a deal with Athens to avoid rattling the Eurozone and the global economy. Even though ...
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German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung has corrected an interview with International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde in which she had been quoted as saying that a Greek exit from the euro zone was a "possibility". The IMF released a ...
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It also emerged on Friday that deposit outflows from Greek banks accelerated this week, with about €800m withdrawn on Wednesday and Thursday ...
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European shares fall amid impasse on Greece talks. * Treasury yields fall to three-week lows on GDP data. * Dollar slips at end of winning month.
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Finance ministers from seven wealthy democracies heard U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew urge an agreement on more financial help for Greece. The post US Presses EU To Fix Greece appeared first on The National Herald.
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Treasury secretary calls for Athens bailout deal as soon as possible
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Greek banks have been experiencing the most severe deposit drain in over ten years. Reports the European Central Bank. At the same time, the ...
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Greece’s nemesis, Finland, is trying to cope with its own harsh financial realities and its new government is planning radical austerity measures. After three years of recession, the country of 5.4 million now faces five years of austerity.
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It sounds like something out of a dystopian novel: across Europe, hundreds of fake companies have been set up. They function just like a normal corporation would — employees send out invoices, pay bills, even apply for loans — but they don't actually produce anything. The sham corporations exist for the benefit of the jobless across Europe, desperate to be retrained and put to work. It is "an elaborate training network that effectively operates as a parallel economic universe," according to the New York Times. It sounds great. It's not just about training. It also does something else: gives purpose to the unemployed. Work gives us a sense of self, to some extent, and most definitely a sense of purpose. It's the bedrock of the structure of most people's lives. Family, vacation, leisure, they all fit around that huge chunk of time during the week known as the workday. Even leaving aside financial concerns, removing that structure and purpose from a person's life often causes depression. For the most part, people really want to work. A woman the New York Times interviewed, Sabine de Buyzer, told the reporter: “Since I’ve been coming here, I have had a lot more confidence. I just want to work.” But Europe's economy is still terrible. A lot of people just aren't going to find a job no matter how hard they try. In many countries, more than half of the unemployed population has been out of work for more than a year. That figure is almost 75% in Greece. In the absence of finding an actual economic policy solution to the jobs crisis in Europe, fake work for people who are having a hard time finding a job is a pretty good solution. It retrains people in a proactive way. Everybody loves roleplaying; school, not so much. LARPing (Live Action Role Playing) a job keeps people's spirits up while teaching them something. That's effective, even in France's still-struggling economy. From the New York Times: The success rate of the training centers is high. About 60 to 70 percent of those who go through France’s practice firms find jobs, often administrative positions, Mr. Troton said. But in a reflection of the shifting nature of the European workplace, most are low-paying and last for short stints, sometimes just three to six months. Today, more than half of all new jobs in the European Union are temporary contracts, according to Eurostat. Of course, the question remains: if the French government can afford these fake work training centers, which operate almost completely like normal businesses to the extent of holding fake strikes — a necessary skill for a French employee to have — why not put that money towards actually putting people to work? SEE ALSO: Why a wife bonus makes complete sense Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: These scientists are using video games to help find a cure for AIDS
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Meanwhile Greek banks reported sustained losses in the first quarter of this year, as they struggle with record withdrawals and a double-dip recession.
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NEW YORK May 29 Negotiations between Greece and its lenders has entered a crucial stage, with dire warnings daily that the country could run out of ...
