Most Greeks say government crackdown on tax evaders failing: poll

ATHENS | Sat Dec 29, 2012 3:51pm EST

(Reuters) - More than two-thirds of Greeks say their government is failing to fight tax evasion, a poll showed on Saturday, a major focus of popular discontent along with austerity measures imposed to unlock bailout aid.

Treasury 10-Year Yields Head for Record Low on Demand for Haven

By Daniel Kruger - Dec 29, 2012 7:00 AM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

Treasury 10-year note yields were poised for the lowest annual average since at least World War II as investors spent 2012 seeking haven from Europe’s debt crisis, tepid global growth and a U.S. budget showdown.

Greek tax cheats list altered to hide names -court sources

Fri Dec 28, 2012 11:39am EST

* Relatives of ex-minister were removed from accused tax dodgers list -officials

* Former finance minister denies tampering with list

* PASOK party expels him over "Lagarde List" affair

By Harry Papachristou

How Europe's Currency Survived 2012 Intact

The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323300404578205580657203900.html

Leaders Muddled Through, but Bought Time for the Euro Area, Which Enters 2013 With All 17 Members Along for the Ride

With three days left of the old year, there's still time for even this prediction to go awry. But let's stick our necks out: Contrary to some expectations, the euro zone will end the year as it entered it—with 17 members.

 

Education falls victim to Greek debt crisis

Deutsche Welle

http://www.dw.de/education-falls-victim-to-greek-debt-crisis/a-16481846

As part of Greece's austerity policies, salaries for teachers and educational funding have dropped rapidly. Students who can afford private tutoring may come to depend more heavily on tutors than teachers.

Greek Bank Capital Needs at EU27.5 Billion, Bank of Greece Says

Bloomberg

By Marcus Bensasson & Christos Ziotis - Dec 27, 2012 7:34 PM GMT+0200

Greece’s four largest banks need to boost their capital by 27.5 billion euros ($36.3 billion) after taking losses from the country’s debt swap earlier this year, the largest sovereign restructuring in history.

Greek prosecutors send Swiss account list to parliament

ATHENS | Thu Dec 27, 2012 2:11pm GMT

(Reuters) - Greek prosecutors sent a list of possible tax cheats to parliament, court sources said, in a case that has highlighted Athens' failure to crack down on the tax evasion that has contributed to the country's financial crisis.

German economy to grow "decently" in 2013 - Finance Minister

BERLIN | Thu Dec 27, 2012 12:37pm GMT

 (Reuters) - Germany's economy will expand at a decent rate next year, underpinned by exports to countries outside the euro zone, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said.

Bleak Christmas in Greece

deutsche welle
Cheerful decorations, good food and gifts for the children are part of the traditional Greek Christmas. But as the country's financial crisis continues to wreak havoc, the country is in for a scaled-back holiday in 2012.

Greece Urged to Get Tough on Tax

The Wall Street Journal

By STELIOS BOURAS And PHILIP PANGALOS

ATHENS—Greece's international creditors have called on the country to do more to tackle tax evasion, particularly among wealthier residents, as Athens scrambles to check up on thousands of taxpayers suspected of having sent money abroad illegally.

Greeks flock to informal work as recession deepens

By Renee Maltezou

ATHENS | Fri Dec 21, 2012 9:59am EST

(Reuters) - Greek dietician Reggina knew she had little choice when her boss told her she could keep her job at a health center only if she agreed to getting part of her salary off the books.

Greece's Top Banks Need $36 Billion Boost

By STELIOS BOURAS and NEKTARIA STAMOULI

The Wall Street  Journal 

ATHENS—Greece's four largest banks need a capital boost of €27.4 billion ($36.29) to overcome the impact of the country's sovereign debt write-down as they battle to stem growing losses in the rapidly shrinking domestic economy.

Greece facing critical year, says finance minister: FT

LONDON | Wed Dec 19, 2012 7:27pm EST

(Reuters) - Greece is facing a critical year that hinges on its three-party ruling coalition sticking together and following the bailout program agreed with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said in the Financial Times on Thursday.

