Want to make sense of what’s going on in Greece? Al Jazeera's Kamahl Santamaria explains in 60 seconds.
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How the world sees Greece
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Greeks cope with 'wait and see' mode ahead of vote
Amidst cacophony of shrill voices, and worsening economic predictions, Greeks have to make decision about their future.
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Tsipras keeping options open ahead of Greece bailout vote
As Greece heads to a referendum this Sunday (July 5) on the country's bailout terms opinion polls contradict each other. One gives the "yes"…
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Greece crisis: Will Greek troubles spill over to the rest of Europe and the UK?
But Jon Cunliffe, the deputy governor of the Bank of England, said on Thursday that they were monitoring the situation in Greece very closely in case ...
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Stocks close mildly lower as Street eyes Greece, data; utilities lead
"I think Greece is weighing on markets—the uncertainty and the lack of resolution. It's taken longer than most people were expecting," said Stephen ...
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Four allies quit Tsipras' coalition over bailout referendum
By Lefteris Papadimas and Renee Maltezou ATHENS (Reuters) - A referendum on bailout terms that has morphed into a plebiscite on Greece's future in Europe has created the first real splits in Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' ruling coalition. Four members of the right-wing Independent Greeks, uneasy bedfellows whose 13 votes Tsipras' left-wing Syriza party needs for a majority, defied him in the space of 24 hours by urging Greeks to accept more austerity in return for cash. With banks shut and Greeks queuing at cash machines for a meagre 60 euros a day, the dissenters made clear they felt Tsipras was courting a disastrous exit from the euro zone by calling for a 'No' vote.
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1953: When Greece forgave Germany's debt
The 1953 agreement, in which Greece and about 20 other countries effectively wrote off a large chunk of Germany's loans and restructured the rest, ...
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Greek banks down to €500m in cash reserves as economy crashes
Greek companies have been excluded from the electronic transfers of Europe's Target2 system. The entire Greek business community is unable to ...
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Tsipras can turn away, or help Europe reinvent itself
The Greek leader’s headache echoes that of his predecessor Andreas Papandreou. He is leading a country at a crossroads between west and east, past and futureA freshly elected Greek radical leftwing prime minister takes on Europe’s institutions. He wants to change the way things are done. He is astutely aware of the proud nationalism that runs through Greece’s history. He appeals to those who have felt downtrodden. He has misgivings about the west in general, liberal economics in particular, and wants people to believe he can turn elsewhere – occasionally, to Moscow. He has read Trotsky and Gramsci. He likes to illustrate his nonconformism in the way he dresses.Remind you of anyone? Yes, it could be Alexis Tsipras. But this also fits the profile of Andreas Papandreou. In 1981, the leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok) came to power in Greece, and opened an unexpected chapter in the country’s political life as well as in the evolution of Europe.It is hard to overstate the link between Greece’s democratisation and the European project Related: Greece faces a future as Europe’s outcast – a yes vote is the only solution| Christopher Pissarides Continue reading...
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Former Greece PMs throw support behind yes vote ahead of referendum
Costas Karamanlis, Antonis Samaras and Constantine Mitsotakis, as well as Athens’ mayor, have told the public to not ‘isolate’ the country within the EUWith Greece’s European future hanging in the balance, a phalanx of former prime ministers have emerged to urge the nation to vote yes in Sunday’s nail-biting referendum over reforms that would ensure continued financial assistance for the country.Breaking five years of self-imposed public silence, the former conservative leader Costas Karamanlis implored Greeks to avoid “recklessness and division” by voting to belong to the European family. The EU may have made “serious mistakes” in the crisis, he said, but it was vital that Greece remained in Europe’s hard core. Continue reading...
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Greek debt crisis: IMF says extra 50bn euros needed
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has urged Greeks to vote "No" to the creditors' proposals, saying a rejection will lead to a "better agreement".
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Greeks warned that rejecting bailout terms won't elicit better offer
International lenders owed $270 billion from Greece for five years of bailouts warned Thursday that a "no" vote in a referendum on their final offer for another extension won't elicit an easing of its austerity terms.