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WASHINGTON -- This April, London was in the grip of a ferocious campaign for Parliament. But on the morning of April 13, neither Conservative David Cameron nor Labourite Ed Miliband led the front pages of the U.K.'s national newspapers. The big news that day was Hillary Clinton, announcing (to no one’s surprise) that she was running for president of the United States. And so far, she seems to be winning the race overseas. A recent YouGov poll found that 61 percent of Britons and 59 percent of Germans have a positive opinion of Clinton, while just 20 percent and 24 percent, respectively, see her in a negative light. Fifty percent of Britons and 51 percent of Germans think it would be good for the world if she were elected president. The former secretary of state is also a hit elsewhere around the world. In Canada, admirers stood in line for nearly 20 hours last year for signed copies of her book. Her speaking fees may be controversial in the U.S., but she spoke to sold-out crowds Up North who were happy to pay. A Huffington Post examination of Clinton's reputation -- conducted by the HuffPost editions in the U.K., Canada, India, France, Italy and Greece -- found that Clinton is both widely known and well-regarded for her life story: a feminist, wife and mother with a decades-long career as a public figure in U.S. politics and global foundation work. Interviews and media reports in those countries produce a portrait of an experienced, durable, almost obsessively well-traveled member of the U.S. establishment, toughened by hard personal times -- a solid, if not glamorous, figure. In Spain, Greece, Italy and elsewhere, the move has been toward “scrap-heaping” the aging political classes, said Lia Quartapelle, a younger member of the Italian Parliament. But that impulse doesn’t apply to the 67-year-old Clinton, she said. “Hillary is considered an extremely experienced politician,” Quartapelle said. “Her candidacy might prove to be a reassuring element for a country that still shows some last signs of crisis. Her candidacy could count on this image of grandmother-in-chief.” Clinton is admired -- or at least respected -- for her decades of world travel as first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state. But officials and regular citizens alike were vague at best, suspicious at worst, when asked to judge her accomplishments and strategic vision as secretary of state. “As secretary of state, Hillary didn’t make any particular impression in Italy, neither positive nor negative,” said Guido Moltedo, an Italian journalist and essayist. “Her stature was neither heightened nor diminished.” In America, much of the media and all of her enemies focus on the cash that the nonprofit Clinton Foundation has raised and on the emails that she has (or has not) disclosed. They muse on whether she is too suffocatingly familiar an establishment figure to satisfy the American yen for “change.” They wonder about the benefits and risks of her long, sometimes tumultuous marriage to Bill Clinton. But the various HuffPost sites found that the same life history that makes her vulnerable at home renders her a credible, popular and even reassuring figure abroad. Voters around the world may not know the details of Clinton’s State Department emails, but they know -- and remain surprisingly moved by -- the sordid Monica Lewinsky saga of nearly two decades ago. While U.S. feminists have criticized her for standing by her man, that sentiment doesn't seem to be widely shared elsewhere. Indeed, Clinton is more likely to be praised for moving beyond the Lewinsky years. “Hillary Clinton has a rather favorable image in France based on how she dealt with the Lewinsky scandal,” said HuffPost France’s Maxime Bourdeau, as well as "how she bounced back by following her own political career.” That whole episode, he said, “was seen here as a private matter that should never have become as huge as it did in the U.S.” In Italy, according to Moltedo, “Italian women recognize that ... she faced down a decidedly complicated situation with courage and maturity.” Clinton's familiarity with and around the globe may be welcomed in a world weary of surprises from presidents who were either disastrously ignorant (George W. Bush) or precariously naïve (Barack Obama). Just as Britons readily offer an opinion of her, she knows the U.K. well. Clinton campaign advisers were key players in those recent elections, and she is close to the Milibands. India is another place where Clinton looks good. “Hillary Clinton has a positive image in India, mainly because of her engagement with the region,” said HuffPost India’s Anirvan Ghosh. “She is perceived as having a good understanding of the issues facing South Asia.” A top Clinton adviser, the late Richard Holbrooke, was deeply involved in the region, and the Clinton Foundation's work gives her a different insight into India’s grassroots problems. As a result, Ghosh thinks that a President Hillary Clinton would “continue the recent momentum and push for greater cooperation” with India. Her familiarity with other areas of the world is a relief to international policymakers. “Hillary has always paid close attention to trans-Atlantic relationships,” said Moltedo. “The same cannot be said for her Republican adversaries.” Marietta Giannakou, a former member of the European Parliament from Greece, sees Clinton as part of the team that has been moving the U.S. away from