Greece and the economic crisis 2016

NEWS ARCHIVE - Dec 18 - Dec 27

December 27, 2016

Why the crisis in Greece has no end in sight - UK Telegraph

"Hospitals without syringes. Buses left to rust in depots because authorities can’t afford to fix them.

Scenes like this have become more associated with desperate Venezuelans this year than struggling Greeks living in one of the world’s most developed economies.

But while Athens has largely stayed out of the headlines, the warnings in an International Monetary Fund report this month lay bare the consequences of repeated rounds of belt tightening in a country where austerity has no end in sight."

"The discovery of natural gas is a significant incentive to get Ankara’s backing for a resolution to the Cyprus issue, says the country’s President Nicos Anastasiades, who believes that the prospect of using some of the fuel lying beneath the seabed off the island’s shores to cover a large part of Turkey’s energy needs and transform the country into a regional energy hub could convince Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to make the concessions needed for a reunification deal to be achieved."

Protothema has a list of coming events in the Capitol [list in English]

Article describes the new calculation method to be applied, with a particular focus on changes coming by 2018.

December 24, 2016

"Dijsselbloem said creditors had agreed to recommence talks after he received a letter from Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos reaffirming the government's commitment to reforms demanded as part of Greece's third bailout."

"Saint Nicholas is not just another saint and his celebration in Greece is one of the most anticipated social events of the year.

Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of the seamen and everyone working in the sea. As Greece has a great tradition in sea trade, fishing etc, you can understand his importance in a highly religious nation."

December 23, 2016

"The first agreements with commercial lenders Alpha Bank (ACBr.AT), Eurobank (EURBr.AT) , National Bank of Greece (NBGr.AT) and Piraeus Bank (BOPr.AT) were signed in Athens on Thursday for 400 million euros, equally split between the four.

The remaining 600 million in the program will be allocated over the next two years, provided the banks absorb and channel the first tranche to businesses."

"The best performers of the session on the Athens General-Composite were Athens Medical (AT:AMCr), which rose 8.59% or 0.055 points to trade at 0.695 at the close. Meanwhile, Selonda Aquaculture SA (AT:SELr) added 7.14% or 0.0100 points to end at 0.1540 and Thrace Plastic (AT:THRr) was up 6.73% or 0.150 points to 2.380 in late trade."

"The most important thing today is that all the EU members should act responsibly and honor the commitments they made at EU summits and meetings. They have a responsibility to 160,000 refugees, of which only 10 percent have been resettled."

"An e-card from the press office of the Greek Finance Ministry, sent to journalists, showed a picture of a frail, stingy Ebenezer Scrooge warming by the fire during a visit of his former business partner Jacob Marley, the ghost of Christmas Past shackled in chains."

"Now, seven years into a financial crisis, the International Monetary Fund is insisting that the government allow Sunday shopping, in an effort to kickstart the economy.

But members of the clergy and those in small and medium sized business say “never on Sunday,” and they’re not referring to the 1960s Melina Mercouri film."

December 22, 2016

"The banks’ estimates for the end of the year are for household and corporate deposits to exceed 127 billion euros against 123.4 billion at the end of 2015."

December 21, 2016

"The EU technocrats are putting pressure on the Greek side to commit in writing that it will avoid such actions without prior deliberation with the institutions. A European Commission (EC) said Tuesday’s EWG meeting focused on alternative ways to overcome the problem, but the two sides failed to reach full consent."

"Greece has slid back into the vicious cycle, but who is to blame? Tsipras knew what he was getting into when he decided to pledge handouts just days before visiting Berlin and ahead of the Eurogroup decision on short-term debt relief. His close aides had cautioned him about the implications. Counterproposals were heard, such as paying off state debts to businesses. He defied the warnings for the sake of short-term political gain."

"Last week, the ESM tabled a planned debt relief initiative for Greece (NYSEARCA:GREK) given an expected deterioration in the country's fiscal budget. The country recently decided to postpone the institution of a proposed value-added tax ("VAT") and its submission of a supplementary bonus payment. The ESM's effort is likely to delay the ongoing review of Greece's current economic adjustment program and the dispensation of €6.1 in ESM funding by July 2017."

"The Marshall Plan pumped millions of dollars in aid to Greece after the Second World War. A lot of study and research has been done in the years that have followed as to the lasting impact on Greece’s economy and the politics at the time in Greece made the aid controversial."

It came as the foreign and defense ministers from Turkey, Iran and Russian Federation prepared to hold a key meeting on Syria on Tuesday in Moscow. He had stayed at a nearby hotel to prepare for the attack.

December 20, 2016

"The case was brought to the European Court of Justice after Greek cement maker AGET Iraklis, whose main shareholder is LafargeHolcim, was prevented in 2013 from making collective redundancies by the then-government because of the economic crisis and the high levels of unemployment in the country."

December 19, 2016

In the study Brain Gain conducted, 2,347 respondents from all over the world answered that they would return to their homeland if:

I could work in my profession without having to deal with corruption

I would be treated with respect and meritocracy

"The same study found that nearly 74 percent of the unemployed population have been without work for more than 12 months."

December 18, 2016

"European Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis made the comments days after the EU suspended debt relief for bailed-out Greece after its maverick premier Alexis Tsipras hiked spending for pensioners, angering austerity champion Germany

"We think that with a constructive attitude on all sides, a technical level agreement will be found in the next few months," he told the Greek daily Kathimerini in an interview."

NEWS ARCHIVE - Dec 2016

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