Contents: France-Germany split over 3-day ultimatum to Greece leads to flared tempers; Eurogroup imposes harsh demands on Greece to remain in eurozone; China police crack down ahead of another volatile week in stocks
The seemingly final deadline for serious Greek proposals in the debt showdown was Friday morning, and some paperwork was indeed delivered on schedule, inducing some optimism that a Greek exit from the Euro would be averted. Depending on who you ask, the deal is either a stunning triumph or disastrous capitulation for either Greece or its creditors.
A Bloomberg reporter, presumably in Athens to cover the developing Greek debt crisis, received quite a surprise with the bill: a charge in the Greek drachma, a long-defunct currency looming its head as the possibility of Greece leaving the euro behind grows with every day its government fails to make a debt payment to Europe.
All sorts of deadlines have come and gone during the Greek debt crisis—as the basket-case nation’s European creditors repeatedly blinked and decided to grant one extension after another—unwilling to precipitate the pan-European (and possibly global) financial earthquake of a “Grexit” from the Euro.
Vladimir Putin is reportedly reaching out to Greek leaders to try to affect the outcome of the recent crisis. On Sunday, Greek voters once again defied European leaders and voted against approving new austerity measures.
As Greece breaks apart on the rocky shores of the European Union, the man who did so much to run his nation’s finances aground has decided to call it quits. The New York Times sees the sudden resignation of “combative” Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis as a gesture of “conciliation” between the socialist Syriza government and a thoroughly fed-up European Union, but it might be premature to talk about Greece making peace with its creditors.
As the ruling Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza) vocally demands the Greek people vote “no” on a referendum regarding European Union debt repayment terms on Sunday, an unlikely voice has emerged representing the opposition “yes” vote, interpreted as a vote in favor of keeping the Euro as currency and remaining in the Euro: electro-pop megastar Sakis Rouvas.
In the wake of the growing financial crisis, thousands of Greek nationals are fleeing their homeland. Tens of thousands have ended up in Australia. It is the largest wave of migration from Greece to Australia since hundreds of thousands fled the march of fascism in World War II.
Greek Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis, earlier told Bloomberg TV “I prefer to cut my arm off” than sign up to a proposal that didn’t include restructuring his country’s debt. As luck would have it the International Monetary Fund (IMF) looks like it sympathises
Multiple factions within the Turkish government have expressed a willingness to help the Greek government repay its debts to the European Union, from a general statement by Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu that Turkey will do “whatever we can” to help Greece to the nation’s leftist party suggesting a massive loan to the Greek government in solidarity.
The Greek debt crisis shows that Russia must carefully think about how high its own state debt burden is, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told reporters on Wednesday.
It has been a difficult week for Greece, whose as-of-yet insurmountable debt to the European Union and International Monetary Fund continues unpaid and with little hope of preventing a default.
Greece has failed to make the payment to the International Monetary Fund which was due at midnight Brussels time (11pm London, 6pm E.S.T.). If the IMF declares the non-payment a default then Greece becomes the first developed European country in 71
The population of Spain has dropped for the third year in a row as hundreds of thousands leave to look for work elsewhere. But although the government has admitted to the population drop, groups representing Spanish migrants have accused it of
The Greek prime minister’s surprise call for a July 5 referendum for voters to decide whether or not to accept the terms of a bailout deal offered by international creditors prompted the eurozone to reject Greece’s pleas to extend the expiring bailout, various news outlets report.
Thousands of Greeks rallied in Athens’ Syntagma Square on Monday demanding their government find a solution to their debt crisis that would allow Greece to remain in the Euro. The protest highlights the persistent demand from the Greek people that they remain within the Eurozone, even as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ negotiation tactics put that reality in jeopardy.
Contents: Darfur genocide overshadows women’s empowerment summit in South Africa; History of Darfur genocide; Rwanda versus Darfur versus Central African Republic civil wars; Everyone prepares for the worst, as Greece bailout talks collapse again
The long standoff between intransigent Greek socialists and their increasingly exasperated creditors appears to be reaching an end, judging by the commentary after an International Monetary Fund meeting this week. It sounds as if the Greeks are running out of cards to play.