Struggles Mount for Greeks as Economy Faces Winter

By MARCUS WALKER and MARIANNA KAKAOUNAKI

The Wall Street Journal

...Ms. Katri had a Dickensian image of the former orphanage, she says, as "a place where children are punished." However, she says the foundation has been good to her son,...

...The slumping economy and the retreat of the welfare state under austerity has caused a wave of requests to take children into care...

...Since 2011, more than 700 families have asked the Greek branch of international charity SOS Children's Villages to take in a child for economic reasons...

Special Report: Greece's triangle of power

A nexus of media, business and politics lies behind the country's crisis, say critics.

 

By Stephen Grey and Dina Kyriakidou

Europe Wins a Battle, but Not Yet the War

(to)...create a new common bank-resolution authority for the euro zone...
The first is political and Italian
The next risk is political and German
A further risk is technical and possibly Spanish
The next risks are Hellenic

EU, IMF agree to lend Greece 49 bln euros by March

BRUSSELS | Thu Dec 13, 2012 6:59am EST
(From the administrator: This article is from Reuters, and at the end you can find the link, the names of the authors and the adresses of their blogs)

Dec 13 (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund have agreed to release 49.1 billion euros in aid to Greece by the end of March, with most of that sum flowing immediately, senior EU officials said on Thursday.

Greece Can Grow Again

Red tape, corruption, tax evasion—and a failure of marketing. Despite being the world's third largest olive oil producer, Greece sells 60% of its olive oil in bulk to Italy, where it is packaged and sold at a premium.
The Wall Street Journal

By JOHN SFAKIANAKIS

 

Lessons from Latin America for Greece - FT.com

Lessons from Latin America for Greece - FT.com: "nderlying solvency problems were addr"

'via Blog this'

For Greece, Oligarchs Are Obstacle to Recovery

By RACHEL DONADIO and LIZ ALDERMAN

The New York Times

Link: http://goo.gl/nkgwE

ATHENS — A dynamic entrepreneur, Lavrentis Lavrentiadis seemed to represent a promising new era for Greece. He dazzled the country’s traditionally insular business world by spinning together a multibillion-dollar empire just a few years after inheriting a small family firm at 18. Seeking acceptance in elite circles, he gave lavishly to charities and cultivated ties to the leading political parties.

Greece takes bottom EU spot in global corruption index

Greece replaces Bulgaria as lowest-ranking EU state

* Italy below ex-communist Romania in global league table

* China realises tackling graft in its own interests-TI

* Russian NGO curbs make it harder to check corruption -TI

By Gareth Jones

History Shows Why Germany Should Help Greece

By John Sfakianakis Dec 4, 2012 1:37 AM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel has at last opened the door to the possibility of writing off Greek debts, but only several years from now. As they decide on the right thing to do, Germans should take a close look at their own history.

Merkel says understands Germans' frustration over Greece: paper

 (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)
BERLIN| Fri Nov 30, 2012 6:01pm EST

(Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she understood her compatriots' doubts about a bailout deal for Greece, but insisted in an interview that aid for Athens was in the interests of Berlin and all euro zone members.

Greece says voluntary debt buy back must succeed

(Reuters) - Greece's debt buyback plan, a key element of the cash-strapped country's bailout deal, will be voluntary but must succeed, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said on Wednesday.

Europe’s Plan C for Greece Is No Better Than Plans A or B

Bloomberg
Europe’s leaders have reached Plan C in their efforts to rescue Greece. Unfortunately, it lacks a crucial element also absent in Plans A and B: adequate debt relief.

Greece, markets satisfied by EU-IMF Greek debt deal

(Reuters) - The Greek government and financial markets were cheered on Tuesday by an agreement between euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund to reduce Greece's debt, paving the way for the release of urgently needed aid loans.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares, euro fall on Greece, U.S. fiscal talks

Mon Nov 26, 2012 2:48pm EST

* U.S. stocks fall as fiscal talks set to resume

 * Market focus on outcome of Greece aid negotiations

 * Euro edges down vs dollar

 NEW YORK, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Stocks around the globe and the euro were mostly lower on Monday, with investors cautious over whether Greece will receive emergency aid to keep it financially afloat and no signs of progress by U.S. lawmakers to avoid the U.S. "fiscal cliff."