Bush’s my-way-or-the-highway approach. Or as Giannakou put it, the Obama administration’s “departure from a less monolithic and unilateral stance towards a more discursive and multilateral approach to global and regional issues.” Views of Clinton appear to be tempered by views of the U.S. more broadly -- not surprising for an establishment figure. “Nobody can credibly say whether or not the world and the United States in particular would benefit from another eventual President Clinton,” said Massimo Teodori, an Italian historian, politician and writer. “One thing is for sure: The next president will have to completely redesign the United States’ role in a multipolar world. No one wants us to return to the use of force and 'imperial' arrogance that we’ve sometimes seen come into play during the 20 years following the end of the Cold War.” A certain degree of skepticism likewise arises in conversations with Greeks. Young professionals and students there seem divided between personal respect for Clinton’s toughness and doubts about her as a politician. “She is a dynamic woman who seems unstoppable,” said Victoria Alexiou, an architect and interior designer. “But on the other hand, she is a Machiavellist who will do anything to get what she wants. She was keen on the imperialist policies [of the past presidents].” Maria Chatzianagnostou, a student at the University of Athens, was more upbeat. “Hillary Clinton is a strong woman who can sustain a political career,” she said. “She managed to comply with the demanding duties of her position. Her election could be a good thing.” Giulia Belardelli contributed reporting from Rome, Maxime Bourdeau from Paris, Anirvan Ghosh from New Delhi, Jennifer MacMillan from Toronto, Marialena Perpiraki from Athens and Ned Simons from London. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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The favorable shift in the exchange rate of the euro against the US dollar has led to the creation of two categories among Greek listed companies, as those who export their products to dollar markets have seen their cash reserves soar. On the other side, the majority of listed firms are struggling to survive in the Greek economy while all sectors are shrinking due to the state having halted payments to the private economy.
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The last session of the Greek bourse for this month contained May gains to just 0.30 percent as various statements by eurozone and IMF officials confirmed that the market will have to wait for at least a few more days before a deal is reached with the Greek government.
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Credit expansion remained in negative territory last month as it contracted by 2.4 percent in April, according to data released on Friday by the Bank of Greece. In March the decline had come to 2.5 percent year-on-year.
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DRESDEN, Germany — German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble Friday reiterated that optimism expressed by Greek officials didn't reflect the ...
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Amid fruitless negotiations between Greece’s anti-austerity coalition government and its international creditors over the terms of the current bailout program, Greek bank deposits fell in April to 139.4 billion euros, down from 145 billion euros in March, according to data released by the European Central Bank (ECB) on Friday. The new level of private deposits in Greece is the lowest since September 2004 due to the continuous uncertainty and fears about Greece’s future in the European Union. With the pace of outflows picked up and deposits dropping steadily since October, Greek lenders have lost access to capital markets and the European Central Bank’s financing operations. They are now dependent on Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) from the domestic central bank to plug the hole from deposit withdrawals and survive, while they are forced to participate in liquidity-draining auctions of government treasury bills.
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There has been a positive change in the Greece-Brussels Group negotiations in efforts to achieve an agreement between the Greek government and its partners, a source in Brussels told El Mundo on Friday. According to the source, there were only “very few elements left” on which a substantive solution had yet to be found, so that an agreement can be reached. According to the source only the taxation on property and the size of VAT rates are not agreed yet, the source added. Based on information given to the Spanish newspaper “El Mundo,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel intervened on Friday so that progress would be made and the sides can arrive at an agreement. (source: ana-mpa)
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The timing's so tight that even Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, one of Greece's trio of international rescuers/creditors, ...
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Without a deal for remaining bailout cash soon, Greece faces going bankrupt and ditching the euro. Figures from the European Central Bank showing ...
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LONDON, May 29 (Reuters) - Gold edged up from Thursday's 2 1/2-week low, supported by a softer dollar and uncertainty over Greece's debt talks, ...