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Tsipras: 'NO' does not mean no to Europe – PHOTO
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras tweets on Thursday that voting “No” to Sunday's referendum does not mean No to Europe. “Voting OXI / NO on a solution that isn't viable doesn't mean saying NO to Europe. It means demanding a ...
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GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar falls after data, stocks slip; Greece angst lingers
… payrolls point to dovish Fed * Greece concerns hang over markets * Wall … rates, outperformed. Across the Atlantic, Greece was headed to a referendum … acknowledge it is ultimately unknown. Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said …
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Greece crisis live: Varoufakis says he will resign if there is a "yes" vote
… Greek finmin: Greece is "sliding towards totalitarianism" Former Greek … taking a dive Kathimerini, a Greek newspaper, reports … Tourism Enterprises (SETE). Greece depends on last-minute … % (via @euro2day_gr) #Greferendum #Greece #politics pic.twitter …
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Protesters urge Greeks to use fake ballot papers in referendum
Thousands of Communist Party supporters held a rally in Athens Thursday calling for people to defy the government and vote with fake ballot papers at Greece's upcoming bailout referendum.
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As jobs and pensions dwindle, Greeks turn to something new: volunteering
“We are hoping that volunteering becomes a more permanent change,” says Ekavi Valleras, one of the co-founders of Desmos, which not only connects donors to more than 400 nongovernmental organizations throughout Greece, but is working to change the philanthropic culture through education and advocacy work. “We want them to think about how they can be part of the solution to the crisis,” says Ms. Valleras. According to the latest Eurostat figures, Greeks are among the Europeans least likely to volunteer, with less than 10 percent of adults involved in voluntary activities.
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Greek crowdfunding page reaches €1.5m
An attempt to crowdfund Greece's overdue €1.6bn debt repayment passes the €1.5m mark after nearly 90,000 donations.
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The Latest: Greek premier wants biggest 'no' vote possible
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The latest news on Greece's financial woes (all times local):
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The 'Greek Bailout' On Indiegogo Is Still Over $1 Billion Short
Call it the "Little Bailout That Could(n't)." By Thursday, just three days after the now-infamous "Greek Bailout Fund" launched on Indiegogo, the campaign had raised an impressive 1.5 million euros (roughly $1.7 million). Of course, that's merely a fraction of the ambitious goal of 1.6 billion euros (about $1.8 billion) the unofficial fundraising proposal needs to raise by July 6, meaning the chances are pretty high that contributors will get their money back. A breakdown of the crowdfunding donors shows that people from the U.K., Germany, France and Spain, as well as the U.S., have pledged the most to the campaign, according to data provided by Indiegogo. The most generous states were California, New York, Texas and Massachusetts. "[I]f a man who works in a London shoe shop can get closer to solving the Greek financial crisis than David Cameron and Angela Merkel, maybe we all need to take a good hard look at the world," Thom Feeney, the 29-year-old Londoner who created the campaign, told The Huffington Post in an email. News coverage of the campaign likely led to a spike in donations. The Indegogo page saw an average rate of 1,200 contributions per hour this week. The largest pledge -- as of Wednesday evening -- was $5,586. As of Thursday morning, more than 84,000 people had contributed. (Even actress Emma Watson is on board.) The majority of donations were under 6 euros (around $6.65). For that, the contributors would receive a postcard of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. But as Slate points out, Feeney's campaign seems a little undercooked. Even if he raises enough funds, he has said he isn't familiar with Greek politics and doesn't have a clear plan on how he would distribute the perks earned by those who pledge money. Greece missed its $1.8 billion payment to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday. Tsipras has been pushing for Greeks to vote "no" in a referendum this Sunday on a proposed bailout, and European leaders have warned that a refusal to accept the bailout terms could result in the loss of Greece's eurozone membership. Many banks in Greece were closed this week, with a tight limit on cash withdrawals. -- 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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Jay Emmett: The Funniest Man Alive