Analysis: Greek economy pays high price for its high prices

By Alan Wheatley and Karolina Tagaris

ATHENS | Thu Nov 22, 2012 12:02pm EST

(Reuters) - Signs across Athens advertise property for rent or sale. One in three shops has closed. At those still open for business, turnover has slumped.

So it is one of the mysteries of Greece's economic depression that prices of some things - milk and the new iPhone, for example - are among the highest in Europe.

Standoff on Greece Driven by Short-Sighted Europolitics

http://www.forbes.com/sites/karlwhelan/2012/11/22/standoff-on-greece-driven-by-short-sighted-europolitics/

Forbes

Karl Whelan, Contributor

Economist focused on European macro issues

As Greece comes ever-closer to running out of money, the Eurozone finance ministers and the IMF have now met for two weeks in a row and failed to agree a new deal to loan Greece any additional funds.

Your Cheat-Sheet to Greece

By Matina Stevis

The Wall Street Journal

Another week, another euro-zone finance ministers’ meeting on Greece. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has flown back from Asia to attend the meeting starting later today, while European Central Bank president Mario Draghi and the European Union’s economics commissioner Olli Rehn are also due to be there.

Euro zone, IMF make progress on Greece: Juncker

By Matthias Inverardi

BIELEFELD, Germany | Sat Nov 17, 2012 9:12am EST

(Reuters) - Euro zone governments and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are making headway in settling a row over how to make Greece's debt manageable, Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Saturday.

Greece: It’s Not About the Numbers

The Wall Street Journal

http://blogs.wsj.com/eurocrisis/2012/11/16/greece-its-not-about-the-numbers/

The spreadsheets spell it out clearly. Billions of euros of austerity measures on top of an already fast shrinking economy have made the country’s growing debt pile unsustainable.

IMF's Lagarde says important for euro zone to forge deal on Greece

(Reuters) - A crucial Eurogroup meeting next week on Greece should forge a deal that will put the insolvent country's economy on a sustainable path, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Friday.

On Greece, Christine Lagarde Is the Grown-Up at the Table

By the Editors Nov 14, 2012 1:30 AM GMT+0200

One way or another, the governments and other official lenders that have bailed out Greece and now hold its debt are going to lose some or all of that money.

Europe Gives Greece 2 More Years to Reach Deficit Targets

By James G. Neuger and Stephanie Bodoni - Nov 13, 2012 5:09 AM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

Euro-area finance ministers gave Greece two extra years to wrestle down its budget deficit, pledging to plug the resulting financing gaps in order to keep the country in the single currency and prevent a renewed flareup of the debt crisis.

UPDATE 2-Greece will roll over T-bills due to aid delay

Fri Nov 9, 2012 8:06am EST

* More than 5 bln euros in T-bills due on Nov. 16

* Greece expects aid tranche only after bills mature

* ECB expected to let Greece raise ceiling on amount of T-bills allowed

By Lefteris Papadimas

Greece Drinks the Hemlock

EDITORIAL

The International Herald  Tribune

Published: November 8, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/09/opinion/greece-drinks-the-hemlock.html#h[]

Greece’s Parliament did what it had to do on Thursday. Despite some defections from the ruling centrist coalition, lawmakers narrowly approved a $23 billion package of new austerity measures, including further spending cuts to social services, pensions and public salaries, as well as tax increases demanded by Greece’s European lenders.

Barack Obama's second term

Now, hug a Republican

A budget deal makes sense for the re-elected president, his opponents, his country and the world

Nov 10th 2012

The Economist

Europe, Central Bank Spar Over Athens Aid

Discord Over Who Should Shoulder Burden of Giving Greece More Time to Repay Loans Comes Ahead of Crucial Deadline

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204755404578101102365534718.html?mod=WSJ_EuroDebt__LEFTTopStories

By BRIAN BLACKSTONE and GABRIELE STEINHAUSER

Europe's governments and the European Central Bank are at odds about who should shoulder the financial burden of giving Greece more time to repay its loans and remain part of the euro zone.

