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

[tommy271]

Greece Hit By General Strike Ahead Of New Austerity Plan



ATHENS (Dow Jones)--Public services across Greece ground to a halt Wednesday as hundreds of thousands of civil servants, dockworkers, teachers and hospital staff walked off the job to protest new government austerity measures.
Around the country, central and local government offices were closed, hospitals and ambulance services were operating on skeleton staffs, and schools and universities were shut for the day.
Transport services were also disrupted with ferry and rail services suspended, public transport around the capital, Athens, operating on a reduced schedule, and flight operations hit by a four-hour walkout by air traffic controllers.
Journalists have also joined in the strike leading to a blackout in all radio and television news programs.
The strike, the second to be called this year by the country's two main umbrella unions, comes just days before the government is due to present parliament with EUR29 billion in further spending cuts and tax hikes to slash the budget deficit over the next five years.
"These neoliberal and barbarous policies, which are driving workers and society into poverty for the benefit of creditors and bankers, are taking us back to the last century," said public sector umbrella union ADEDY in a statement. "They must not pass!"
In May last year, Greece narrowly avoided default with the help of a EUR110 billion bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund in exchange for measures to cut its bloated budget deficit and reform its economy.
Since then, the country has cut its budget deficit by about a third, to 10.5% of gross domestic product last year, while the new measures--expected to be outlined Monday--aim to bring the deficit down to below 1% of GDP by 2015.
The measures will include some EUR15.6 billion in spending cuts, and another EUR10 billion in new taxes. Much of the spending cuts would come from reducing wage costs in the public sector, cuts in operating expenses at state-owned enterprises, and reduced defense and healthcare spending.
Greece's public sector workers--such as teachers, local government staff, workers at state-owned enterprises--have been hardest hit by the reforms so far, having already seen their wages cut by up to 25% in some cases, as well as reductions in other benefits and entitlements.
But the measures taken so far have also weighed heavily on Greece's already sputtering economy, now entering a third year of recession after shrinking a worse-than-expected 4.5% last year, and with only a modest recovery expected later in 2011.
Despite that, one recent public opinion poll shows that Greece's Socialist government enjoys some measure of support among the wider public for its reforms, even though a second poll showed that most Greeks think the government should renegotiate the terms of its bailout deal.
According to a poll published in the center-left Ethnos newspaper earlier this month, 67.7% of Greeks think that the government should proceed with economic reforms, and 63.7% supported the need for privatizations or other measures to exploit state-owned assets. A further 59.7% said they supported abolishing the current life-time job guarantee for public servants.
But a separate poll for the privately owned Mega television channel this week also showed that 60.3% of Greeks want the bailout deal renegotiated, and 26% thought Greece should scrap the program altogether and abandon the euro.

 

[tommy271]

Germany Dep Fin Min: See No EU Decisions On Greece Next Week



BERLIN (MNI) - EU finance ministers will discuss the Greek debt crisis next week, but there will be no decisions before the report on Greece by the EU, IMF and ECB is released, German Deputy Finance Minister Joerg Asmussen said Wednesday.
"There will be a debate on Greece next week, but no decision will be taken," Asmussen said at a financial industry conference here. "We will await the results of the mission" of the EU, IMF and ECB, he stressed.
Asmussen also commented on Ireland, which gets financial aid from the EU and the IMF as well.
"There is clearly positive news from Ireland," the deputy minister said. The country has made progress both on fiscal consolidation and on structural reforms, he remarked. "First quarter targets were achieved," he observed.
Asmussen once again stressed that "the sovereign debt crisis in some Eurozone countries is not a crisis of the euro, it is the crisis of the debt situation -- both public and private -- in some euro countries." The external and the internal value of the euro has remained stable, he said.
The deputy finance minister argued that the world after the crisis is "on the way to a more multipolar currency system." However, this will not take place "within days," he acknowledged. Asmussen also stressed again that "exchange rate regimes should be in line with economic fundamentals."
Turning to Germany, the deputy minister said that economic growth is encouraging, yet there exists a risk that inflation might be higher this year than the +2.25% recently forecast by the government.

 

[tommy271]

IMF/ECB/EU Representatives Start Negotiations With Greek Ministers



The troika’s top officials are expected to propose the enlargement of privatization program, reforms in public enterprises, implementation of single payroll, insurance system amendment and further additional measures.

The critical negotiations begin with the meeting with Finance Minister Giorgos Papakonstantinou and his staff. Actually, a new Memorandum of Understanding will stricter conditions is under negotiation.

