A migrant on the Greece Macedonia border says police used stun grenades
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How the world sees Greece
Friday, August 21, 2015
An Austerity Bailout And The Greek PM's Resignation: What Next For Alexei Tsipras And His Anti ...
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reacts as he attends the end of a difficult parliamentary session in Athens, on Aug. 14, 2015. Reuters/Christian ...
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Tsipras's Greek Election Gamble After Syriza Split: Explainer
Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras quit and called for early elections, saying the Greek people “need to have their say” after his government took ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bloomberg.com |
Restaurant Review: Lithos in Darien Is Built on a Greek Tradition
Lithos may sound like a Greek island in the Aegean or Ionian seas, or maybe one of the less Trumpian of the gods on Mount Olympus, but not so.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.nytimes.com |
Bulgaria also announces beefed up border security
...Meanwhile, many Greek citizens ponder the question of whether their country's has sea borders in the eastern Aegean
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.protothema.gr |
Tourists prefer Greece's economic crisis to Turkey's violence
#economy
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.enikos.gr |
UNHCR Worried about Migrants’ Plight at Greece-Macedonia Border
The United Nations refugee agency expressed concern on Friday over the increasingly precarious situation at the border between Greece and Macedonia, where Macedonian police used force earlier to prevent migrants trying to cross. "UNHCR is particularly worried about the thousands of vulnerable refugees and migrants, especially women and children, now massed on the Greek side of the border amid deteriorating conditions," UNHCR said on its website. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres spoke with Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki about the situation and was assured that the border will not be closed in the future. The UN refugee agency also appealed to the Greek authorities to enhance registration and reception arrangements for migrants stranded on the Greek side of the border and help them move towards reception centres away from the border.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.novinite.com |
In a Twist, Europe May Find Itself Relying on Success of Alexis Tsipras of Greece
The unpredictable prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, who has called for a new election, may represent the best hope for guiding Greece to stability.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT rss.nytimes.com |
UPDATE 1-Euro zone expects Greece to reform despite election
HELSINKI/VIENNA, Aug 21 (Reuters) - European policymakers said on Friday they expected Greece to press on with reforms agreed under its new ...
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Need for honesty in crisis over Greece
Tsipras and Merkel have failed to admit hard truths to their voters
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ft.com |
Barbed wire and stun grenades welcome refugees to Macedonia
For the 3,000 refugees and migrants stuck on Greece's border with Macedonia, being beaten back violently by police on Friday was just the latest indignity in a gruelling journey to new lives in Europe.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT uk.news.yahoo.com |
Migrant crisis: UN intervenes after FYR Macedonia border crackdown
Thousands of Syrians, Afghans and others seeking sanctuary were caught up in chaotic scenes on Friday as they tried to cross the border from Greece…
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Viewpoint: Greek election heralds fresh bailout battle
Greek political instability has reached alarming levels, with the emergence of a new left-wing party in parliament defying Syriza. A new coalition government of national unity was needed, in order to start implementing the promised bailout reforms.
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In this rabbit hole of an August, politics is morphing into satire
Whether it’s the latest ‘Greek crisis’ or Rupert Murdoch endorsing Jeremy Corbyn for Labour leader, it feels like we’ve entered a portal into Wonderland“Why can’t you believe that Rupert Murdoch might have actually acquired a conscience?” inquired an email correspondent, incensed at a facetious reference to the News Corp overlord’s professed admiration for Jeremy Corbyn. “You should try it.” Try acquiring a conscience, or try acquiring the belief that Murdoch has just acquired one? (Presumably on the billionaire black market, where I’m told you can purchase the conscience of a dead Victorian child for the price of a mining concession in the Urals or an authenticity algorithm.)I get a lot of this correspondence nowadays, and I’ll level with you: I don’t think we’re in Kansas any more. Once angry lefties start telling you to give Rupert Murdoch a break, I don’t think we’re even down the rabbit hole any longer. Geologists/quantum physicists: is it possible the rabbit hole had a concealed basement, which has recently been opened up, forming a portal into another dimension which makes Wonderland look like a place of absolute suburban unremarkability?In this fast-moving WTFscape, the only newspaper which is not cast as Tory or red Tory is the Morning Star Related: Jeremy Corbyn to apologise for Iraq war on behalf of Labour if he becomes leader Continue reading...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com |
The Guardian view on Alexis Tsipras: a resignation that rolls the dice
The Greek premier strives to reinvent himself and win a new mandate. But office in Greece does not necessarily mean powerThe Greek crisis has from the beginning been unpredictable. It was anybody’s guess whether the country would stay in the eurozone or not. It was hard to know what the next set of Greek proposals would be as envoys zoomed between Athens and Brussels, or what a divided European Union would or would not do about them.This was a continuous cliffhanger, with default or a final breakdown of negotiations a constant prospect. The only real certainty was that the crisis would not go away. What was decided would alter the form the crisis took but would not resolve it. When agreement was finally reached, and even as the latest bailout squeezed through both the Greek and the German parliaments, it was apparent that the political chain reaction would continue to surprise and disconcert decision makers in both Greece and the other countries of the union. Continue reading...