I was heartbroken to learn that Jay Emmett died on Monday night. In that instant, the whole world got a lot less funny and we lost a great and loyal and loving friend. In days past, he would laugh when I'd discuss an event a few years out. "I'll be having a dirt nap by then," he'd say. We'd roar, but not anymore. A light has gone out in our lives forever. Jay led a full, action-packed life for 86 years, laughed as much as anyone I've ever met, and never missed a party worth attending. Usually, we face the passing of a man like Jay with appreciation and resignation. "He had a full life," are the words that usually capture the death of a man at his age. But when I heard the news about Jay, I just cried. I'm not sure why. Jay's death wasn't a shock -- he was ill and struggling. He'd lost his beloved son Paul and his wife Martha just a few months before. In some ways, Paul's death in particular had robbed Jay of the fuel of his life -- the love he had for Paul was boundless, affectionate, proud, happy. All of us who knew Jay noticed that his voice was weaker, that he was struggling to connect. The Jay who always carried us was now needing us. His exuberance was muffled. I shouldn't have been surprised that his heart would give out. He was heartbroken. He was slipping. But instead of feeling resigned to his passing, I felt robbed of a source of affirmation and happiness I can never describe. And I'm not alone. Many of us who counted Jay as the best friend we'll ever have spoke in the hours after the news, and we all cried. I haven't cried with that many grown men and women in my whole life! While I'm sure he was laughing hysterically watching us, I think we were all in the same condition -- wondering whether we would ever again have as much fun as we'd had with Jay. We cried because he gave us the priceless gift of feeling happy. We were all a mess, because we were afraid that we would never have that kind of fun again. Of course, Jay Emmett was more than his own self-description: "I am the funniest man alive!" He was a hardscrabble, bootstraps kid who made it in the toughest business in the world. He was handsome, smart, mischievous, and proud. He was an innovative pioneer in the worlds of entertainment, licensing, promotion, and media. He made T-shirts and movies, sports franchises and movie stars, klieg-light parties and jet-set events. He dominated Mickey Mantle's in New York, The Palm in Washington, and helicopter-landing pads in Beverly Hills and Hyannis Port. He laughed at everything and everyone -- many times well past the point of decency and respectability. He was irreverent in a sensitive time; brash in a time of circumspection. He often crossed the line because he didn't even know there was a line to cross. Some were shocked by him; others recoiled. But everyone laughed and laughed and laughed. We can never replace Jay Emmett. His devotion to the Special Olympics movement was as big as anyone's in our history: he gave to Special Olympics when he was in business, he led our communications team during a period of enormous growth in our brand and public awareness, he welcomed board members, staff members, athletes and friends to every event with his irreplaceable confidence and joy and affirmation. He labored over our budget as a member of the Audit and Finance Committee but he labored just as much over the needs of the members of the staff. He travelled on behalf of our movement to Ireland and Belgium, Mexico and Greece, China and Japan. More than anyone, he used his marketing genius to elevate the Special Olympics message using sports and entertainment celebrities everywhere. He brought stars like Pele (pictured above) and Christopher Reeve to the Special Olympics and attracted millions of followers to our cause around the world. He was irresistible. And he was always funny. He worked his way through crowds by talking into his cufflinks pretending to be a member of the United States Secret Service, and everyone believed him. He braved stress by inviting everyone to dinner. He inspired the mighty with his business card sporting his phone number alongside the Queen of England's and the Pope's. He flirted with everyone and aspired to end his life as the victim of a raging jealous man. He rarely missed the chance to tell each of us that we were "terrific." He never forgot our roots or his great loyalty to my parents, from whom he received the trust to support the athletes of Special Olympics all over the world. And he laughed over and over again. In the end, I cried when Jay Emmett died because he made me and countless others happy in pursuit of our dreams. What could possibly matter more? God only knows where the angels are carrying him, but I'm sure they're laughing throughout the ride. Jay Emmett, have a great nap. But don't rest for long: there are countless happy souls in heaven waiting for you so that the party can begin. -- 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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Stelios Haji-loannou, EasyJet Founder, Gives Out Free Meals In Athens To Greeks Who Can't Afford Food
As the Eurozone gropes for a solution to the massive Greek debt crisis, many people are struggling to withdraw their own money from ATMs, let alone put food on the table. Against the crisis, one man is trying to help the hungry. EasyJet founder, billionaire and Greek native Stelios Haji-loannou has been handing out free meals to Athenians through his charity, the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation. Currently nearly 2,500 people get food each day through the foundation's Food From The Heart initiative, which Haji-loannou launched two years ago. The meals would cost about 4 euros, or about $4.44, in a supermarket. “They are walking and queuing to receive something worth 4 euros. It shows how much poverty and desperation there is,” Haji-Ioannou told the Evening Standard. The meals are provided to anyone who registers with the charity, no questions asked. The number of food recipients could double in the coming weeks, a communications official with the foundation said, but the