Titoli di Stato area Euro GRECIA Operativo titoli di stato - Cap. 1

[tommy271]

Greek fiscal survival vital for euro zone - Finance Minister



By Dina Kyriakidou
ATHENS | Tue Jul 5, 2011 1:33pm IST

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will stave off default not only for its own sake but because its survival is vital for the euro zone and the global economy, Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told Reuters on Monday.
With help from its EU partners and fresh determination, the debt-ridden euro zone member will regain its fiscal sovereignty as soon as possible and aims to return to markets in the middle of 2014, as expected, the minister said.
"We will make it, because this is vital not only for Greece but for the stability of the whole euro zone and the global economy, because in Greece the stamina of the financial system is being tested," he told Reuters in the second part of an interview.
Appointed in a June 17 reshuffle and speaking after euro zone finance ministers approved on Saturday a critical, fifth tranche of a bailout loan to avert default, Venizelos said he was grateful to EU partners and vowed to fulfil his obligations.
He said he would redouble efforts to raise 1.7 billion euros in privatisations by September, as agreed with the EU and the IMF who pulled Greece back from the brink of bankruptcy with a 110 billion-euro bailout a year ago.
Greece must deliver 50 billion euros in proceeds from a massive and complicated state selloff by 2015, including 5 billion this year. So far, in 18 months in office, the socialists have yet to launch any privatisations.
Amid the worst recession in nearly 40 years, good news for the economy comes from the tourism sector, which makes up about 15 percent of GDP. Revenues are seen rising by about 10 percent this year after a 25 percent slump in 2009-2010, Venizelos said.
"The data we have so far from the Tourism Ministry and the Bank of Greece are encouraging that it will be a good year. Revenues will rise by about 10 percent," he said.
A tough political veteran who has held several portfolios and prepared the 2004 Olympics, Venizelos took in his stride comments by Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker that Greece's sovereignty must be severely limited during the bailout programme.
"Mr. Juncker is a great Philhellene (friend of Greece)," Venizelos said. "He doubtless wants to always help Greece and the euro zone overcome its problems and, primarily, to avoid systemic dangers.
"There is no doubt we have very tough fiscal limitations and we must restore our fiscal sovereignty as soon as possible through the successful implementation of our programme," he added.


FOREIGN INSPECTORS
Venizelos denied suggestions foreign inspectors would be placed in ministries to check progress.
"There will be no inspectors," he said. "We can all resort to the knowhow and expertise of the EU and other member states. This does not mean inspectors will be posted or that responsibilities will be removed from the Greek parliament, the Greek government or the Greek public administration."
Venizelos said selloffs and the reform of the tax system were among his top priorities and that he would lay out a detailed plan to fight chronic tax evasion and improve tax collection, which has fallen behind target, next week.
Greece has 20 days from Saturday to set up a privatisation body and Venizelos said he would unveil its board to fellow Eurogroup ministers on July 11.
"I will announce this after I complete discussions with the opposition on the 2-3 key people, because we need the widest possible consensus," he said.
The conservative opposition has opposed the bailout, drawing criticism from EU officials, but says it agrees with some parts of the privatisation plan, raising hope some political consensus can be reached.
International lenders are working on a plan to provide Greece with an additional 110 billion euros to avoid default which could hit European banks and other lenders.
Asked about a warning by the S&P rating agency that banks' plans to roll over Greek debt could be seen as default, which drove down the euro on Monday, Venizelos said it was crucial that any model included the strictly voluntary participation of private lenders.
"As markets are strict and merciless, we want the format that results from the next programme to have a shape that is accepted by markets and they react positively," he said.


***
Il resoconto Reuters dell'intervista a Venizelos.

 

[IL MARATONETA]

Non ti dimenticare Matteo 13-12, ripreso anche da Primo Levi nel suo "Se questo e' un uomo" che - se sei mio coetaneo - ti avranno certamente fatto leggere al liceo:
«A chi ha sarà dato e sarà nell’abbondanza, e a chi non ha sarà tolto anche quello che ha che ha.»

beh...su questo non posso darti torto...
ho sempre pensato che questo motto è il primo comandamento delle banche, quando devono decidere su un affidamento..

 

[Rottweiler]

Non ti dimenticare Matteo 13-12, ripreso anche da Primo Levi nel suo "Se questo e' un uomo" che - se sei mio coetaneo - ti avranno certamente fatto leggere al liceo:
«A chi ha sarà dato e sarà nell’abbondanza, e a chi non ha sarà tolto anche quello che ha che ha.»

Anche questa mi toccava sentire: Gaudente che cita il Vangelo a sostegno delle proprie tesi...