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After taking this picture, I cared more about the people than the image
Seeing a Syrian family arrive on the Greek island of Kos overwhelmed me, even as a professional photographer. The photo I took captured a father’s anguishThe boat came at dawn: a flimsy rubber raft made for four people but crammed with 12. Under the pressure of their weight, it lost air and water came in. It wouldn’t have been much longer before it sank.As on the previous two mornings, I had been waiting for migrants arriving on the Greek island of Kos from nearby Turkey. At about dawn, the boats started arriving. As a freelance photographer, I had been assigned by the New York Times to produce visuals for a story on the migrant crisis. This boat was not much different from the many others that had come over in the last few weeks. But the reaction this particular image triggered was beyond my wildest imagination. Related: This poignant photo captures the harsh reality of life for thousands of migrants The reaction this particular image triggered was beyond my wildest imagination Continue reading...
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More Uncertainty Ahead as Greece Faces New Vote
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who heads the group of eurozone finance ministers, said he hoped the vote will be held as early as possible so Greece wastes ...
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Alexis Tsipras is reeling, but don’t count him out
Leftwingers see Tsipras as a sell-out, but many Greeks will feel sympathy for their broken prime ministerThe Alexis Tsipras who appeared on Greek television to resign yesterday night was very different from the one who raised his fist to ecstatic crowds in Athens seven months ago; who marched in a jaunty open-necked shirt to claim his mandate from the president; and who stood alone with his hand on his heart before the memorial to left resistance fighters shot by the Nazis. He was different too from the sober man who spoke honestly last month about the bailout deal he had brought back from Brussels, the deal he didn’t believe in but felt he had to accept rather than cut his bankrupt country off from external support.This week’s Tsipras looked exhausted, drawn, white under the pancake makeup; he sounded uncertain, and stumbled once or twice over his words. His speech was wooden, an election broadcast, trying to put the deal in the best possible light, pleading for people’s support because “the best is yet to come”. Related: Greek bailout: Alexis Tsipras steps down to trigger new elections The knives are clearly drawn between Tsipras and what was, until recently, Syriza’s left wing Continue reading...
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Sen. Bernie Sanders: From Greece to Puerto Rico, the Financial Rules Are Rigged to Favor the 1%
Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders recently convened a panel of economists in Washington to discuss the debt crisis in Greece and ...
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3 things to know about the Greek snap election
Nearly one-third of the Syriza party bloc in the Greek parliament refused to back the 86 billion euro ($96 billion) austerity program in parliament last ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.marketwatch.com |
Rouman: a Dr. Who Believes in Miracles
HARTFORD, CT – The National Herald’s recent article “Greek-Americans and Miracles over the Decades” (Aug. 8) prompted Dr. James Rouman, a retired anesthesiologist and the author of two novels, to share is own firsthand account of a miracle that occurred almost 30 years ago, yet remains fresh in his mind and left a profound effect […] The post Rouman: a Dr. Who Believes in Miracles appeared first on The National Herald.
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Kos Residents Attack Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos
Residents on the Greek island of Kos cannot bear the situation any longer. Over the last month, thousands of undocumented migrants and refugees have arrived on the island, however there is no place where they can be accommodated. The crowd expressed its frustration today, August 21, when Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos arrived on the
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Greek Bank Stocks Extend Slide After Tsipras Steps Down
A Greek national flag flies outside the Athens Stock Exchange following its reopening after a five week suspension in Athens, Greece, on Monday, Aug ...
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German Party Die Linke: ‘SYRIZA Cannot Govern Under Blackmailing Demands’
German party Die Linke on Friday expressed its support for outgoing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, saying that his decision to resign and call elections despite his wide popularity shows how deeply foreign lenders are affecting Greece’s national sovereignty. “Alexis Tsipras enjoys an unceasing confidence and the strongest support of the Greek people, which is matched
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‘To Potami’ Leader Foresees No Government Formation in Current Parliament
Potami leader Stavros Theodorakis expressed his belief that no government will be able to emerge from the current parliament because of the way outgoing premier Alexis Tsipras handled the situation, following a meeting with main opposition leader Evangelos Meimarakis who was given earlier the exploratory mandate to form a government by the Greek President. “Elections must be
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Popular Unity Leader Lafazanis: ‘We’ll Play a Significant Role after the Elections’
Former SYRIZA MP Panagiotis Lafazanis and leader of the party’s Left Platform announced the formation of a new leftist party called “Popular Unity.” In the press conference held in the Greek Parliament Lafazanis spoke about the party’s goals, while he openly attacked Alexis Tsipras for his decision to resign from the Greek Prime Minister post
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Greek Main Opposition: ‘The Arrogance Of Tsipras Has No Limits’
After the recent critique of the Greek government’s spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili regarding the meeting of Greece’s conservative New Democracy (ND) party leader Evangellos Meimarakis with the head of the parliament Zoe Konstantopoulou, ND released a statement of accusations toward former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. “The arrogance of the resigned Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has no limits. After he
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Greek extreme Leftist MPs split from Tsipras to form own party
… bailouts will finish off Greece and the Greek people." Popular Unity … of forming a government. Under Greece’s constitutional rules, the president … closely to make sure that Greece honoured the agreements it had …
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT world.einnews.com |
Police Clash With Macedonia Border Migrants
Tensions have grown after the country closed its border with Greece, cutting off a major route for migrants and refugees.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT news.sky.com |
Macedonia allows ‘limited number’ of migrants to cross border from Greece
Macedonia on Friday allowed a limited number of "vulnerable" migrants to enter the country after having declared a state of emergency a day earlier and completely sealing its border with Greece, leaving thousands of refugees stuck in no-man's land.