The ministry is asked to agree on the key points of intervention:

-Privatization: the troika strongly resents for Greece’s inertness related to privatization of public enterprises and development of real estate assets and questions the government’s ability to raise €15b by 2013. Sources note that troika will ask for revenues through privatization in both 2011 and 2012, bypassing any “red lines” and state control in listed companies such as Public Power Corp and Hellenic Telecoms.

-Budget deficit: the €3b measures announced for 2011 will be revised to at least €4-5b, while the state deficit already amounts €1.88b in January-April 2001 period.

The implementation of all MoU measures (cutting of benefits, additional taxes in soft drinks, equation of taxation in fuel and heating oil) is considered presumed, with the wages being in the centre of attention. The single payroll, which was not included in the medium-term package, is considered a “wildcard” that would absorb the deficit’s vibrations. The troika recommends major cuts in return for the rule of 1 recruitment to 5 retirements.

-Expenditure: troika sees it as the key point of Memorandum’s success along with the fighting against tax evasion, however asking for interventions, not immediate results. An amount of €2.5b is asked to be raised through interventions in pensions and social benefits, while €2.7b and €3.5b are expected to be raised though cost cutting in healthcare and fighting of contribution evasion respectively. SOEs and public entities should proceed with cutting of costs by €4.4b in the next years.

-Reforms: troika also resents for the delays in reforms and will seek liabilities from each ministry. At the epicenter are the issues of interventions in SOEs and liberation of professions .

(capital.gr)

 

[tommy271]

La Borsa di Atene viaggia in verde con l'indice ASE a 1390 punti con + 1,51%.
Sprea/bund a 1268 pb.

 

[amorgos34]

insomma...io la mia parte per sostenere l'economia greca l'ho fatta...ora tocca a voi!
e a leggere quello che c'e' scritto sulla rivista ryanair, stanno aggiungendo molti voli verso la grecia (recently announced first route to creta and this summer we will offer 34 routes to greek airports in chania, rhodes, kos, tessaloniki and volos) quindi approfittatene!

E delle belle patatine(nonchè disponibili) che hai visto , non dici niente ?

 

[tommy271]

Eurogroup To Determine The Schedule Of Decisions On Greek Problem



Eurogroup meets next Monday to address the ineffectual effects of internal devaluation in Greece, through the revision of the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed a year ago.

“We work in quicksand, but we should have come to results before the European Summit in June”, a European Commission official told Capital.gr. The Commission has made available to the European Council several alternative “solutions” to address the problem of the Greek debt. The President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso and Commissioner Olli Rehn will brief German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday in Brussels.

However, no decisions are expected to be formulated during Eurogroup’s meeting, as both European Central Bank and EC have announced that they await for the report about the sustainability of Greek debt before deciding on any package of measures.

As the MoU had been prepared on the basis of a sustainability report, the formal admission of a review of Greek debt’s sustainability formalizes an upcoming revision of last year’s agreement.

European Commission sources argued that Greece’s situation leaves no room for doubt whether a new aid package is needed, or in other words, a revision of the Memorandum.

They also note that both Berlin and Paris use time to develop political environment to initiate the revision of last May’s agreement.

An unofficial campaign has been launched in Germany in order to influence public opinion that internal devaluation in Greece is not enough and the time given to the country to carry out an unprecedented fiscal adjustment was not enough either.

Spiegel seems to be the in the main role of this campaign, after it has caused panic with its publication about a possible exit of Greece from the euro currency.

Since its controversial publication, it promotes with successive publications in its online edition the need for activation of the Europe’s rescue fund (EFSF) in order to cover Greece’s debt maturities in 2012 and 2013.

However, all publications that promote an aid to Greece by expanding the loan by €40-50b are introduced by a comment about “real securities”, which have not been clarified yet.

But the debate has already begun and will be “summarized” in Eurogroup’s meeting, including the objections of those who were absent in last Friday’s meeting, such as Finnish, Austrian and Dutch ministers. However, their opposition is not expect to block the process as it is now clear that Europe has decided to support the euro as a whole, not just a troubled economy.

It should be noted that the addressing of the Greek problem will be included in a single framework of dealing with the debt crisis of Eurozone, including Ireland and Portugal, in order to avoid problems in the future.

(capital.gr)

 

[tommy271]

Greek Market Reclaims 1,400 Units



The General Index of Athens Exchange moves in positive territory around 1,400 units on Wednesday, following yesterday major profits.

Banks push the General Index higher, with profits of 3.4%, while ATEbank’s performance stands out with gains of 20% along with National Bank’s move to €5.22. OPAP tops FTSE20, posting profits of 5.76%.