 

[tommy271]

Grecia, Bce guarderà a rating più alto per collaterale - Ft

martedì 5 luglio 2011 11:04






FRANCOFORTE, 5 luglio (Reuters) - L'istituto centrale di Francoforte accetterà titoli del Tesoro ellenici come collaterale delle operazioni di liquidità finché tutte e tre le agenzie di rating non li valuteranno come carta in default.
Lo scrive l'edizione odierna del 'Financial Times' citando una fonte del settore finanziario.
La posizione Bce manterrebbe così aperta la strada a un compromesso per la soluzione della crisi debitoria greca, dal momento che è improbabile che tutte le agenzie considerino i governativi come titoli in default una volta raggiunta l'intesa per un coinvolgimento del settore privato.
In caso Francoforte smettesse di accettare titoli di Stato ellenici si aggraverebbe nuovamente la posizione delle banche greche, che avrebbero minore accesso ai fondi Bce.
La banca centrale ha sospeso i requisiti di rating sui governativi ellenici e irlandesi, avvertendo però che in caso di mancato rispetto dei rimborsi smetterebbe di accettarli in cambio di fondi.
Francoforte guarda a quattro agenzie di rating - Standard & Poors, Fitch, Moody's e la più piccola DBRS - per determinare se accettare titoli in cambio di liquidità.
"La Bce si atterrebbe al principio di basarsi sulla migliore delle valutazioni tra le agenzie", scrive il quotidiano.
E' giunto ieri da S&P l'ultimo monito sul clima di incertezza in cui ancora versano i tentativi della zona euro di venire in aiuto alla Grecia: un salvataggio che prevedesse il rollover proposto dall'associazione delle banche francesi verrebbe considerato alla stregua di 'default selettivo'.
Più morbida è stata finora Fitch, secondo cui in caso di iniziativa simile a quella di Vienna i titoli del Tesoro ellenici verrebbero temporaneamente declassati alla categoria di 'restricted default' ma manterrebbero il rating di 'Ccc'.
Nessun commento da parte della Bce, dice una portavoce, alle indiscrezioni 'Ft'.



***
La discussione di questa mattina.
Qui in italiano.

 

[tommy271]

I TITOLI DEI GIORNALI

The internal government discord over the Medium-Term Fiscal Strategy Framework, the European Commission's report on the Greek debt and the changes in public sector as well as the draft law on Higher Education, mostly dominated the headlines on Tuesday in Athens' newspapers.

ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: "One hiring for every 5 retirements in public sector".
ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: "Additional fiscal measures target 8.1 billion euros in 2011, and not 6.7 billion presented by the government's propaganda".
ELEFTHEROTYPIA: "Higher education institutions: With 'directorate' and without asylum".
ESTIA: "(Columbia University history professor) Mark Mazower's weighty article (in NY Times newspaper)".
ETHNOS: "Seven changes in Universities and Colleges".
IMERISSIA: "Bomb to tourism - Violent incidents scared off foreign visitors".
KATHIMERINI: «First arrhythmias in Mid-Term programme".
NAFTEMPORTIKI: "Plan without result for the debt problem".
RIZOSPASTIS: "The 48-hour strike and the prospect".
TA NEA: "Mr. Rector you are fired!".
VRADYNI: "Massacre in public sector - Salary cutbacks in armed forces".


(ana.gr)

 

[tommy271]

Professions Remained Closed



The Greek state seems unprepared for the deregulation of closed professions, which began on July 2. The ministries have failed to issue on time the Implementation Act of February, which provided the deregulation of professions such as engineers, architects, lawyers, accountants, notaries and 400 more that have not announced yet by the government.

Since last Saturday, a series of restrictions have been abolished, while authorization requirements have been replaced by a 3-month notice of intent to practice so that the state can conduct screening.

1. Specific orders-decisions have not been issued regarding the deregulation of the five named professions (engineers, architects, lawyers, accountants, notaries)

2. There are no announced lists of professions which each ministry would have under supervision.

3. There are no decisions for the “barriers” in specific areas for reasons of national or public interest.

4. The issue of decisions-orders is still pending regarding the legitimacy of these barriers.

The result of these long delays is the disruption in many areas and the postponement of government’s intention to stimulate the economy and the market by removing barriers.

The issue has caused great inconvenience in specific sectors, while opposition from the taxi drivers has intensified as Infrastructure and Transport Minister Yiannis Ragkousis decided to proceed with a broader deregulation than his predecessor promised.