charity will be able to "satisfy demand" throughout ongoing economic hardship. Greece shut down financial institutions throughout the country on Monday in an effort to stave off a bank run and limited daily withdrawals to 60 euros until July 6. Many Greek citizens have been self-organizing food aid to help a growing segment of the population that can't afford meals, Al Jazeera America reported. Between 2007 and 2013, the number of Greeks unable to afford food doubled to 18 percent, an OECD report found. A staggering 26 percent of Greek citizens are unemployed. Haji-Ioannou called the provision of free meals a "bittersweet project" that he hopes will someday be unnecessary. "On the day when we open the shutters and there are only 10 people queuing, we can declare victory,” he said. -- 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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Hedge funds see more demand fuelled by solid first half returns
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Nishant Kumar BOSTON/LONDON (Reuters) - Hedge funds will likely attract billions of dollars in new money in the next six months after posting solid returns in the first half even as Wall Street's sell-off, sparked by Greece's debt drama, took a bite out of some managers' June returns. Hedge funds that bet mainly on stocks could take in as much as $14 billion (9 billion pounds) in fresh cash in the second half, roughly double what came in during the first five months of the year, according to forecasts from industry research firm eVestment. "There are a lot of assets in play and what is driving these flows to hedge funds is a redistribution away from traditional exposures," said Peter Laurelli, eVestment's head of research.
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IMF's report on Greek debt vindicates Greek government- spokesman says
The IMF’s debt sustainability report fully vindicates the position of the Greek government, government spokesman Gavriil Sakellaridis said on Thursday, following the publication of the Fund’s preliminary report which said Greek debt is not sustainable and needs substantial debt ...
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UN Report: Greece Is Main Entry County for Refugees and Migrants Travelling to Europe
The Office of the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees released a report on Wednesday that examines the route refugees take when entering Europe by sea. The report found that so far in 2015 Greece has surpassed Italy as the country with the most refugees and migrants entering its borders through the Mediterranean Sea. The report, which asserts that Europe is going through “a maritime refugee crisis of historic proportions,” notes that between January and June 2015, 137,000 refugees and migrants entered the European borders through the Mediterranean Sea. 68,000 of them have entered through Greece. “There has been a major increase in refugees and migrants taking the ‘eastern Mediterranean route’ from Turkey to Greece. More than 85% of those arriving in Greece are from countries experiencing war and conflict, principally Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia. From Greece, most move onward across the Balkans to western and northern Europe,” the report reads. Over several weeks in April, 1,308 migrants and refugees attempting to enter Europe through the Mediterranean drowned or went missing. As a result of reactionary measures taken by the European Union, including tripling Frontex financing and utilizing navy vessels of various countries, the fatality and disappearance numbers have decreased significantly to 68 in May and to 12 in June, until the 29th of the month. In 2015, 67,500 refugees and migrants have entered Italy through the Mediterranean. Though the two neighbouring countries have had almost equally many refugees entering Europe through their borders, they are not equally high asylum recipients. Greece has received 5,115 asylum applications while there have been 28,5000 in Italy so far this year. While Greece and Italy are the most common points of entry, Germany and Sweden received 43% of the European Union’s total asylum applications. These are the two major “imbalances” the agency found in this study. Recently, refugees travelling to the Balkans through Greece have significantly increased. In the month of June in particular, there were approximately 1,000 refugees and migrants following this route. “The onward movement of refugees and migrants from Greece requires long and dangerous journeys, often at the hands of smugglers, through the Balkans and onward through Hungary,” the report states. Immigration to Greece as an entry point to Europe has been an issue for the country for a long time. In 2012, the Greek government erected a fence in Greece’s northern border with Turkey in an attempt to curb illegal immigration. The report finds that since then, immigration through sea has sharply risen. “In 2013, the number of refugees and migrants arriving on the Greek islands more than tripled from 3,600 to 11,400; in 2014, it almost quadrupled again to 43,500. In the first six months of 2015, that peak has already been surpassed by more than 55%,” according to the report. The agency found Greece has “systematic gaps” in its refugee reception services, is unprepared to deal with the high numbers of incoming refugees and migrants, and the islands that receive them are also being strained by the unprecedented situation. “Greece needs support to be able to rapidly improve its reception and asylum capacity to