Εβδομάδα Είναι … Και Κυλάει

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Pronti comments on Merkel’s approach on the Greek crisis

Posted by evdomada on December 2, 2011

Romano Pronti, former Italian prime minister and former European Commission chairman, criticised the German Chancellor Angela Merkel of resisting cooperation and not looking for alternative solutions that could have resolved the Greek economic crisis much earlier.

Pronti remarked that time was lost and the Greek crisis should have been resolved in “five minutes” instead of the delayed approach taken by Merkel which resulted in the crisis turning into a tragedy. He is of the opinion that the measures that were finally taken were not only late but also could have been resolved in a much better way.

Read more – inews.gr

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Greek Political Changes

Posted by evdomada on November 9, 2011

It’s been a very interesting, or better described as a turbulent, week of politics in Greece.

Papandreou has been under immense scrutiny for his announcement of a pubic referendum over the acceptance of the latest “bailout” package that is being offered by the European leaders.

What has followed was a “surprise” vote of confidence in favor or Papandreou which in turn gave him momentum to put in place an interim Greek government whose sole purpose was to guide Greece through the storms coming its way.

Today, at this moment, and it will probably be old news by the time you read it, a new Prime Minister is being chosen.

The likely successor of this interim government is Lucas Papademos. An ex-banker who worked with the European Central Bank from 2002 until 2010, when he resigned and was employed by Papandreou as an advisor.

No one appreciates irony or cynicism but I can’t see the new prime minister disagreeing too much with what the European leaders will be requesting of him. One can only assume that after 8 years of working in a particular organisation, it must have provided him with enough insight as to what will be requested of him and the Greek government

Time will definitely tell.

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Alex & Eve: The Baby … At Last!!

Posted by evdomada on July 20, 2011

After a long pregnancy Alex and Eve’s baby is about to arrive, and God help them!

The question is — which God?!?!?

Alex & Eve are about to find out how stressful their bundle of Joy can be as their parents bicker over the baby’s name, religion and even if Alex and Eve are doing a good job. Add in the normal changes a baby brings and it’s going to be a trying time for our favourite couple.

They’ve survived their religious differences, they’ve survived their friends advice and their parents “help” but can they survive…A BABY!

Join Alex, Eve and their Baby as they try and navigate their way through what promises to be a bumpy first year!

Alex & Eve: The Baby

Where: The Factory

When: 11th – 14th & 18th – 21st  August

Times: Friday & Saturday @ 8pm  & Sundays @ 5pm

Price: $34 FULL / $24 CONC + GROUPS OF 10
Bookings (02) 9550 3666

Book tickets online

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Can Greeks Become Germans? NYTimes

Posted by evdomada on July 20, 2011

Do Greeks really need to become someone else to change their current predicament?

Is that what the nation really needs to get out of the debt?

Still the article makes a few very good points.

For example:

That is why, he added, that Greeks, when they move to the U.S., “unleash their skills and entrepreneurship” in ways that enable them to thrive in commerce. But here in Greece, the system encourages just the opposite. Investors here tell you that the red tape involved in starting a new business is overwhelming. It’s crazy; Greece is the only country in the world where Greeks don’t behave like Greeks.

And I liked this one too:

It will take a cultural revolution. And that can happen only if Greece’s two major parties come together, hold hands, and collectively force through a radical change in the governing culture from the top down. Without that, Greece will never be able to pay back its loans.

Click here for the full article

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Greek Opposition Slams Tax Rises – The Wall Street Journal

Posted by evdomada on July 6, 2011

Antonis Samaras, Greece’s opposition leader of the New Democracy party, makes a credible point with regards to the increase of taxes in Greece as part of the austerity measures. His argument is that instead of raising taxes to generate revenue, that the opposite should occur to try and stimulate the economy.

Europe’s leaders are not in agreement with Samaras and of course had commended Papandreou’s government for following the course of the proposed austerity measures, in order for Greece to be given an additional injection of funds into its economy.

However the polls are showing that Samaras is looking like he will be the next leader of the Greek government and this is why the European leaders and the IMF were calling for a unilateral agreement from all Greek parties on the austerity measures. The reason that they wanted this from all parties was to ensure that any new government elected in the future will continue the “hard road” of changes required by the Greeks to be worthy of any international assistance.

Click here for the full article

 

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The wheels have been Greeced for too long – The Punch

Posted by evdomada on June 30, 2011

An Aussie journalist trying to get a Greek’s side of the story.

I like it but of course one person isn’t the voice of all. Still it’s a good read and interesting.

The Greek does say some things that I have heard from many …

“We were ruled by outside powers for so long I think for us we still really want freedom and not to follow any rules,” she explained.

And it is this attitude that more than anything is perhaps what is hurting Greece the most. It’s government did after all not follow the financial rules for a very long time and now its people are bristling at the idea of their country being told what to do.

Click here for the full article

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Athens adopts austerity plan – SMH

Posted by evdomada on June 30, 2011

It was only a matter of time that after Papandreou successfully managed to “win” a vote of confidence in parliament that the austerity measures “requested” by the “foreigners” would be passed as well.

Of course the people will protest both peacefully and for a handful of cases violently.

In fact the violence has had a “positive” effect for the government because the peaceful protesters were troubling the politicians more so. The violence has distracted media and others, the pain of the people.

Click here to read the article.

 

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Fret not over European debt, says Citi expert – SMH

Posted by evdomada on June 28, 2011

Another Buiter related article that brings up the Greek financial crisis to the fore.

Willem Buiter: Bloomberg

Again the key point to make here is that Buiter warns about the panic and nervousness that is being propagated.

He labelled as ”scaremongering” the ECB’s comparisons of Greece to Lehman Brothers.

He said Lehmans was unanticipated and Greece’s default would not be. He also said Lehmans had a bigger balance sheet and was more complex than Greece.

Click here for the article

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Eurozone could handle Greek loan defaults – Inside Business ABC

Posted by evdomada on June 28, 2011

Willem Buiter was in Australia this week … in fact he could still be around. To be honest prior to today I had not heard of him but I have since found out that he is Citigroup’s cheif economist and in his past was a contributor to the Financial Times.

There are a number of articles going around with interviews and quotes from Buiter but those of interest to me have been the questions posed to him about the Greek economy.

Maybe it’s his Dutch background but he seems to be less in a panic over Greece than other economists. He isn’t saying that Greece won’t default but he does say that in the case it does that the world economy won’t collapse overnight.

The link in this post is of an interview on Australia’s ABC Inside Business.

My personal highlight of the interview is Buiter’s following statement:

But all in all, the sovereign default of Greece, if and when it comes, can be handled in an orderly way. There are many historical examples of that. And the ECB should not make things worse than they need to be by making markets more concerned and nervous.

Click here for the article

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Solon’s Ghost: Greek Default Scenarios – Macro Business Blog

Posted by evdomada on June 26, 2011

This blog entry looks at default scenarios that are a possibility for Greece. It’s a month old but still is relevant to where some of Greece’s options lay.

As I’ve mentioned before, defaulting is not something new for the Greek economy. However this time around some of the big fish have “invested” in the Greek debt. To default could mean that some of the larger European banks have to bear the brunt of any losses. The effects on the economies could be more harmful than just handing out more money to the Greeks.

One can only hope that this time around that the Greeks will try to utilise the borrowed money to inject the economy and not only pay off debts that create more debts and continue the vicious cycle.

Click here to read the blog.

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