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Finance ministers from the wealthiest democracies have renewed their calls on Greece to speed up its reform process so as to get its finances in order.
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PATRAS, Greece (AP) — For hundreds of migrants hoping to build a new life, access to Europe's richest countries lies on the other side of a metal fence surrounding the western Greek port of Patras.
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew urged international finance officials to resolve the standoff over Greece’s bailout package as quickly as possible, reflecting global jitters that a possible Greek exit from the eurozone may destabilize the world economy.
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Mixed signals from Greek negotiations unnerve investors. * Syngenta boosted by speculation about higher bid. By Francesco Canepa. LONDON, May ...
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For hundreds of migrants hoping to build a new life, access to Europe's richest countries lies on the other side of a metal fence surrounding the western Greek port of Patras.
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Leading shares disprove sell in May adage - just - despite late Friday sell-offSell in May and go away? Leading shares fell back on Friday, the last trading day of May, after a late sell-off, but over the month they have just about proved that old City adage wrong.The FTSE 100 finished down 56.49 points on the day at 6984.43, but during May it edged up 23 points or 0.34%. Just about enough to keep investors in positive territory.We upgrade 2016 and 2017 earnings per share by 9% and 8% driven by an improving outlook for Weir oil and gas. 2015 now represents the trough for group earnings.We are surprised by the FTC’s stance; perhaps further details could be forthcoming once the formal FTC announcement is published. In the absence of a deal, we believe that Synergy’s fundamental value is 1,500-1,600p a share. Continue reading...
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Stock and bond markets in Europe have gyrated for weeks as investors speculated on the likelihood of a deal or a possible “Grexit,” or Greek exit, from ...
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This little girl hasn't gone to the Greek island of Kos for a holiday in the sun.
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Greece stayed in the headlines with no agreement coming nearer, while a deal was reached on the European Investment Fund. The European Parliament backed the idea of an investor state dispute settlement after a difficult vote. And people in Spain and Poland voted for change in Europe. Although no Greek representative is attending the meeting […]
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He cited low volume, Friday trade and concerns about Greece's efforts to reach a resolution by Sunday ahead of its June 5 payment deadline.
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Some euro zone countries are accusing the European Commission of giving Greece false hope of new loans for less reform effort, but they still want ...
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Economist Nouriel Roubini said he expects “pots of money” to be found to allow Greece to meet its payment commitments to the International Monetary Fund.
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An investigation by the internal affairs department of the Greek Police (ELAS) has linked the leadership of the country’s Port Authority as well as officers of the police and of the National Intelligence Service (EYP) to migrant trafficking rackets, Kathimerini understands.
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Greece and its lenders enter a decisive weekend of negotiations in a bid to agree on a package of cuts and reforms that would unlock another 7.2 billion euros and allow Athens to keep meeting its debt repayments.
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Greece’s economy shrank 0.2 percent in the first quarter, the country’s statistics service ELSTAT said n Friday, confirming a preliminary estimate earlier in the month. The data showed that the economy slipped back into recession as political turmoil put the brakes on a fragile recovery.
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Greek retail sales by volume rose 1.2 percent in March compared to the same month a year earlier, despite the uncertainty over a reforms deal with the country’s EU/IMF lenders, statistics service ELSTAT said on Friday.
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Full consequences of potential Grexit cannot be predicted, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said to reporters after a meeting of policymakers from the Group of 7 economies. Greece needs to make some very tough decisions ...
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Discussions at the Brussels Group are continuing and there is not ultimatum about when its work much be concluded, European Commissioner Pierre Moscovici's spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt said on Friday. European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas, meanwhile, stressed that all three ...
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PANIC over the eurozone debt crisis hit new levels today, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned Greece could soon tumble out of the single ...