match the ever-growing needs. Greece needs more assistance to address these challenges,” the report states. The agency found that refugees and migrants that traverse via the Mediterranean Sea and enter through Greece come mostly from Asia. 57% were from Syria, 22% from Afghanistan and 5% from Iraq. Overall, from the total sea-travelling refugees that have entered Europe in 2015, 34% came from Syria, 12% from Afghanistan and another 12% from Eritrea. The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011 and has cost the lives of more than 200,000 people, is a major factor for the increased influx of refugees to Greece and Europe, according to the UN. “Almost 40,000 people of Syrian origin arrived in Greece in the first six months of 2015, concentrated on the North Aegean islands of Lesvos, Chios and Samos, and in the Dodecanese islands of Kos and Leros,” the report found. In April, the Greek secret service estimated that around 500,000 Syrian immigrants were in Turkey with the goal of crossing over to Greece. The agency recommends a number of steps Europe should take to solve this crisis. These include continuing rescue efforts at sea, improving reception conditions, establishing solidarity among European countries in dealing with the imbalances that have arisen and providing more legal options for incoming refugees and migrants. Finally, the United Nations calls for a collective approach to deal with the factors that cause people to leave their homelands in the first place and to address forced displacement. “In times of conflict, fences and borders will not stop people fleeing for their lives,” reads the report. “They will come. The question facing the international community is not whether to engage with this crisis, but how best to address it, and how humanely.”
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Why Is It So Hard for the European Union to Act Like a Federal Body?
All of Europe has its eyes on Greece. Sunday, July 5th there will be a referendum that could be the first step toward the end of the European Union as we know it. A European Union that, once again, has failed. In the past two years, the European Union has had to deal with three crises, one on the political level (Ukraine) and two on the economic level (risk premium and negotiations with Greece). And in each and every one of them, the problem has been addressed based on the logic of the agreements between states instead of from a federal perspective, where the community institutions would take charge of the situation. We saw it first with the risk premium crisis. For weeks, the ECB refused to intervene in the debt markets because of pressure from states that did not accept the use of European funds to buy debt from spendthrift partners (I would love to have a few words with the authors of the acronym PIGS), allowing those countries to drown slowly in debt markets that demanded unacceptable interests. Weeks during which the adoption of the measure that all of the EU's political leaders knew would have to be taken was postponed again and again: the famous "whatever it takes" of Mario Draghi, who ended the speculation in the sovereign debt markets against the bonds of countries like Italy or Spain. We saw it again during the Ukraine crisis. Again, the governments of the EU, meeting in the council or separately, led the way in the political and dialectic escalation that followed the occupation of Crimea by the Russian army. Merkel and Cameron assumed the role of representing the EU on the international stage, being clear protagonists in the confrontation with Russia, to the detriment of the woman in the EU's post in charge of that function, Catherine Ashton, who was relegated to an embarrassing second level. And we're seeing it repeated in the handling of the Greek crisis. Again, the national logic based on agreements between governments has been imposed when it's time to handle a complex situation in the EU. Thus, it has been the Eurogroup which has led the way in the negotiations between Greece and the group of countries, in theory, most committed to the community project, to the point of having created a monetary union between them. That did not prevent the European Stability Mechanism(ESM), Greece's main creditor, from being created under an intergovernmental organization model, instead of putting that European rescue fund's assets under the direct control of the commission. Ironies of the always complex, and sometimes absurd, community politics. The national logic has been imposed once again in service of making decisions to safeguard the European project. This is the only way to understand the attitude of some countries that blame the Greeks for finding themselves in the dramatic situation they're living through, pointing to reports they falsified their accounts for years, and forgetting to blame an EU more concerned with presenting the Eurozone as a success than making sure there weren't cracks in the construction of this important step in the integration process. And for that, these governments have not hesitated to use unfortunate stereotypes to justify this policy of punishment and have shown no flexibility for years, demonstrating that even today many European governments think it's more important to sell the measures they take to the national voters, than to apply the measures that are necessary to save the European project. Lest the voters get annoyed and give their vote to the corresponding national parties. That's the only way to explain the obstinacy demonstrated in facing this situation. Added to