Η Ελλάδα στους πέντε πρώτους προμηθευτές αγροτικών προϊόντων

του Δημητρα Μανιφαβα

http://news.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_economy_2_31/10/2012_500296

Από τη διπλανή μας Βουλγαρία μέχρι τη μακρινή Αυστραλία ταξιδεύουν τα ελληνικά αγροτικά προϊόντα και τρόφιμα, καθιστώντας την Ελλάδα έναν από τους κυριότερους προμηθευτές στον κόσμο στην κατηγορία αυτή.

Greece flirts with tyranny and Europe looks away

Greek democracy is in peril and much of the fault lies with the EU's hard stance

Nick Cohen

The Observer, Sunday 4 November 2012

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/04/nick-cohen-greece-democracy-in-peril

Tax Evasion Case Emerges as Latest Headache for Greece’s Coalition

November 1, 2012, 2:23 PM

The Wall Street Journal

http://blogs.wsj.com/eurocrisis/2012/11/01/tax-evasion-case-emerges-as-latest-headache-for-greeces-coalition/?mod=google_news_blog

By JENNY PARIS

A Greek journalist at the center of a tax evasion and media censorship controversy has emerged as the latest headache for Greece’s fragile ruling coalition.

Greece Needs a Writedown, Not a Buyback

By the Editors Nov 2, 2012 12:30 AM GMT+0200

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-01/greece-needs-a-writedown-not-a-buyback.html

The prime minister of Greece took a large political risk Oct. 31 to keep Greece in the euro, just as other euro area leaders appear to be recognizing that the country needs more time and more relief from its debt obligations to survive.

Germany, France Say November Key to Keeping Greece in Euro

By Tony Czuczka and Brian Parkin on October 30, 2012

France and Germany will strive over the next four weeks to stop Greece from unsettling markets as officials work to put the country’s faltering bailout plan back on the rails, French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said.

'EU Should Admit that Greece Will Need Debt Cut'

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/german-press-comments-on-report-that-greece-will-need-more-aid-a-864010.html

Greece's international creditors have proposed that the country receive another debt writedown, this time from EU governments. That, say German media commentators, is hardly a surprise. Fresh aid for Athens, they argue, has been inevitable for months, but leaders have shied away from telling the truth.

Greece to vote on labor reform despite coalition split

ATHENS | Sat Oct 27, 2012 2:30pm EDT

(Reuters) - Greece's government plans to put labor reforms demanded by foreign lenders to a parliamentary vote despite a junior coalition partner's refusal to back them, the finance minister said on Saturday.

Europe's carmaking crisis

Forward and reverse

Oct 24th 2012, 11:54 by P.C.

The Economist

 CAR sales in the European Union have been falling for five years, and there seems no end in sight to the slump. Official figures out a few days ago showed that registrations were down almost 11% in September compared with a year earlier. In France the fall was 18%, in Italy 26% and in Spain a staggering 37%. Britain was the only significant market to enjoy a small rise.

Euro zone seeks to give Greece more time to cut, find more money

By Jan Strupczewski

BRUSSELS | Thu Oct 25, 2012 7:13am EDT

(Reuters) - Euro zone officials are expected to press ahead on Thursday with plans to give Athens two more years to meet its budget goals as well as examine ways of closing the yawning gap in Greece's finances.

Racist attacks in Greece hit "alarming" levels: UNHCR

ATHENS | Tue Oct 23, 2012 1:29pm EDT

(Reuters) - Racially motivated attacks have risen to alarming levels in Greece and authorities are doing little to tackle the problem, the U.N. refugee agency said in a report on Tuesday.

Greece Earns A Laurel From The World Bank

By Sudeep Reddy

The Wall Street Journal

Greece has won plenty of unpleasant distinctions while struggling to right itself over the course of its three-year debt crisis. Now it has a modest achievement: It’s among the world’s most improved economies in easing the path for businesses in the country, according to a new World Bank report.