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Why Alexis Tsipras has called a snap election in Greece
It's lonely at the top. Reuters/AlkisKonstantinidisAlexis Tsipras, the prime minister of Greece, has announced he is stepping down and has called a snap election for September 20, less than a year since he took office as the leader of the left-wing coalition Syriza. The move marks another episode in the long-running and seemingly never-ending Greek crisis. It is evidence of the pitfalls of Tsipras' populist discourse. His strategy has rendered Greece almost ungovernable for more than a year. Since the Greek crisis of 2010, Alexis Tsipras had accused previous Greek governments and opposition members of subservience to Germany’s austerity programme. His anti-austerity and pro-Euro platform won him the January 2015 elections with 36% of the vote and almost half the seats in parliament. However, Tsipras failed miserably in delivering this promise. After seven months of political theatre and erratic brinkmanship, Tsipras signed the most austere bailout programme yet, lasting until 2018. Splinters on the left Calling the election, Tsipras spoke of two key signs of his government’s success – the latest austerity package and the return to normality of the Greek banking system. This is yet another example of his demagogic politics: the man who railed against austerity is now defending a new bailout programme that will result in more austerity. The man who implemented the closure of the Greek banks and the imposition of capital controls boasts that Greek banks will be functioning as they should sometime in the future. The decision to call this election was dictated mostly by internal party politics. Syriza brings together socialists, Maoists, communists and disillusioned social-democrats (who constitute the minority in the party). The largest leftist group in Syriza, the radical pro-socialist and pro-Russia Left Platform led by Marxist Socialist MP Panayiotis Lafazanis, could not accept Tsipras’ U-turn. Its members have rejected the government’s new pro-euro policy. Eyes left: Panagiotis Lafazanis. EPA/Orestis Panagiotou Left Platform’s MPs have been openly against Euro and EU membership. They want Greece to turn to Putin’s Russia for help. Tsipras has only been able to hold power thanks to support from the vilified opposition parties New Democracy, The River and PASOK. Lafazanis has now announced plans to launch a new party called “Popular Unity”, which will call for the return to a national currency and immediate default on the Greek debt. It should be noted that the only other party openly supporting a Euro-exit is the Neo-Nazi Golden Dawn. What next for Syriza? Syriza’s break-up marks the end of a symbiotic relationship between the Left Platform and the so-called “Proedrikoi” (in Greek: the men of the president). These groups tolerated each other while in opposition. The hard-left Syriza members provided the organisational and activist militancy, while the Proedrikoi brought the populist flair of Tsipras. Even now, he remains the most popular party leader in Greece. Tsipras seems determined to bring a more centrist position to Syriza, replicating PASOK – a party that traditionally combined leftist and nationalistic populism and continued commitment to the EU. So far, it seems that his populist strategy is working, but nobody knows how the disillusioned Greeks will react on election day when Tsipras asks them to support him for another three years of austerity. It would be safe to assume, however, that like an ancient Greek demagogue, he will manage to persuade Greeks to trust him again in another uncertain trip towards normality. The best option for Tsipras would be to abandon his populism and demagoguery. He should be honest with Greek voters about the need for painful and unpopular reforms, such as better tax collection, pension and labour market regulation, reduction of clientelism, and an increase of Greek competitiveness to attract foreign investment. This would be a truly revolutionary move – a word he and other Greek politicians have used and abused. As George Orwell wrote in his novel 1984: “In a time of universal deceit – telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” Sotirios Zartaloudis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above.
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Maneuvering, posturing on the agenda by Greek pol leaders
SYRIZA split and mandate to main opposition leader to form government dominate attention
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.protothema.gr |
With tear gas and razor wire, Macedonia tries to stem refugee tide
GEVGELIJA, Macedonia/IDOMENI, Greece (Reuters) - Macedonian police fired tear gas and stun grenades to drive migrants and refugees back from its southern border from Greece on Friday but crowds continued to build up at a new bottleneck in an increasingly desperate flight to western Europe.
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Stunning Sivota: NW Greece’s Ionian jewel
Coastal town emerges as a magnet for pleasure craft, boating holidays
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Riot police on Greece-fYRoM border use tear gas to keep migrants on Greek side
Skopje government order state of emergency on its southern, northern borders
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Early election plans hit Greek bonds as ECB QE seen delayed
LONDON, Aug 21 (Reuters) - This month's sharp rally in Greek government bonds has gone into reverse as early elections increase uncertainty over ...
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Greek Festival at Cleveland Heights
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Amazing Greek meals, home-made pastries, live music & dancing! You don't have to know how to pronounce the food ...