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By Ashrith Doddi(Reuters) - U.S. fund managers recommended increasing equity exposure in a model portfolio in May, a Reuters poll showed, raising allocations in mainly North American and British shares at the expense of those in the euro zone.The model portfolio for May comprised 55.4 percent in equity holdings, up from April's 54.7 percent. Bond holdings in the model portfolio was slightly down at 34.7 percent from 35.9 percent in the previous month.The increase in stocks comes against the backdrop of a global rally in equity markets, led strongly by European indices and a few in Asia.While the ECB's massive quantitative easing program and a string of positive economic data have pushed European indices up to near record-highs, Greek financial woes have halted that rally.Worries Greece might not reach a new deal with its lenders and default on its debts have gripped global financial markets.These worries pushed fund managers to lower recommendations for euro zone stocks to 9.2 percent of their global equity strategy, from April's almost six-month high of 11.4 percent.Meanwhile, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's comments that her bank might hike interest rates later this year has led fund managers to look for domestic options in all asset classes.Regional breakdowns showed fund managers raised their recommended allocation for North American stocks to the highest since November."While we are underweight bonds, we prefer the yield and quality in the U.S. markets to those overseas," said Alan Gayle, fund manager at RidgeWorth Investments.Regionally, funds made a massive increase to U.S. bond allocations -- to 76.4 percent from 69 percent -- as GDP data for the first quarter due later on Friday is expected to show a 0.8 percent contraction. (reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=cpurl://apps.cp./Apps/econ-polls?RIC=USGDPP%3DECI)Euro zone bond allocation was reduced to 8.9 percent from 10 percent.Within the fixed-income portfolio, fund managers have increased their recommended allocation into high yielding paper at the expense of investment grade credit.The highest allocation is still in government securities, which make up 41.6 percent, up slightly from 40.8 percent of the total portfolio.Other changes include a cut to Japanese bond allocations by 4 percentage points and a minor cut in Japanese shares to 4.8 percent from 5.8 percent in the previous month.Global poll wrapup (ASSET/WRAP)Europe poll story (EUR/ASSET)UK poll story (GB/ASSET)Japan poll story (JP/ASSET)China poll story (CN/ASSET)(Polling By Swati Chaturvedi and Khushboo Mittal; Editing by Toby Chopra)Join the conversation about this story »
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Eurozone crisis what eurozone crisis? It’s getting bad again in EU land with news that Greece and European creditors attempted to stem fears that Athens would default on €300m (c.US$330m) of IMF payments this June. The markets got spooked and the euro sank further. Is US dollar parity with the [...]
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Main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Antonis Samaras on Friday called on the government for a change of policy and consensus so that a deal is reached. In a statement to ‘Agora’ newspaper, Samaras blamed the government for its policy saying that “the government presents its own positions as the final agreement and keeps destabilizing the Greek economy and its negotiating position.” He also said that the Greek government had overestimated its negotiating position and lost time with “nonsense.” “We propose a wide concordance so that the country changes policy. Wide cooperation so that the country exits its obvious impasses, that the country overcomes its dangers,” he added. (source: ana-mpa)
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German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said “the financial assistance program to Greece will expire on June 30, this is the deadline given to Greece.” Schaeuble spoke on Friday in a news conference following a meeting of finance chiefs of the Group of Sevenindustrial nations in Dresden, Germany. “The positive news from Athens is not fully reflected in the talks with the three institutions,” he said. Asked about Germany’s responsibility to solve the difficult Greek issue, Schaeuble said, “We are aware of our responsibility and we will do everything to do justice to this responsibility but this is not just a responsibility for one country, not just a responsibility for Germany It’s a responsibility for the euro zone as a whole.” France’s Sapin says Greece must hurry because time is running out French Finance Minister Michel Sapin stressed the need for acceleration of talks between Greece and its creditors so that a deal is reached within the next few days or weeks. “The talks are progressing faster but not yet fast enough to conclude,” Sapin told Bloomberg in Dresden. Sapin said that besides the technical talks between the two negotiating teams, a deal is also a matter of political decision. “Everyone needs to be in a discussion mode that is sufficiently hurried, sufficiently concrete, sufficiently technical but also sufficiently political to reach an agreement in the coming days or weeks.”
