I'm sorry for not posting anything right now...The reason is my exams...I will be "available" after the 11th of June...
Until then...
Take care!
Papandreou: Banks bet against us
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The prime minister of Greece said Sunday that he would not rule out taking legal action against banks that may have preyed on his country's precarious fiscal state.
"You have banks funding hedge funds that are actually then betting against governments," George Papandreou told CNN's Fareed Zakaria. He said his government is investigating potential "negative practices" in the financial sector and called for greater regulation.
Greece is the flash point for a government debt crisis gripping Europe and roiling markets worldwide. Last week, European leaders announced a massive, nearly $1 trillion, rescue package in a bid to contain the crisis by helping the weakest nations.
But Greece is in the most precarious spot. The small southern European nation, weighed down with an outsized debt burden, is tapping billions in emergency loans from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
The funding will make it possible for the Greek government to redeem $10.7 billion worth of debt coming due this week.
Papandreou told CNN that Greece is committed to closing its fiscal imbalance. The country's budget deficit exceeded 13% of its total economic output last year.
"We are fully aware of our responsibilities and what we must do," Papandreou said.
Greece has set in motion a number of austerity measures, including tax increases and cutbacks in public sector salaries and pension benefits.
"We are ready to make the changes," Papandreou said. "We have made our mistakes. We are living up to this responsibility. But at the same time, give us a chance. We'll show you."
"You have banks funding hedge funds that are actually then betting against governments," George Papandreou told CNN's Fareed Zakaria. He said his government is investigating potential "negative practices" in the financial sector and called for greater regulation.
Greece is the flash point for a government debt crisis gripping Europe and roiling markets worldwide. Last week, European leaders announced a massive, nearly $1 trillion, rescue package in a bid to contain the crisis by helping the weakest nations.
But Greece is in the most precarious spot. The small southern European nation, weighed down with an outsized debt burden, is tapping billions in emergency loans from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
The funding will make it possible for the Greek government to redeem $10.7 billion worth of debt coming due this week.
Papandreou told CNN that Greece is committed to closing its fiscal imbalance. The country's budget deficit exceeded 13% of its total economic output last year.
"We are fully aware of our responsibilities and what we must do," Papandreou said.
Greece has set in motion a number of austerity measures, including tax increases and cutbacks in public sector salaries and pension benefits.
"We are ready to make the changes," Papandreou said. "We have made our mistakes. We are living up to this responsibility. But at the same time, give us a chance. We'll show you."
Again,some useful articles...
http://www.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_kathremote_1_16/05/2010_337620
http://www.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_kathremote_1_17/05/2010_337757
http://www.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_kathremote_1_15/05/2010_337567
http://www.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_kathremote_1_14/05/2010_337506
http://www.naftemporiki.gr/news/cstory.asp?id=1817120
http://www.enet.gr/?i=news.el.oikonomia&id=163094
With interest we watch Greece's path...
http://www.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_kathremote_1_17/05/2010_337757
http://www.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_kathremote_1_15/05/2010_337567
http://www.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_kathremote_1_14/05/2010_337506
http://www.naftemporiki.gr/news/cstory.asp?id=1817120
http://www.enet.gr/?i=news.el.oikonomia&id=163094
With interest we watch Greece's path...
IMF and Greece
An enlightning article from kathimerini...
http://news.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_economyagor_1_08/05/2010_400192
http://news.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_economyagor_1_08/05/2010_400192
Greek End Game
Pessimism about Greece's future...
Paul Krugman
Many commentators now believe that Greece will end up restructuring its debt — a euphemism for partial repudiation. I agree. But the reasoning seems to stop there, which is wrong. In effect, the consensus that Greece will end up defaulting is probably too optimistic. I’m growing increasingly convinced that Greece will end up leaving the euro, too.
I’ve basically laid out the logic already: even with a debt restructuring, Greece will be in deep trouble, forced to engage in severe austerity — and provoke a deep slump — just to close the primary, non-interest deficit.
The only thing that could reduce that need for austerity would be something that helped the economy expand, or at least not contract as much. This would reduce the economic pain; it would also increase revenues, reducing the needed amount of fiscal austerity.
But the only route to economic expansion is higher exports — which can only be achieved if Greek costs and prices fall sharply relative to the rest of Europe.
If Greece were a highly cohesive society with collective wage-setting, a sort of Aegean Austria, it might be possible to do this via a collectively agreed reduction in wages across the board –an “internal devaluation.” But as today’s grim events show, it isn’t.
The alternative is a devaluation — which means leaving the euro.
Any announcement of plans to leave the euro would, as Eichengreen points out, trigger disastrous bank runs. By the same token, any suggestion by outside players, like the ECB, that the option exists would amount to invoking a speculative attack on Greek banks, and therefore can’t be made. The whole thing is effectively undiscussable.
But that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Greece is already starting to look like Argentina 2001.
Again, this isn’t an alternative to debt restructuring; it’s what might be needed in addition to debt restructuring to make the fiscal adjustment possible.
I hope that somewhere, deep in the bowels of the ECB and the Greek Ministry of Finance, people are thinking about the unthinkable. Because this awful outcome is starting to look better than the alternatives.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/greek-end-game/
Paul Krugman
Many commentators now believe that Greece will end up restructuring its debt — a euphemism for partial repudiation. I agree. But the reasoning seems to stop there, which is wrong. In effect, the consensus that Greece will end up defaulting is probably too optimistic. I’m growing increasingly convinced that Greece will end up leaving the euro, too.
I’ve basically laid out the logic already: even with a debt restructuring, Greece will be in deep trouble, forced to engage in severe austerity — and provoke a deep slump — just to close the primary, non-interest deficit.
The only thing that could reduce that need for austerity would be something that helped the economy expand, or at least not contract as much. This would reduce the economic pain; it would also increase revenues, reducing the needed amount of fiscal austerity.
But the only route to economic expansion is higher exports — which can only be achieved if Greek costs and prices fall sharply relative to the rest of Europe.
If Greece were a highly cohesive society with collective wage-setting, a sort of Aegean Austria, it might be possible to do this via a collectively agreed reduction in wages across the board –an “internal devaluation.” But as today’s grim events show, it isn’t.
The alternative is a devaluation — which means leaving the euro.
Any announcement of plans to leave the euro would, as Eichengreen points out, trigger disastrous bank runs. By the same token, any suggestion by outside players, like the ECB, that the option exists would amount to invoking a speculative attack on Greek banks, and therefore can’t be made. The whole thing is effectively undiscussable.
But that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Greece is already starting to look like Argentina 2001.
Again, this isn’t an alternative to debt restructuring; it’s what might be needed in addition to debt restructuring to make the fiscal adjustment possible.
I hope that somewhere, deep in the bowels of the ECB and the Greek Ministry of Finance, people are thinking about the unthinkable. Because this awful outcome is starting to look better than the alternatives.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/greek-end-game/
3 dead people from molotov
These things shouldn't be happening in the 21st century...I am ashamed for been Greek...
http://www.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_kathremote_1_05/05/2010_336033
http://www.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_kathremote_1_05/05/2010_336033
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