Individuals associated with the All Workers Militant Front (PAME), a communist trade union, stormed the Greek Foreign Ministry on Thursday, demanding the far-left government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras not agree to any austerity reforms with the European Union, reforms demanded by both the EU and creditors to help Greece avoid a debt default.
An admission that Dutch taxpayers are unlikely to ever see the €12 billion they have lent to Greece returned has sparked a backlash against continued bailouts in the Netherlands. Kees Vendrik, chairman of the Dutch court of audit has provoked
German President Joachim Gauck has stirred his government by remarking in an interview that Germany should at least “consider” demands by leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras that the nation pay billions of euros in reparations for the Nazi occupation of Greece.
Days after being pulled back from leading the Greek diplomatic team in talks with the European Union regarding the nation’s astronomical debt, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and his wife, Danae Stratou, were the victims of an anarchist mob attack while dining out.
The government of Greece’s Radical Left Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has been demanding Germany pay reparations to the nation for damage committed by the Nazis during World War II for months, but now they have officially calculated a fixed amount they would like back: 279 billion euros.
Leftist Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, during a visit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, raised the issue of Greece receiving war reparations for the damage the Nazis did to the country in World War II. Despite Merkel’s rapid dismissal of the possibility, the two appeared cordial and friendly during their public press event leading up to a reception dinner.
The European Central Bank president has called for further integration in the Eurozone, claiming it would lead to greater democracy and accountability. Mario Draghi made the comment at an event in Frankfurt ahead of the grand opening of the bank,
Iran elects hardliner to head Assembly of Experts; Greece’s deflationary spiral continues with consumer prices down 2.2%; European Central Bank tries desperate measure to fight deflation
Greece’s new socialist government appears to have given up on its demands for debt relief without spending controls, at least for the time being.
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Over the weekend, former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan predicted that Greece will end up leaving the eurozone and that the euro will not long survive its departure.
The newly elected Greek government is quite correct to eschew austerity and seek reductions in what it owes northern European governments. The Euro is punishing the South, and solving Mediterranean states’ chronic financial problems would require moving some industry from the North to the South. More austerity would only bleed the patient further.
Spain’s far left Podemos party hopes to copy success of Greece’s Syriza party; Egypt’s al-Sisi blames foreign countries for terrorist attacks; Houthis use live fire against protesters in Yemen
Greece’s new anti-austerity Prime Minister Alexis Tsipris has a strengthening ally in Spain as divisions firmly appear amongst eurozone members. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out cancelling any of Greece’s debt, saying banks and creditors have already made substantial cuts
Perhaps Greece’s new far-left government will rethink its plans to shake Europe down for cash to fund its wild spending binges, now that the German economy has officially entered a deflationary cycle, as reported by Business Insider
The Governor of the Bank of England has called for further eurozone integration if the monetary union is “to avoid a lost decade”. Speaking in Dublin at an event to honour the Canadian finance minister Jim Flaherty, Mark Carney said, “It
German Politicians have issued a stark warning to Greece’s new government that the economic reforms imposed by the EU must continue, the International Business Times reports. Alexis Tsipras’s Syriza secured victory in the Greek elections on Sunday and have formed
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The left wing anti-austerity party Syriza has won this weekend’s general election in Greece, securing 149 of the 300 Parliamentary seats available, leaving it just two short of an overall majority. The party has formed a coalition with the Independent Greeks
Insolvent Greece is at the center of the European Financial Crisis that has led to a 20 percent devaluation of the exchange rate of the euro against the U.S. dollar. Polls indicate that in parliamentary elections on Sunday, the main leftist and center-right parties will finish one and two.
The European Central Bank (ECB) gave the Left and their allies meeting in Davos, Switzerland, everything they could have hoped for with the announcement that they have agreed to print $1.13 trillion of new cash to buy the national debt of their insolvent members. But “hidden within the announcement is evidence of Germany’s weakening commitment to the European project,” according to Stratfor.