(capital.gr)

 

[tommy271]

East German privatization model not apt for Greece



Despite Juncker's suggestion, Treuhand had major disadvantages

By Erik Kirschbaum
The Treuhand privatisation agency set up to sell off East German state assets is being touted by Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker as a model of German efficiency that could help resolve Greek's debt crisis.
But the fire sale of communist East German industry -- 14,000 companies were sold in four years -- may not be such a shining example for Greece because the Treuhand ended up $170 billion in debt instead of an anticipated $900 billion profit.
Greek's parliament voted last week to set up a privatisation agency under austerity plans agreed with the European Union and IMF. Juncker has repeatedly portrayed the now defunct German agency as a beacon for Greece, as have Dutch leaders.
The Treuhand conducted its four years blitz disposal of East German assets from the former aviation ministry headquarters built for Hermann Goering's Luftwaffe.
Launched with great promise in 1990, it left massive debts, a legacy of bitterness after 2.5 million jobs were eliminated and wide swathes of de-industrialisation.
There are key differences between the situation of East Germany as communism imploded across Eastern Europe and the debt crisis plaguing Greece. Economists agree, however, that Germany's experience offers cautionary tales.
"It might not serve as the best model for Greece, but the Treuhand did run into a lot of unexpected and unpleasant surprises and that could happen in Greece too,» said Juergen Michels, the lead eurozone economist at Citigroup in London.
"What's similar is Greece will be selling off a very large overall package of assets,» he added. «The unknown question about it all is what are the underlying values. There are lots of question marks surrounding large loss-making companies.»
The biggest surprise was the gap between initial estimates of what East Germany's state-owned industry would be worth and the stunning amount it ended up costing reunited Germany to wind up the communist state's companies.
East Germany did have one of the strongest economies in East Europe in the Cold War and Detlev Rohwedder, a West German industrialist assigned to run the Treuhand, confidently forecast huge windfall profits from selling off East German holdings.
"The whole thing is worth about 600 billion marks ($380 billion),» Rohwedder said after being appointed by Chancellor Helmut Kohl in 1990.
The Treuhand was the brainchild of civil rights activists who toppled communism and opposed unity with West Germany. In early 1990 they proposed an agency to sell off state property, then worth an estimated 1.4 trillion Deutsche marks ($890 billion), and distribute the profits to the eastern public.
But the Treuhand had only four months from March 1 to June 30, 1990 before the convulsions of monetary union between East and West Germany made its task far more difficult.
The West German government introduced the Deutschemark at a one-to-one parity with the East German mark on July 1, 1990 instead of a much higher 5-to-1 market rate. That placed a huge burden on Treuhand industries with sky-high debt and costs.
In addition, East German firms lost their biggest market in communist eastern Europe, while their domestic customers were thirsting to buy for Western goods and know-how.
Rohwedder took charge on July 3, 1990 and quickly became a focal point of critics in the east, who described him as the callous face of Western capitalism. Angry easterners staged mass protests at the Treuhand, blaming it for rising unemployment.
Rohwedder was assassinated by suspected left-wing militants in 1991. He was succeeded by Birgit Breuel, a conservative ex-finance minister of the West German state of Lower Saxony.
When the Treuhand closed in 1994, it had run up debts of 270 billion Deutsche marks ($172 billion). Four million Germans were employed by Treuhand-owned companies in 1990 but only about 1.5 million jobs were left in 1994.
The Treuhand's failures were largely blamed on the legacy of an inefficient, bureaucratic communist economy, while its rare successes were ascribed to a group of dedicated western managers who put their careers on hold to help the reconstruction effort.
"I'd say the Treuhand succeeded by and large in its objective and did quite a good job under difficult conditions in the early 1990s,» said Ferdinand Fichtner, chief economist of the DIW economic research institute in Berlin.
"It had a huge volume of privatisations to complete in just a few years and it's got a negative image for reasons beyond its control. Eastern companies lost their business customers when demand for East German goods from the east bloc collapsed.
"I think it's wrong to blame the Treuhand for that and high unemployment,» he added, referring to the chronically high level of joblessness in eastern Germany. It has remained roughly double west German levels since 1990 and is now at 10.9 percent.
Joerg Kraemer, chief economist at Commerzbank in Frankfurt, said it was difficult to compare the Treuhand and its task with the problems facing Greece.
"It's a different issue,» Kraemer said. «The Treuhand was not trying to sell assets at the highest possible price and it wasn't primarily concerned about the fiscal budget. Its job was to sell off dilapidated communist state companies in the hope that they'd be rebuilt, restructured, and made healthy.
"Greece has a completely different objective,» Kraemer said.
Under its EU/IMF bailout programme, Athens is supposed to sell a state asset every 10 days on average.
Fichtner at DIW said he hopes the Greek sell-off will be slowed down and made more orderly with a Treuhand-like agency. He said privatisations earnings will be small compared to long term savings of newly privatised firms becoming more efficient.
"The revenues aren't going to be substantial enough to significantly reduce the debt in Greece,» Fichtner said. «In my mind, the most appealing aspect of a Treuhand-style agency for Greece is that it will slow down the privatisation process.
"If capital markets know Greece has its back to the wall and will push through sales in the short term of a year or even less, values will be destroyed,» he said. «Obviously, they'll get more if they take their time over the next few years.»
[Reuters]






ekathimerini.com , Tuesday Jul 5, 2011 (10:29)

