Western Greece struck by 6.1-magnitude earthquake

A strong 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off western Greece early on Monday, the United States Geological Survey said. The quake, which was initially reported as 6.4 in magnitude, struck 122 kilometres west of Patras at a relatively shallow depth of 13.7 ...

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Magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes off western Greece: USGS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A strong magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off western Greece early on Monday, the United States Geological Survey said.

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LIVE: Thousands Of Companies Around The World Reveal The Truth About The Global Economy

Tonight kicks off Global PMI day — aka the monthly world economic Super Bowl.

For the next 24 hours, we will learn what thousands of companies around the planet are telling us about the state of the global demand, in the form of individual countries' purchasing manager's indices for their manufacturing sectors.

These are surveys published by Markit Economics that serve and serve as a reading on overall business conditions.

In a note out this evening, Société Générale explains the market's current precarious state: 

Following a week of extreme volatility in emerging markets, many wonder if we are now heading for a perfect storm, with China increasingly sucked in and Europe's already low inflation falling further towards deflation. The current developments also mark a shift in markets' focus on where the need for policy change is the greatest - away from Europe where bond spreads remain resilient. We remain unconvinced, however, that the reforms to date in Europe are enough to raise growth sufficiently and put public debt trajectories on a sustainable path.

This is also implicit in recent papers discussing how to deal with bailouts and debt restructuring in Europe (see for instance the Bundesbank). Notwithstanding the current signs of a genuine cyclical upturn in Europe, we fear that the lack of growth-enhancing reform will soon again show up in disappointing nominal growth. For the week ahead we expect continued market nervousness, with China having set the mood early in the week, while European and US data later in the week should provide some stability.  

In about half an hour, South Korea will be the first to report its purchasing manager's index.

Here is the full schedule, all times Eastern:

China: Official PMI: 50.5 — down from 51 in December.South Korea: HSBC Manufacturing PMI: 50.9 — up from 50.8 in December.Indonesia: HSBC Manufacturing PMI — 10 p.m.India: HSBC Manufacturing PMI — MidnightRussia: HSBC Manufacturing PMI — MidnightIreland: Investec Manufacturing PMI — 1 a.m.Netherlands: NEVI Manufacturing PMI — 2 a.m.Poland: HSBC Manufacturing PMI — 4 a.m.Turkey: HSBC Manufacturing PMI — 4 a.m.Spain: Markit Manufacturing PMI — 4:15 a.m.Czech Republic: HSBC Manufacturing PMI — 4:30 a.m.Italy: Markit/ADACI Manufacturing PMI — 4:45 a.m.France: Markit Manufacturing PMI — 4:50 a.m.Germany: Markit/BME Manufacturing PMI — 4:55 a.m.Eurozone: Markit Manufacturing PMI — 5 a.m.Greece: Markit Manufacturing PMI — 5 a.m.UK: Markit/CIPS Manufacturing PMI — 5:30 a.m.Australia: Ai Group PMI — 6 a.m.Brazil: HSBC Manufacturing PMI — 7 a.m.U.S.: Markit Manufacturing PMI — 9 a.m.Canada: RBC Manufacturing PMI — 9:30 a.m.Global: JPMorgan Manufacturing PMI — 11 a.m.

SEE ALSO: The Global 20: 20 Megatrends Reshaping The World

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Greece: Land of Economic Tragedy or Entrepreneurial Opportunity?

PRLog (Press Release) - Feb. 2, 2014 - ATHENS, Greece-- Would an ancient Greek playwright like Euripides have ever considered Greece’s current economic malaise a source of inspiration for a modern day Greek tragedy? Probably not....and yet, an audience ...

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Germany preparing third financial rescue for Greece

New loan, outlined in a German finance ministry position paper, would be worth €10bn-€20bn, says Der Spiegel magazine

Germany has signalled it is preparing a third rescue package for Greece – provided the debt-stricken country implements "rigorous"austerity measures blamed for record levels of unemployment and a dramatic drop in GDP.

The new loan, outlined in a five-page position paper by Berlin's finance ministry, would be worth between €10bn to €20bn (£8bn-16bn), according to the German weekly Der Spiegel, which was leaked the document.

Such an amount would chime with comments made by the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, who, in a separate interview due to be published on Monday insisted that any additional aid required by Athens would be "far smaller" than the €240bn it had received so far.

"What is sure is that any further aid would be much less expansive than whatever help [has been given] so far," he is quoted as telling the German finance magazine Wirtschaftswoche in what appears to be a calibrated move aimed at preparing public opinion.

The renewed help follows revelations of clandestine talks between Schäuble and leading EU figures over how to deal with Greece, which despite receiving the biggest bailout in global financial history, continues to remain the weakest link in the eurozone.

The talks, said to have taken place on the sidelines of a Eurogroup meeting of eurozone finance ministers last week, are believed to have focused on the need to cover an impending shortfall in the country's financing and the reluctance Athens is displaying to enforce long overdue structural reforms. The lack of progress is at the root of stalled talks between Greece and its "troika" of creditors, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Central Bank and EU.

Greece faces a financing gap of up to €15bn over the next two years, according to foreign creditors, which have kept its economy afloat since May 2010. As the EU's powerhouse, Berlin has bankrolled most of the emergency loans to date.

But a German finance ministry spokesman, echoing similar statements by Schäuble, denied that a further restructuring of Greece's staggering debt – this time by public creditors – was also on the cards.

"There is no new situation," said the spokesman referring to previous statements made by Schäuble also rejecting the need for debt relief to be extended to recession-hit Greece.

Most of the debt overhang now haunting the country belongs to European governments and at 176% of GDP – up from 120% of national output at the start of the crisis – is not only a barrier to investment but widely regarded as being at the root of its economic woes.

"They are missing the point: Greece does not need a third bailout, it needs debt restructuring," said the shadow development minister and economics professor, Giorgos Stathakis.

"Even in the IMF, logical people agree there is no way we can have any more fiscal adjustment when the whole thing has reached its limits," he said. "There is simply no room for further cuts and further taxes and that is what they are going to ask for."

He said the assistance was "the wrong thing at the wrong time". Unemployment is nudging 28% – and youth unemployment rate tops 60% – while economic recovery is still far from assured, despite the nation outperforming targets with the achievement of a primary budget surplus in 2013.

The IMF has been increasingly at odds with Germany and other lenders over the need to write off Greece's debt. Confidential records, documenting minutes of meetings held to discuss the country's first bailout, reveal the level of discord among member states over the feasibility of the rescue programme. The IMF said last year that without additional debt relief by eurozone governments, Greece's debt burden could smother the country's economy.

China, Brazil, Argentina, India, Egypt and Switzerland have been among the countries expressing grave doubts that the assistance would work, arguing that Greece might end up worse off after the austerity programme.

GermanyGreeceEuropeEurozone crisisEuropean UnionEconomicsBankingEuropean banksFinancial sectorHelena Smiththeguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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Greek Life Highlights: Spring Recruitment

Daily AztecGreek Life Highlights: Spring RecruitmentDaily AztecBoth Panhellenic and IFC have begun to pass out flyers around campus this week and Go Greek information sessions were held earlier this week. All perspective members were required to attend one of these sessions, according the the recruitment website.and more »

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Greek Finance Ministry: Only 220 out of 800 Million in Taxes Paid

Greek ReporterGreek Finance Ministry: Only 220 out of 800 Million in Taxes PaidGreek ReporterGreek Finance Ministry It appears that the tax collection during the last days of January was not effective, as only 220 million euros of taxes were paid. According to the Greek Finance Ministry, the total amount of taxes that should had been paid by ...

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