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Greek election looms as parties struggle to form government
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's main opposition party tried to form a new government Friday in the wake of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' resignation, but is not expected to succeed — paving the way for another potentially destabilizing election.Tsipras resigned late Thursday and called an early election next month to deal with a rebellion in his radical left Syriza party over the terms of Greece's new bailout deal.The opposition has few chances of uniting and forming a government, meaning that after more than five years of a worsening financial crisis, Greece is headed for its fifth national election in six years. Tsipras is widely tipped to win the vote, though if he fails to secure an outright majority he could have to seek a new coalition.His decision to call a vote so early — just hours after Greece started tapping loans from its 86 billion euro ($95 billion) rescue program — amounts to a bet that he can regain power with a new government that would not be hobbled by internal dissent.The rebels announced Friday they were splitting to form their own anti-austerity movement.They want to scrap the bailout altogether, arguing that the budget savings and reforms Tsipras agreed to for the bailout are exactly what they had vowed to fight when they came to power with Syriza in January.About one in four Syriza lawmakers refused to back the bailout's ratification in parliament last week, which was only approved with backing from opposition parties. Faced with such dissent, it became only a matter of time before Tsipras called an election or confidence vote to confirm his mandate to implement the bailout reforms.Outgoing government officials say the likeliest date for the election is Sept. 20. It will be the third time this year that Greeks vote, after January elections and a July 5 referendum on reforms that creditors were proposing during bailout negotiations.Some analysts voiced concern that the election could delay reforms needed to get rescue loans, which are only disbursed after quarterly reviews."A September election would occur before the first program review in October and may well hamper and delay the technical work and political decisions necessary for its completion," said the Fitch ratings agency."The likely pause in legislating for reforms during the election campaign coming so soon after the agreement was concluded may rekindle or reinforce some creditors' concerns about Greece's ability to meet the program's requirements," Fitch said.So far, Greece's European creditors seemed sanguine about the election, which had been widely expected."The step by Prime Minister Tsipras isn't surprising" considering he has lost his majority in parliament, said Steffen Seibert, spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He noted that the bailout deal was signed with Greece, and not just the current government, meaning it should be implemented by whoever emerges victorious from the election.Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutchman who heads eurozone finance ministers meetings, said he hoped the elections would not slow down Greece's reforms. "There is a very broad majority in the Greek parliament at the moment that supports the (bailout) package and the expectation is that that could even get stronger," he told reporters.In Brussels, European Commission spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt said the EU executive body was confident the bailout program would be adhered to.The political uncertainty nevertheless took its toll on Greece's stock market, with the main stock index closing down 2.5 percent, a day after losing 3.5 percent on election speculation.On Friday, President Prokopis Pavlopoulos met conservative New Democracy party head Evangelos Meimarakis and asked him to try to form a government.Meimarakis later met with the head of the small centrist Potami party, Stavros Theodorakis, who said the best way forward for Greece was to hold elections as soon as possible."The way things are now ... we believe it is impossible for this parliament to produce a government," Theodorakis said after the meeting.Meimarakis has three days to seek coalition partners, after which the mandate would be given to the third largest party in Parliament for a further three days.The third largest party is now the new movement formed by the 25 lawmakers who split from Syriza Friday. The group, named Popular Unity, will be led by former energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis.If, as expected, neither attempt bears fruit, parliament will be dissolved and a caretaker government appointed to lead the country to early elections within a month.____Frank Jordans in Berlin, Lorne Cook in Brussels, Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, and Nicholas Paphitis in Athens contributed.Join the conversation about this story »
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China fears and global growth doubts grip markets
By Sarah WhiteMADRID (Reuters) - Markets will be watching for China's next move as signs of a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy stack up, raising expectations it will act to stoke growth.A looming snap election in Greece and a closely watched conference hosted by the Federal Reserve in the United States are also likely to keep investors on their toes next week, in particular as they look for hints on when the U.S. will raise interest rates.Fears that Chinese growth is weakening, dragging down the global economy with it, are already hammering commodities and world stock markets.Both tumbled on Friday after a survey showed Chinese manufacturing slowed the most since the global financial crisis in 2009 - adding to other worrying clues about the country's health, including its falling exports.China devalued the yuan earlier in August, by pushing its official guidance rate down 2 percent. The central bank has said there was no reason for the currency to fall further, but investors are also bracing for further interest rate cuts."It will be all eyes on the Chinese authorities for any further policy support steps, alongside the People's Bank of China yuan fixings and trading swings," analysts at Investec Economics said in a note to clients.China is also widely expected to relax reserve requirements ratios for its banks again in the coming months, a measure intended to spur lending by reducing the cash they need to hold. It is trying to keep its economy on course to grow 7 percent in 2015 - its slowest pace in a quarter of a century."We continue to expect a total of 100 basis points of reserve requirement ratio cuts by end-2015, with the first cut likely to take