Tsipras' hasty move in calling for a referendum, it increasingly seems to take the credibility of the European project toward a dead-end street. So, we just have to ask ourselves: Why is it so hard for the European Union to act like a federal body? From the very first steps of what was then called the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), Europe turned into the board of a chess game between white pieces that aspired to turn a continent into a united federal state, and black pieces that only considered the economic union, without daring to go further than the agreements between sovereign governments. Sixty-five years later, the black pieces keep winning the game at the decisive moments. This post originally appeared on HuffPost Spain and was translated into English. -- 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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Sex Industry in Greece Grows Amidst the Financial Crisis
Since 2008, when the financial crisis first appeared in Greece, the number of women who work in the sex industry has dramatically increased. Women trade sex for money, illegally in most cases, in order to put food on the table for their children and for themselves. Almost a third of Greek citizens are living below the poverty line and women, as well as children, are the most vulnerable groups who suffer from the austerity measures set by Greece’s creditors. The large unemployment rate, which has surpassed 25%, has led more than 18,000 women –an increase compared to the 17,000 in 2012- to work as prostitutes. According to the Greek Centre for Social Sciences and Panteion University, the number of people selling sexual services in Greece has soared by 150% during the seven-year crisis, noted the International Business Times. Human Rights Watch senior research assistant Eva Cossé noted: “Over the last few years, Athens has struggled with an increasing number of people who have lost their jobs, been evicted from their homes, and affected by poverty and social exclusion.” “As austerity measures have been carried out, HIV, suicide and depression have increased, and hundreds of thousands of people have been locked out of the health system altogether,” Cossé added. “Some live on the streets and others go there to find drugs or to find clients for sex work.” Greece’s legislation on the matter is not very helpful. Street prostitution is illegal, but sex work, for example in brothels is not. However, these brothels and the women working there, need to issue special licenses. Only 1,000 sex workers have been officially registered because the law provides that women must adhere to a long list of requirements in order to register as sex workers. “The Greek government should implement a genuine public health approach to people who exchange sex for money, drugs or life necessities, and make sure that police officers respect the rights of women whose lives are hard enough already,” said Cossé.
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‘To Potami’ Leader Calls For Big National Consensus in Greece
“I recommended another government that will come from this parliament and which, very soon, will bring an agreement and the banks will open,” stated ‘To Potami’ leader Stavros Theodorakis on Thursday to Greek radio. Theodorakis proposed the formation of a national unity government in the initiative of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. “All political forces must hold a responsible stance and a national unity government should be formed. We have the proposal ready. The initiative is on Alexis Tsipras. If he wants, he can be the Prime Minister,” he said. (Source: ANA-MPA)
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IMF: Greek Debt Is Unsustainable
Two days after Greece failed to pay 1.53 billion euros in debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Fund released a report that is in line with the Greek government’s assertions. The document entitled “Greek Preliminary Draft Debt Sustainability Analysis” finds that Greece will require substantial financial sums over the next few years and that the Greek debt is unsustainable and will require a “haircut.” One of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ and SYRIZA’s arguments has been that the Greek debt is unsustainable. Though the administration has tried to put the issue on the negotiating table, the institutions have dismissed it. The IMF report is an important bolster for the government’s case as well as its “No” campaign to Sunday’s referendum and contradicts the European creditors’ position that debt sustainability is not an issue. “Altogether, under the package proposed by the institutions to the Greek authorities, these needs are projected to reach about €50 billion from October 2015 to the end of 2018, requiring new European money of at least €36 billion over the three-year period,” the analysis reads. The loan is necessary because policy and outlook changes have altered projections for the Greek economy. In the breakdown that justifies this proposed loan, 13 billion euros of these funds would be used to compensate for the lower fiscal targets while the considerable failure of Greece’s privatization program requires an additional 9 billion euros. “The central issue is that public debt cannot migrate back onto the balance sheet of the private sector at rates consistent with debt sustainability, until debt-to-GDP is much lower with correspondingly lower risk premia,” the report states. “Therefore, it is imperative for debt sustainability that the euro area member-states