How the world sees Greece
Greece is digging itself into a hole again. The Greek parliament failed to elect a new president Tuesday, bringing closer the possibility of snap national elections that could hand power to a popular anti-austerity ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT finance.yahoo.com |
Each deputy will be faced with the Greek people’s anxiety in the third round of the election for a President of the Republic, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said after the end of the second round. Samaras also called on all deputies to consider their responsibilities and not lead the country to a national adventure. Main opposition SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras, said “Neither the parliament nor the people will offer to Mr. Samaras a blank cheque to continue the memorandum and to implement the prior actions of the austerity that cut the pensions, increase the price of the medicine and loot the society. The country will turn the page in the New Year. We will succeed with democracy, a strong mandate for real negotiation and optimism.” “The Greek people should be certain that hope returns. With Christmas and the country’s liberation from the policies imposed by the foreign conquerors. They have nothing to be afraid of. The smile will return,” Independent Greeks (ANEL) leader Panos Kammenos said after the end of the second round of the presidential elections. “ANEL party is standing and will continue to stand on its feet,” he stated. He also clarified that there will be no leak from the Independent Greeks in the third round of Greece ‘s Presidential elections. He added that Independent Greeks deputy Maria Kollia-Tsaroucha was absent from the voting because of health reasons, clarifying that she remains adamant on her position not to vote for President. Democratic Left (DIMAR) deputies’ refusal to vote for the government proposal on the presidential election translates into their refusal to contribute to the continuation of the current policies, DIMAR leader Fotis Kouvelis said in a statement. “The place and the society need to turn the page. Political change is necessary,” Kouvelis added. Kouvelis also confirmed discussions with SYRIZA saying “I replied to Alexis Tsipras’ phone call,” adding: “We have asked for a policy framework agreement and an extended conference to discuss all issues of progressive governance.”
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Exports have played a key role in Greece’s economic recovery. During the recession, exports were necessary so that Greek companies could expand beyond the country’s borders. According to the official statistical data, Greek exports have shown a slight decrease in 2014, mainly due to the economic and political developments in neighboring countries and trading partners, however, the country’s progress in the field has been significant. Around 65% of Greek exportable products end up in EU countries, during a period of weak economic growth, where Russia imposed an embargo on European imports and countries who were traditionally linked with Greece in regards to trade, such as Balkan countries, North Africa and the Middle East are being ravaged by the recession and political crises. The Exporters’ Association of Northern Greece (SEVE) released official data about Greek exports, after Eurostat’s research on the trade of goods within the Eurozone for the first nine months of 2014. According to the official numbers, the Eurozone’s goods exports rose by 1.3% compared to last year, reaching a total of 2.6 trillion euros, while Greek exports dropped by 4.4%. In 2014, Greece placed 13th in the Eurozone exports ranking and presented the third largest trade deficit (15.7 billion euros), following France and Spain. According to data released by the Panhellenic Exporters Association there were several new inputs in the country’s most exportable products list: data-processing machines (12th place), unmilled durum wheat (59th place), gas and liquid meters (70th place) sanitary paper products (73th place), copper and aluminum rods (74th place), fishing nets (83rd place), agriculture and gardening sprayers (89th place), smoked fish (93rd place), rough fabrics (98th place), iron, steel, copper or aluminum sanitary ware (99th place). Turkey still ranks first in terms of Greek exportable products destinations, followed by Italy, Germany, Bulgaria and Cyprus. Egypt rose in sixth place, while ships supply placed 7th in Third Countries. Gibraltar ranked in eighth place, followed by the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
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The Greek parliament fails for a second time to approve a new president, bringing the country closer to a snap election early next year.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bbc.co.uk |
By Chuck MikolajczakNEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Tuesday, after the Dow and S&P 500 closed at fresh records and ahead of a raft of economic data.* Major Wall Street indexes have risen for four straight sessions, pushing the benchmark S&P index to its 50th record high of the year. The S&P has risen 5.4 percent over that period, its best 4-day run since July 2010. The sharp rally comes on the heels of a selloff that saw the index drop nearly 5 percent from its prior record high set on Dec. 5.* Investors will eye a slew of economic data on Tuesday, including the final reading for third-quarter gross domestic product and durable goods at 8:30 a.m.. Expectations call for GDP to show the U.S. economy grew at a 4.3 percent annual pace, up from the prior estimate of 3.9 percent. Durable goods orders are expected to show a 2.9 percent increase.* The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final December reading on consumer sentiment is scheduled for release at 9:55 a.m. New home sales data for November as well as the November reading for personal income and spending are expected at 10 a.m..* Trading volume is expected to be light this week due to the Christmas holiday, which could increase volatility. U.S. equity markets will open for an abbreviated session Wednesday and be closed on Thursday.* Gilead Sciences rose 1.2 percent in premarket trade. The drugmaker slumped more than 14 percent in the prior session, its biggest drop in nearly 14 years, after Express Scripts said it lined up a cheaper price for AbbVie Inc's newly approved hepatitis C treatment and, in most cases, will no longer cover Gilead's rival treatments.* China Finance jumped 15.8 percent to $6.16 before the opening bell after the web-based financial services company posted quarterly results.* In Europe, a pullback on the Greek stock market on fears of early elections kept a lid on gains in the region's equities. Trading was light in Asia with Japan on holiday and markets moved only marginally. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.3 percent. [.EU]Futures snapshot at 7:23 a.m. EST:* S&P 500 e-minis were up 2.25 points, or 0.11 percent, with 44,713 contracts changing hands.* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 6.75 points, or 0.16 percent, in volume of 6,150 contracts.* Dow e-minis were up 28 points, or 0.16 percent, with 6,284 contracts changing hands.(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)Join the conversation about this story »
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Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras failed in his second effort to get lawmakers to back his nominee for president and avert snap general elections.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.businessweek.com |