place within the next two weeks," economists at Standard Chartered said.The cash reserves ratio has already been cut three times this year.EYES ON FED, GREECEBy the end of next week attention may shift away to the Rocky Mountains, where policymakers are due to gather from Aug. 27-29 for the Fed's conference of central bankers, finance ministers, academics and financial market participants in Jackson Hole.Fed chair Janet Yellen is not expected to attend, raising the prospect that other Fed officials may be more tight-lipped about the likelihood of the first rate increase in almost a decade, some analysts said.The prospect of an increase as soon as September receded this week as the Fed released minutes of July meeting. They gave no clear signals as to the timing of such a move - which would affect markets across the world and could cause more pain for emerging market assets, already being hit by China's woes.Fed policymakers are still concerned about the weakness of the global economy, the minutes showed, but they were also more confident about US growth prospects.Further clues on both matters should be gleaned from data releases this week, including second-quarter gross domestic product figures for the United States, due on Thursday.Quarter-on-quarter GDP growth in the period is expected to be revised upwards to 3.2 percent from 2.3 percent, according to a Reuters poll.In the euro zone, investors will also be looking at an German economic sentiment survey due on Tuesday for a better idea of the scope of the bloc's recovery.Preliminary August consumer price readings for Germany and Spain on Friday will provide further insight into how effective the European Central Bank's bond-buying efforts have been at warding off deflation.But the spotlight will mainly fall once again on Greece, where Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has resigned. That opened the way for early elections after he secured much-needed funds from the country's third international bailout program.The current Greek government aims to strengthen its position in the election after accepting a rescue deal it once opposed. But that creates more uncertainty for markets already on edge over whether Greece will deliver on promised reforms and get its economy and banks back on track.(Additional reporting by Koh Gui King in Beijing, editing by Larry King)Join the conversation about this story »
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The Fed is at risk of repeating one of the biggest mistakes in the history of the US economy
Everything seems to be going wrong in the global economy right now. Chinese growth is slowing, Hong Kong's Hang Seng is officially in a bear market, Greece is heading into elections, and emerging markets around the world are feeling the strain of the strong US dollar. In the advanced world, the United States and United Kingdom are seeing some decent growth, while Japan and the eurozone are expanding modestly at best. And the next important question for everyone is whether the US Federal Reserve thinks the backdrop it's looking at is good enough to raise interest rates for the first time in nine years. The Fed funds rate has sat at 0.25% since December 2008. September has been penciled in as a strong possibility for a long time now, though markets are now starting to reconsider. What's the worst that could happen? Well, it could be like 1937 again. In late 1936, the US economy was looking relatively good for the first time in a while. The unemployment rate had fallen by between 5 and 10 percentage points from its post-crash high (accurate estimates weren't kept at the time), the economy was growing, and markets had rebounded considerably. There were a bundle of different things that then contributed to the 1937 recession — including tax hikes; a change in the US Treasury's policy on gold, explained here; and an increase by the Federal Reserve in bank reserve requirements. The hike only caused a pretty small spike in Treasury yields, in comparison to the levels that were common before the 1929 crash. Bank of America Merrill Lynch produced these charts for a note back in June: But that tiny jump following the rate hike did not have small effects on stocks or the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was cut in half, falling by 49% in 1938: The real economy took a beating, too. After a prolonged period of falling unemployment in the mid-1930s, jobless numbers began to climb again after the rate hike. The 1937 episode had a huge influence on economic policy in the future. It's one of the episodes that Milton Friedman argued that shocks to the monetary base of an economy, which are ultimately controlled by central banks, are the general cause of recessions. So what's the risk for the world today? The tools are slightly different, but the situation bears many similarities. After a major financial crisis and recession, the US was trying to find a way to normalize economic policy, just as it is today. In recent years other parts of the world have already had the problem that the Fed may soon face. The eurozone, for example, hiked interest rates in the middle of 2011, before having to backtrack quickly afterward. No central bank wants to do that at the moment. Those that want to hike rates soon — like the Fed and Bank of England — want to keep doing so slowly over the following couple or few years. A slow, gradual upward increase is what they're aiming for, so they need the economy to be strong enough to manage that. Back in September 2014, US financial economist Robert Shiller warned about the parallels between the state of the global economy now and in 1937. You could sum up the reasons that the world doesn't look ready for a rate hike by the Federal Reserve easily: Growth in Europe and Japan is still pretty anemic. Their central banks look more likely to ease than hike interest rates and won't prop up global demand if the US falters. US interest rate hikes usually mean a stronger dollar. US currency has already strengthened considerably, and countries with dollar-denominated debt will struggle more to service it. The US recovery looks good, but not amazing. Wages are rising, but not at the sort of pace generally seen before the crisis. Retail sales rose by 2.4% in the year to July. Economic growth is solid rather than stellar. Inflation is nowhere to be seen. Tumbling oil prices have sent inflation to basically zero across the world's advanced economies. For good reason, the Fed wants to hike interest rates before inflation is back at its 2% target, since small rate hikes won't immediately slow down the rising prices. But the Fed needs to really be quite sure that rates are headed in that direction before it pulls the trigger. Some of these things matter to the Fed and some of