provide additional resources of at least €36 billion on highly concessional terms (AAA interest rates, long maturities and grace period) to fully cover the financing needs through the end of 2018, in the context of a third EU program.” The report insists that had the November 2012 prescribed measures been implemented, the projections of Debt/GDP of 124% in 2020 and “substantially below” 110% in 2022 would still be achievable. Even in May 2014 the IMF altered their Debt/GDP estimations to 128% in 2020 and 117% in 2022. The analysis describes the debt under this later projection as “sustainable but highly vulnerable.” Should this extra funding materialize, the projections are still bleak in comparison to those of 2012. Debt/ GDP is now estimated to be 150% in 2020 and close to 140% in 2022. A significant debt haircut would be necessary to reach the November 2012 targets. “Using the thresholds agreed in November 2012, a haircut that yields a reduction in debt of over 30% of GDP would be required to meet the November 2012 debt targets” the report finds. Even further action would be required due to the vulnerability of the Greek debt. One option the IMF proposes is that Greece be granted a grace period of 20 years without repaying back any debt and that final debt payments to the European Union should be made in 40 years.
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Greek government ‘ready to quit’
GREECE’S left wing government says it may resign if it loses a make-or-break referendum that could decide if the country leaves the eurozone.
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Why Greece should vote 'No!'
The only solution is for Greece to replace existing bonds with securities having longer maturities and paying lower interest rates, and with reduced ...
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Merkel admitted in 2011 Greek debt unsustainable
German chancellor Angela Merkel admitted in a 2011 phone call that Greek debt would be unsustainable even after a second debt write-down, ...
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Greece's leader has done mega damage to the economy
Greece is desperately short of cash and this week defaulted on a huge debt to its international lenders. Its people will be asked in a referendum on ...
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BLOOMBERG: Greece should vote 'Yes' on the bailout referendum (GREK)
Bloomberg thinks Greece should vote "Yes." Bloomberg View, the opinion section of Bloomberg, is advocating a "Yes" vote in the Greek referendum. Here's Bloomberg's take: It should never have come to this. The terms demanded by the creditors — if the IMF's analysis is to be believed — are too strict. Greece's best chance for economic recovery, and the creditors' best chance of getting most of their money back, involves less fiscal austerity and new debt relief. If Europe's leaders hadn't been so inflexible, and if Tsipras and his team hadn't been so infuriating to deal with, the crisis could have been resolved in that way. It hasn't been resolved, so Greeks have to choose the lesser evil. They should vote yes — and, if they do, Europe should respond with the magnanimity and political vision that have been so utterly lacking in its dealings up to now. But as The New York Times notes, people in Greece aren't entirely sure what they are voting on. Business Insider's Mike Bird, who has been on the ground in Athens for several days, has spoken to some Greek politicians that argue this vote is essentially being cast for or against remaining in the euro. (Bloomberg argues that this is the case as well.) "This referendum is not, as the government says, about austerity or no austerity," Greek politician Harry Theoharis told Bird. "They're trying to frame it to the Greek people as a question about austerity and this is wrong in so many ways. "Really it's a question about the euro, whether people want to live in a European economy or not." Theoharis was formerly in charge of debt collection in Greece and is now a member of the To Potami party, a centrist party focused on reform that is in favor Greek's voting "Yes" on the referendum. On Thursday, however, the IMF may have given the Greek government — which is advocating for a "No" vote — the cover it needs to be able to politically withstand a vote against what it has been advocating. The IMF admitted that Greece's debts need restructuring and added that some of its debt may need to be written off. Said another way, Greece's creditors might need to take a "haircut," or get back less than 100 cents on the dollar. On Thursday, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis said he would quit if Greece voted yes. But more tellingly, Varoufakis said he "would rather cut his arm off," than agree to a deal that didn't include restructuring. And so while it remains to be seen if Varoufakis or Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras would be politically able — or willing — to withstand a "Yes" vote on the issue, things might be headed the way Bloomberg's editorial board thinks they should anyway. Greece should vote yes, its debt should be restructured, and Europe should do something it hasn't done throughout this whole saga: play nice. You can read the full Bloomberg editorial here »SEE ALSO: The Greek government just got a boost Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Take a tour of the $367 million jet that will soon be called Air Force One
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Crowdfunding Greece's Bailout: Is It Practical?