 

[Imark]

Il giorno dopo il mercato ha continuato a mostrare OTC una intonazione positiva, anche se l'incremento dei prezzi si è smorzato notevolmente, e non è mancato alla fine qualche segno rosso.

Il contesto tuttavia ha mostrato una crescita moderata dei prezzi, compresa per la gran parte dei titoli (quelli che hanno chiuso in verde) fra 0,1% ed 1,5%.

Continua il rimbalzo dei lunghissimi, con il 2037 poco sopra i 44/100 ed il 2040 attorno a 44,5/100

Due giornate positive OTC quelle di venerdì scorso e di ieri, sia pure a piccolissimo trotto, e titoli greci tutti in recupero di qualche decimo percentuale in entrambe le sedute.

Il rimbalzo sui lunghissimi comincia a mostrare tuttavia divergenze fra i prezzi Xtrakter e quelli BBML, con i secondi che, per così dire, vanno molto più lenti.

Così il 2037 ha chiuso ieri a 44,70 (BBML) contro 45,17 (XT) mentre il 2040 ha chiuso a 44,76 (BBML) contro 45,1 (XT). Con questi prezzi, la differenza sfiora il punto pct.

Sempre piuttosto ampio lo spread bid ask, su questi titoli come sugli altri, a denotare una scarsa liquidità che, tipica dei mercati obbligazionari in questo perido, risulta tuttavia accentuata nel caso dai numerosi fattori di incertezza che permangono sulle sorti dei tds greci.

 

[Andre_Sant]

Grecia, Bce guarderà a rating più alto per collaterale - Ft

Reuters - 05/07/2011 11:04:36

FRANCOFORTE, 5 luglio (Reuters) - L'istituto centrale di Francoforte accetterà titoli del Tesoro ellenici come collaterale delle operazioni di liquidità finché tutte e tre le agenzie di rating non li valuteranno come carta in default.

Lo scrive l'edizione odierna del 'Financial Times' citando una fonte del settore finanziario.

La posizione Bce manterrebbe così aperta la strada a un compromesso per la soluzione della crisi debitoria greca, dal momento che è improbabile che tutte le agenzie considerino i governativi come titoli in default una volta raggiunta l'intesa per un coinvolgimento del settore privato.

In caso Francoforte smettesse di accettare titoli di Stato ellenici si aggraverebbe nuovamente la posizione delle banche greche, che avrebbero minore accesso ai fondi Bce.

La banca centrale ha sospeso i requisiti di rating sui governativi ellenici e irlandesi, avvertendo però che in caso di mancato rispetto dei rimborsi smetterebbe di accettarli in cambio di fondi.

Francoforte guarda a quattro agenzie di rating - Standard & Poors, Fitch, Moody's e la più piccola DBRS - per determinare se accettare titoli in cambio di liquidità.

"La Bce si atterrebbe al principio di basarsi sulla migliore delle valutazioni tra le agenzie", scrive il quotidiano.

E' giunto ieri da S&P l'ultimo monito sul clima di incertezza in cui ancora versano i tentativi della zona euro di venire in aiuto alla Grecia: un salvataggio che prevedesse il rollover proposto dall'associazione delle banche francesi verrebbe considerato alla stregua di 'default selettivo'.

Più morbida è stata finora Fitch, secondo cui in caso di iniziativa simile a quella di Vienna i titoli del Tesoro ellenici verrebbero temporaneamente declassati alla categoria di 'restricted default' ma manterrebbero il rating di 'Ccc'.

Nessun commento da parte della Bce, dice una portavoce, alle indiscrezioni 'Ft'.

 

[Imark]

Non so se è sfuggito a me (ho letto poco in questi giorni) ma è quasi passata senza commento da parte della financial press la notizia per cui l'esposizione residua delle banche tedesche ai Tds greci, quale indicata da Schauble, è oggi inferiore ai 10 mld euro, contro i 20-26 stimati dalle varie fonti giornalistiche fino a pochi giorni prima dell'annuncio.

Negli ultimi mesi, sembrerebbe, ll sistema bancario tedesco si è sbarazzato di oltre 10 mld euro di carta sovereign greca.