them don't. Janet Yellen, the Fed chairwoman, won't change her mind based on whether an Indonesian business can repay its dollar-denominated loans. But it is relevant for the world as a whole. The dollar is the world's reserve currency, and what happens in Washington absolutely does not stay in Washington. Michael Arone at State Street makes some excellent points against the 1937 comparison. The economy's generally a lot healthier and we haven't had years of deflation, for starters. But some measures seem to indicate a weaker expansion — divisia money growth, one measure of the expansion of an economy, is still relatively weak in the United States: There are reasons that a failure this time would be easier to mitigate against — central banks in 1937 were flying blind then even more than now, with far fewer stimulus tools, and only a few years of experience in fighting a recession without the gold standard. There are also reasons to be concerned. The fiscal surge that accompanied pre-World War II rearmament offered an economic boost of the sort that it's hard to imagine being endorsed today. There is little political will for a similar stimulus — hopefully not for an enormous conflict — today, even before considering how much more heavily indebted the advanced world is. If it all goes wrong for the Fed this time, it can't say history didn't warn it.Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: The 'Uber of helicopters' can get you from Manhattan to JFK for much less than you think
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FTSE 100 TANKS TO AN 8 MONTH LOW
The FTSE 100 suffered a huge fall on Friday, capping a crappy week for the index and global stocks in general. The stock market in London just closed down 2.83%, or off 180.24 points at 6187.65. Let's put that drop in context: The FTSE 100 is now at an 8 month low; The index has fallen 5.54% since Monday, its worst weekly performance since December; The FTSE 100 has now fallen for 9 straight sessions, its worst performance since 2011. So, it's bad news all round. Pretty much every stock on the index was down, as the fall was driven by global growth concerns rather than a sector of company specific rout. The big shadow hanging over markets is China. Stock markets are once again tumbling in Shanghai and, most worrying of all, the latest measure of manufacturing activity in China was at a 6 year low. Fears that China's economic growth is rapidly slowing have hit Asian markets, which all closed down Friday. US stocks are also taking a hit, with the S&P 500 dropping below 2,000 for the first time since February. Another sign of global skittishness is the fact that US junk bonds — the riskiest, but highest earning, form of debt — are jumping. The FT reports that investors are demanding higher yields, a sign fears about global economic health are growing. It's no surprise then that the FTSE 100 is following the worldwide trend and pretty much nose-diving. There's also another big worry, as Tony Cross, market analyst at Trustnet Direct, points out: Although a lot of the downside pressures we’re seeing right now are being driven by concerns over the health of the Chinese economy, there are also renewed fears as to what Tsipras’ resignation as PM in Greece means for the Eurozone. Having been back to creditors for a third bailout, talk at the fringes is once again focusing on the possibility of a Grexit.Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: These are the watches worn by the smartest and most powerful men in the world
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Greek Superleague Begins With Limited European Prospect and Uncertainty Off the Pitch
The Greek Superleague is upon us once again as the new season premiers on Sunday. Greek teams have made some prolific signings this summer such as Esteban Cambiasso to Olympiacos and Michael Essien to Panathinaikos F.C., while teams like PAOK F.C. are ...
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Greece turmoil: Why snap poll can't save it
Greece is headed for its fifth general election in the last six years ... After convincingly winning an election in January 2015 on an anti-austerity platform and securing a triumphant win for "No" in the referendum on a bailout deal in July, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is now ready to deploy his formidable electioneering skills in the service of the harshest and most far-reaching austerity program Greece has ever agreed upon.
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A look at Greece's early elections and what they mean for the country's 3rd bailout
Greece's prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, has resigned and called new elections — just as the country was starting to tap its new bailout package.
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Greek gold mine dispute escalates over fate of workers
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's radical left government is accusing a Canadian-run mining firm of holding the 2,000 workers in its northern Greek mines "hostage" in a dispute over alleged violations of concession terms.
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Coming up Trumps: could a British TV star do a Donald and enter politics?
Having a media profile could be seen as an aid to getting into office. So Lord Sugar for prime minister – or Jeremy Paxman as a Tory MP? Some analysts of Donald Trump’s status as the early front-runner in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination have attributed his success to his televisual history: a dozen seasons as a reality TV host, it’s argued, have bestowed the twin advantages of instant recognition and ease in the televised debates that form the earliest hustings. Although an apprentice in high-level politics, The Apprentice has made him a veteran of media tricks.And while it can be counter-argued that the billionaire’s main trump-card might be a general electoral trend towards unlikely outsiders – Alex Tsipiras in Greece, Jeremy Corbyn in the UK – Trump’s run raises the question of whether, in an era when electoral politics increasingly plays out on a variety of shiny flat devices, screen fame might be a route to power. Continue reading...
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Somersaulting Tsipras prepares next trick
Greek premier seeks to capitalise on popularity and crush leftwing rebels by calling snap election
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Macedonia opens frontier to 'vulnerable' numbers rise waiting to cross from Greece
Macedonian police have fired stun grenades to repel roughly 5,000 migrants who have made several attempts to force their way across the border. Macedonia now says it will allow "vulnerable" migrants to enter the country.