(The 1.6 billion is the amount that was needed for Greece to make its payment to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday, which it failed to do.).
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.entrepreneur.com |
Greece’s Alexis Tsipras expects new aid deal 48 hours after referendum
Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has told the Greeks public the problems they face because of closed banks “will not last long”. Mr Tsipras said he expected to seal a new aid deal with the country’s creditors 48 hours after Sunday’s referendum ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.irishtimes.com |
Free food for poor: Companies step in to rescue for Greece’s hungry
Businesses show their humane side
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.protothema.gr |
Greek Finance Ministry puts 6 bullet points in a loaded gun
The Ministry of Finance insists on 'No', but is it playing Russian roulette?
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.protothema.gr |
An idiots guide to Greek crisis culture… Flashcards make it simple!
Forget trying to understand the convoluted referendum question... Here's the answer!
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.protothema.gr |
Greek referendum — posterized
Scenes from the streets of Athens on Tuesday, as Greeks count down to the referendum accepting or declining the creditors' reform package.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.politico.eu |
New York’s Greek Community Shares the Pain of Bailout Crisis
"Whatever they feel, I feel it too"
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT time.com |
Greece owes less than Europe says
How its creditors use their political clout to keep the debt number high.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.politico.eu |
Greece needs another €50bn to prevent bankruptcy and will not survive without massive debt relief, admits IMF
Greece needs at least another €50bn to keep it afloat for the next three years and a substantial alleviation of its debt burden, the International Monetary Fund has found, in a stark analysis of the country's desperate financial woes. The IMF's debt ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.telegraph.co.uk |
The Latest: Greece: IMF report justifies Greek debt stance
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The latest news on Greece's financial woes (all times local):
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT hosted2.ap.org |
Greece's highly educated professionals reach out to diaspora in search of work
As uncertainty worsens in Greece, doctors, lawyers and academics flood inboxes of compatriots worldwide with CVs and pleas for help getting workGreek professionals are scrambling to leave the country as the economic situation deteriorates, flooding the inboxes of diasporic Greeks across the world with resumes and requests for jobs.In the past 10 days, the Greek Medical Association UK (GMA UK) has seen a 30% increase in the number of emails and phone calls from Greek doctors enquiring about leaving Greece to work in the UK. Continue reading...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com |
Greek gaming firm's new lottery machines held up by new rules
Greek betting firm OPAP has delayed the planned launch of its video lottery terminals, saying it needs more time to ensure the machines comply with new, tougher rules on machine-based gambling introduced by the current government. OPAP said it had not been expecting the new regulations, which were published on June 12 and call for lower jackpot levels, daily loss limits and length of play time allowed. In a June proposal that Greece had made to creditors, the government estimated that it could reap some 35 million euros (25 million pounds) in 2015 and some 225 million in 2016 in revenues from video lottery terminals.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT uk.news.yahoo.com |
Dollar firms before payrolls, Greece unease simmers
Less than 24 hours after he wrote a conciliatory letter to creditors asking for a new bailout that would accept many of their terms, Greece's prime ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.reuters.com |
Everything to Know About Greece's Debt Vote
A. The most contentious demand is that Greece squeeze another 1% of GDP in savings out of its battered pension system, specifically by eliminating ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT time.com |
One Weird Trick To Help Greece
For those in Silicon Valley who are used to Uber being worth more than 40x the debt payment that Greece just missed, capital controls — which are ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT techcrunch.com |
IMF Says Greece Needs Comprehensive Debt Restructuring by Eurozone
WASHINGTON—Greece needs a comprehensive debt restructuring by the eurozone and additional bailout cash of more than 60 billion euros ($66.6 ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.wsj.com |
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