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“The government will not sign any agreement,” Greek Alternate Minister for International Economic Relations Euclid Tsakalotos on Friday said in an interview with “Agora” newspaper. Asked on the Greek government priorities (salaries and pensions or loan obligations), he said that everyone is aware of the government priorities, especially as regards salaries and pensions. “Rift is not a fetish. We are working for a good solution, but everyone knows that our limits are very specific,” Tsakalotos said. He underlined that the agreement must break the vicious circle of ‘extend and pretend.’ “We did not say, as we have been accused of, that we do not need help. We just said that there is no point in continuing this policy that leads nowhere,” he stressed. The Alternate Foreign Minister also said that the agreement reached must put an end to speculations about Grexit. The agreement, he added, must allow the implementation of another policy, which will give the possibility to large parts of the population to return to the labour market within a macroeconomic framework of lower primary surpluses and an investment program.
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There will only be one good agreement…this negotiation has dragged on enough…it will include the pension system, labor market and the public debt,” Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Friday. In a radio interview, Varoufakis said there was convergence in most fronts and daily progress during negotiations and stressed that the final deadline was June 30, when an extension of the lending contract would be completed. He also noted that leaks of a one-week ultimatum sent by the Euro Working Group “were not helping negotiations.” The Greek FinMin said the two sides have not reached an agreement on reforming a VAT system, but that Greek authorities and its creditors were now discussing the same reform model. “The final proposal will have three VAT rates,” Varoufakis said. He declined to offer more details and criticized Greek press for its coverage of negotiations so far. According to the latest Greek proposal, the FinMin said, a reduced VAT will be introduced on food and restaurants, but a higher VAT will be introduced on hotels bringing them to European standards. Varoufakis said it was unacceptable to discuss a tax on bank transactions and noted that “thankfully” this proposal was withdrawn from the table because of the strong resistance by the Finance ministry. He repeated that the reason that negotiations have not been completed so far was the austerity asked by the institutions and explained that the institutions demanded what they called “parametric measures.” Varoufakis said that the institutions demanded permanent fiscal measures that lead to recession but noted that the government will not accept permanent recessionary measures. He said that a property tax current imposed was “an unacceptable tax” and stressed that the government has not yet decided on keeping it. “It is part of negotiations,” he noted. He added that the government “might accept some unjust measures for a period of time to avoid others,” but noted that the government will seek alternative measures to abolish the repulsive property tax. Commenting on car taxation, Varoufakis said the ministry did not plan to put extra burden on consumers who bought new generation diesel engine cars. Responding to a journalist question whether he will be Finance minister after an agreement with the institutions, Varoufakis said: “Personally I am not the kind of man that drops down his sword.” (source: ana-mpa)
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As the number of pensioners in Greece increases rapidly, pension costs reach a 16-year high at 28 billion euros per year. While creditors press for pension cuts and a stop to early retirement, the cost of pensions puts security funds at great risk. According to figures by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), about 130,000 employees are eligible for retirement, while another 150,000 retirement applications are pending because applicants have not reached the age or working years required. These two numbers will be added to the already existing 2,654,748 pensioners, sending annual pension costs to 28.14 billion euros annually. This is a 16-year record high. The new pensioners will create a 1.8 billion euro deficit in pension funds in 2015. According to social security funds officials, the rapid rise in the number of pensioners brings pension costs at 2.35 billion euros per month, with 1.35 of that taken from the state budget.
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Greece and its creditors need to move if the debt-wracked country is to remain in the eurozone, the United States said May 29, as Athens’ European partners insisted there was still a lot of work to do
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DRESDEN, Germany (Reuters) - The United States warned on Friday of a possible accident for the world economy if Greece and its creditors miss their June deadlines to avert a debt default.
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The populist, EU-skeptic Finns Party, known for its opposition to bailing out Greece and its political gaffes at home, has joined the Finnish government for the first time.
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