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Greeks hopeful despite high probability of fresh elections in September
Another day and another political crisis in Greece with polling stations likely to open for business next month. The resignation of Alexis Tsipras…
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The Second ISIS War (2015-2024): A Historical Perspective
Growth of Islamic State During the ISIS Wars 2014-2047 It was neither the longest nor the bloodiest of the long succession of ISIS wars (2014-2047) that dominated the first half of the twenty-first century. With the benefit of hindsight, however, it was clearly the most important. Great wars invariably produce equally violent progeny. The First ISIS War (2014-2019) was no exception. What was unusual about the Second ISIS War (2015-2024) was that it began before the first one had even ended. Indeed, few even realized it had begun until its most notable victories had already been achieved. It began quietly enough: in the chaos that was post-Qaddafi Libya and the multi-generational turmoil that was Afghanistan. Both failed states of little intrinsic importance, or so if was first thought. Their strategic value to the growing ISIS/Islamic State Empire, however, would become apparent soon enough. Afghanistan would prove to be particularly significant. It was there, in the shadow of the Hindu Kush, that ISIS finally defeated its historic nemesis al-Qaeda. The public beheading of Ayman al-Zawahiri, in 2018, streamed live across the Internet and via satellite transmission may have brought a certain amount of satisfaction to Western leaders, but it also marked the undisputed emergence of ISIS as the global commander of international jihadism. In the end, Zawahiri was not without a certain pathos. Many would note that he showed far more dignity in his death than the scores of Western leaders who would eventually prostrate themselves to the Islamic State's caliph in hope of securing a more favorable deal for their constituents. ISIS's triumph in Afghanistan had another unforeseen consequence. It brought ISIS to the border of Iran. The subsequent Iranian-ISIS war, also known as the Third ISIS War (2020-2025) would shatter the Shia revival that had begun with the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979 and settle once and for all the Sunni dominance that had resulted from the defeat of Hussein ibn Ali at the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD/61AH (For convenience's sake, I am continuing to use the now discarded Gregorian or Christian calendar rather than the new, Islamic State mandated calendar). The fact that ISIS showed as much zeal in killing Shias as it did Christians and Westerners would, in the end, be of little comfort. Even the successful testing of a nuclear weapon in 2021 by the Iran-Iraq Federation proved to have little effect on the final outcome of that war. Not surprisingly, the war did see the first use of nuclear-armed suicide bombers--a logical and inevitable evolution of the twenty-first century transformation of the suicide bomber into a true weapon of mass destruction. What was truly ironic in the end, was the fact that it was Israeli technical assistance that finally showed the Iranians how to perfect the nuclear bomb vest. This was one of the more obvious outcomes of the Israel-Iran Reconciliation Treaty of 2020 negotiated by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Iranian President Soleimani. The Pakistani Civil War, which pitted Pakistan's minority Shias against its majority Sunnis, was the second inevitable outcome of ISIS's Afghan victory. Pakistan's Shia community, the second largest in the Muslim world, had succeeded, a few notable incidents notwithstanding, in coexisting with the Sunni majority. In the face of ISIS's virulent anti-Shia ideology, however, that relative peace was quickly shattered. The bitterly fought civil war, 2018-2024, destroyed what vestige of authority the Pakistani civilian government had been able to retain. When the Pakistani Army command followed the lead of the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency and threw its lot in with ISIS, there was not much else that the government in Karachi could do except resign. The Pakistani hoard of atomic weapons and nuclear armed missiles transformed ISIS, bringing it into the junior ranks of the world's nuclear powers. The threat of nuclear armed jihadism proved to be a potent persuader as one Sunni Arab kingdom after another found common cause with ISIS and joined the ever growing caliphate. When Wahhabi extremists overthrew the Saudi monarchy in 2026 and petitioned to join the Caliphate, ISIS's nuclear capability was further enhanced by its direct control of 35% of the world's petroleum reserves. By 2030, all of the Muslim nations of North Africa had joined the Islamic State Union as tributary members, creating an empire than ran from the Atlas mountains to the western flank of the Himalayas. Leaders in the West remained adamant that ISIS would never actually use its newly acquired nuclear arsenal and even suggested not only recognizing the Islamic State but also possibly offering it a seat on the UN Security Council (without veto power of course). The European Community's belief that ISIS could be "tamed" and that it was possible, in the famous words of the last EU president (before the division of the EU into a Northern and Southern Federation in February 2024), "to do business with the Islamic State Caliphate" proved to be naïve however. Three months later ISIS responded to the Iranian's Mullahs' determined defiance by launching three Shaheen-III intermediate range ballistic missiles against Tehran. It was overkill. The death toll exceeded six million, and the carnage that followed across the Iran-Iraq Federation was even greater. Historians still debate whether it was the destruction of the Imam Husain Shrine in Karbala or the expulsion of Bahrain's Shia community from the Arabian Peninsula that marked the final death throes of the Shia revival. For Europe, however, it was ISIS's takeover of Libya that would prove its undoing. The Libyan Civil War lasted for seven years, from 2011 through 2018. By the time it was over, Libya's oil industry had been largely destroyed and the country shattered. By then, Libya's oil was of little importance to a world awash in petroleum. ISIS's Mediterranean beachhead, on the other hand, would prove to have far reaching consequences. The "Mediterranean Refugee Crisis," an ongoing problem largely aggravated and sustained by ISIS as a way of lining its own coffers, garnered the jihadist group upwards of a billion dollars a year in revenue, allowed it to place its jihadists in strategic locations, and taxed Europe to its limits dealing with a yearly deluge of between half a million and a million refugees. The first to go were the Mediterranean islands. Lampedusa and Pantelleria were quickly overrun. They were followed by Crete and the Balearics. The islands of the eastern Aegean, caught in a vise between Islamic State forces expanding from Anatolia and from Crete, went next. Finally, on January 31, 2022, in what would come to be called the Third Great Siege, Valletta fell. What the Ottomans and the Axis had failed to do, ISIS had achieved. Malta was the first European