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Greece Ordered by EU to Uncover Swaps by End of February

February 15, 2010, 08:22 AM EST

By James G. Neuger
Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Greece was ordered by European Union regulators to disclose details of currency swaps it may have used to deal with the debts that threaten to swamp its economy.
The EU statistics office set an end-of-February deadline for Greece to provide more information on the swaps arrangements with securities firms, which do not necessarily break EU rules, European Commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj said.
Statisticians have “already requested the Greek authorities for an explanation by the end of February,” Altafaj told reporters in Brussels before tonight’s meeting of euro- region finance ministers to tackle the repercussions of Greece’s budget crisis.
The existence of the swaps, discussed by the Greek Finance Ministry in a Feb. 1 report, fueled questions about whether deals with investment banks helped Greece shroud the true extent of its fiscal woes.
“It is legitimate if the underlying exchange rates and the interest rates of such swaps are calculated from the observed market rates and this is something we will have to assess,” Altafaj said.
Eurostat, the EU’s Luxembourg-based statistics agency, polices national budgetary and economic statistics.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. was enlisted by the Greek government in 2002 to provide $1 billion through a swap agreement, Christoforos Sardelis, head of Greece’s Public Debt Management Agency between 1999 and 2004, said in an interview last week.
Lucas van Praag, a spokesman for New York-based Goldman Sachs, didn’t respond to e-mails seeking comment.
 
States to Senate: Send more federal aid

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- States are looking to the federal government for more help balancing their budgets, but the Senate is not heeding their call.
Federal aid to the states was among the top priorities in an early Senate job creation bill, as well as in a $154 billion measure passed by the House in December. But it has fallen off the list as Senate Democrats look to craft legislation that will attract bipartisan support.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., on Thursday unveiled a jobs bill that does not contain state aid. A Senate Democratic aide said Reid hopes to back a state aid measure in the future. Republican support, however, remains questionable.
Experts and state officials say they need to know now whether they'll get more funds. Governors are currently crafting their budgets and, for many, it will be their third year of contending with massive deficits due to declining tax revenues.
Big budget gaps
States are looking at a total budget gap of $180 billion for fiscal 2011, which for most of them begins July 1. These cuts could lead to a loss of 900,000 jobs, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Economy.com.
"State and local government spending is a very important driver of the national economy, especially when the private sector is faltering," said Jon Shure, deputy director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' State Fiscal Project.
To close this gap, governors and lawmakers will be forced to lay off state employees, cut services and postpone capital projects, said Michael Bird, federal affairs counsel for the National Conference of State Legislators.
In California, for instance, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing deep cuts to health care, education, the state workforce and social services programs. The governor is looking to Washington D.C. for $6.9 billion for its fiscal 2011 budget, on top of the $6 billion in stimulus funds it is using.
"We believe that providing funds to states will provide the flexibility critical to jumpstart our economy and create jobs," said Eric Alborg, communications director of the California Recovery Task Force.
Massachusetts, meanwhile, is counting on $600 million in federal Medicaid funds that have yet to be approved by the Senate. The state needs the money to close a $3 billion budget gap for fiscal 2011, which comes on top of the $9 billion deficit it has closed over the past two years.
Without that money, "everything has to be on the table," said Cyndi Roy, budget spokeswoman for Gov. Deval Patrick.
.....

Senate moves on jobs - but not state rescue - Feb. 13, 2010


Contro l'ottimismo di Obama:
"la Casa Bianca che ha presentato oggi le nuove stime per il 2010. Nel rapporto economico annuale del presidente, la Casa Bianca prevede la creazione di 95.000 posti di lavoro al mese."
 

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