country to be restored to the Caliphate. As the Emir, Mohammed II proclaimed, "the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the Great Siege of Malta in 1565 had finally been avenged." It had taken almost half a millennium, "but in the end the sword had triumphed over the cross." ISIS's ongoing war against Mediterranean tourism in general, and the cruise industry in particular, proved to be remarkably effective. The tourism industry directly generated around 400 billion dollars in turnover in the Mediterranean and employed over eight million people. Including indirect contributions, tourism, broadly defined, was one of the top three industries along the Mediterranean borderlands generating close to a trillion dollars in economic activity and providing employment to 20 million people. The economic chaos that followed the virtual disappearance of Mediterranean tourism after 2020 would prove to be devastating to the already economically crippled countries of the European Community's Mediterranean fringe. The subsequent simultaneous invasion of Spain, Italy and Greece by Islamic State jihadists in December 2023, proved to be the final straw. When leaders of the Mediterranean Economic Alliance met with government leaders of the North Europe Economic Community in Munich in March 2024 to seek yet another financial bailout (Italy's third, Spain's second, Greece's sixth) the leaders of northern Europe announced they were through with supporting their indolent neighbors in the south. "Let them pay for their own dolce vita," declared Horst Mueller, the newly elected German Chancellor and head of the German Aryan People's Party. At what came to be called "Second Munich," Europe's leaders agreed to cede the Mediterranean fringe to the Islamic State in return for an immediate cessation of jihadist inspired terrorist violence in Europe. "It is not a perfect peace," declared Germany's new chancellor, "but it is a tolerable peace, one that preserves the European way of life and insures peace for our time." In the end the Peace of Second Munich would prove to be short lived. The Fourth ISIS War would last from 2026 through 2038 and see much of Europe fall to Islamic State. Only in Norway and New Scotland, would a determined resistance continue. One by one, the nations of Europe would seek their own peace with the Islamic State Caliphate. Forced to choose between the promise of a benign, politically correct, multicultural coexistence and the never ending sacrifice of a determined resistance, Europe chose to abandon its historic culture in favor of a multicultural oblivion. The European way of life was preserved, argued its supporters. At least, the six weeks of yearly vacations and paid extended maternity leave were preserved, but culturally, politically, socially, Europe stopped being Europe. When, in 2036, the newly appointed Emir Mohammed III declared that Michelangelo's David would be destroyed as a sign that Europe was abandoning its decadent, pagan roots, tens of thousands showed up in Florence's Piazza della Signoria to cheer. The spectacle was broadcast live to a worldwide audience of over three billion people. The transformation of Seville Cathedral, the largest church in Europe following the destruction of St. Peter's in Rome in 2025, into the al-Baghdadi Mosque, took less than two years. It was the Bin Laden Mosque however, built around and incorporating the former Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, that would boast the tallest minarets in Europe. The French adjusted rapidly, with Louis Vuitton prayer rugs quickly becoming fashionable. The champagne industry, however, never fully recovered. Connoisseurs to this day still debate the merits of "French Pol Roger" with "Oregon Pol Roger." Unfortunately, you just couldn't duplicate Champagne's 200 foot thick layer of chalk. But one ISIS contribution, the restoration of slavery, quickly put down roots in Europe. Although officially discouraged, a thriving, although surreptitious, slave trade rapidly took hold. In the end, Second Munich would prove to be the undoing of northern Europe just as it had been the undoing of southern Europe. This time, no one came forward to inspire and lead a unified Europe, no twenty-first century Churchill emerged to declare resolutely that, "we shall never surrender." Europe died, without fanfare, without fuss without even a whimper, while Washington dithered. The Poles hung on the longest. The siege of Warsaw in 2036 lasted for nearly a year. But the invasion by the Khanate of Moscow from the East proved too much. The Polish Government in exile continues on in Los Angeles, but it has little prospect of ever reclaiming its birthright. Fifth ISIS War 2037-2047, Establishment of the Vilayet of Amerika The ISIS war in North America, the Fifth ISIS War (2037-2047) still rages, the Peace of Cape Cod (a misnomer since the agreement had actually been negotiated during a presidential vacation in the Hamptons) notwithstanding. This most recent ISIS war, a struggle for the heart and soul of North America shows no sign of ending any time soon. U.S. military forces, reduced by successive cuts to just fewer than 100,000 soldiers, were initially overwhelmed. They have managed to hold the line against ISIS forces only with the help of the European Volunteer Brigades and the rapidly growing American People's Militias. There is even talk of reviving the United States Marine Corp, dissolved by the Sanity in Military Spending Act of 2022, as a fighting force. In a war that has shown no shortage of heroes, two in particular, the Los Angeles Armenian Volunteer Battalion and the Minnesota Eagle Scout Brigade both distinguished themselves in the defense of Sault Ste. Marie. So too did the American Black Watch and the Kurdish-American Defense League in the ultimately unsuccessful defense of Detroit. At the memorial to the Battle of Sault Ste. Marie unveiled last month, Tom Evans, Commander of the Minnesota Eagle Scout Brigade and a former Eagle Scout, observed that, "the misguided political and economic policies of the last 50 years did not just take away our children's future, they took away their childhood too." In the end, with the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that it was the West's unwillingness to resolutely confront the monstrosity that is the Islamic State in the First ISIS War that would precipitate the catastrophe that would follow. By the time the Second ISIS war started, the inability of the Western World to destroy a rapidly metastasizing ISIS or to recognize it for the unspeakable and barbarous evil that it was, would ultimately prove its undoing. The willingness of the West to stand by while ISIS spread and grew stronger has never, to this day, been satisfactorily explained. In retrospect, it is obvious that by failing to destroy ISIS in its early years, the West defeated itself. No doubt, that was the reason that the Islamic State's current Emir, Mohammed III, made a point of setting up his North American Headquarters in the former Obama Presidential Library in Chicago. As the twenty-first century approaches its halfway mark, the horror that is the Islamic State shows no sign of abating. If only if... -- 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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