Pushing the general index gives rise to 3.4% on banks which distinguishes the "jump" to 20.00% of ATE Bank and the EIB΄s move to the 5.22-million and the interest in purchasing securities FTSE20, as OPAP helped up to 5.76%.

“It was promising to see the momentum of large banks remaining strong throughout the session, expecting the trend to be sustained today, at least during the start”, according to Pegasus Securities.

But since March 15, upward corrections do not last and today’s objective remains the General Index’s resistance above the average of session’s range of fluctuation at the closure of the trading, according to Pegasus.

“Press reports and rumours about a new debt of €60bn-€100bn to Greece from IMF/EU/ECB benefitted Greek banks eliminating worries of a potential haircut” says Kyprou Securities in its morning report.

It remains cautious on the sentiment-driven and rumour-driven ASE, adding that lower share prices cannot be ruled out.

Across the board, the General Index is at 1,403.94, up 2.54%. The turnover stands at €57m, while a total amount of 99 shares rise, 28 decline and 39 remain unchanged.

Banks are at 1,057.09, up 3.02%. ATEbank soars with 20% up, while Proton Bank gains 12.96%. Attica Bank and Eurobank rise by 4.71% and 4.69% respectively, while Hellenic Postbank posts profits of 4.41%.

(capital.gr)

 

[silverni]

Un organismo di coordinamento europeo di bondisti greci potrebbe avviare una singola azione legale pilota contro "Der Spiegel"; la minaccia di migliaia di richieste di risarcimento danni farebbe da freno alla speculazione selvaggia e "criminale" che si è manifestata in questi giorni.


@IL MARATONETA
La mia collocazione nel tuo sondaggio sicuramente non rispecchia la mia valutazione sulle prospettive del debito greco; non saprei indicare una categoria, dato che non capisco i criteri di classificazione, comunque sono tranquillo e fiducioso nell'esito finale, qualche turbolenza intermedia fa parte del gioco.
Saluti

 

[tommy271]

I TITOLI DEI GIORNALI:

Prime Minister George Papandreou's meeting on Tuesday with President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias, Health Minister Andreas Loverdos' statements on Monday and deliberations in the EU on Greece's economic support, mostly dominated the headlines on Tuesday in Athens' newspapers.

ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: "Aroma of early elections".
AVGHI: "Government prepares the ground for a new loan and a new Memorandum".
AVRIANI: "George (Papandreou) to escape through elections".
ELEFTHEROTYPIA: "New Memorandum with 50-60 billion euros additional loan brings scent of elections".
ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: "Loverdos 'leader-like' appearance" sent ultimatum to Papandreou".
ESTIA: "PASOK (ruling party) is destroying the economy".
ETHNOS: "End to lies - Health Minister Andreas Loverdos' intervention a herald of developments".
IMERISSIA: "Solution at cliff's edge - Deliberations over Memorandum no. 2".
KATHIMERINI: "Ministers send dramatic SOS".
NAFTEMPORIKI: "New 'memorandum loan" and more difficult years".
RIZOSPASTIS: "Hurricane of new antisocial measures in view of controlled destruction of capital".
TA NEA: "George seeks clear solutions".
VRADYNI: "Ceiling on pensions".


(ana.gr)

 

[tommy271]

German Greens Likely To OK ESM, Helping Merkel Get A Majority



BERLIN -(Dow Jones)- The opposition Green party will probably vote in favor of the future European Stability Mechanism, or ESM, in Germany's parliament later this year, a senior Green lawmaker said Tuesday, easing concerns that Chancellor Angela Merkel's government would fail to get a majority.
More than a dozen lawmakers from Merkel's junior coalition partner, the Free Democratic Party, or FDP, have threatened to vote against the setting up of the ESM. Some members of Merkel's Christian Democrats also are seen rejecting the ESM, raising doubts the Chancellor could secure a government coalition majority at a vote on the ESM expected in the fall.
The Greens are inclined to support the ESM, Baerbel Hoehn, the party's deputy parliamentary leader told Dow Jones Newswires.
"One shouldn't use this issue in a populist way. We need to stabilize the euro," Hoehn said, adding that the party will also approve the bailout for Portugal in a vote Thursday.
But she added that the costs of euro-zone bailouts should be kept as low as possible for Germany.
The ESM in mid-2013 is set to supplant the euro zone's current rescue facility.
The Greens in a motion to be brought into parliament criticized the euro zone's current rescue efforts, saying countries such as Greece and Ireland, and soon Portugal, are suffocated by too high interest rates in the bailout loans. The Greens also said it should be verified whether Portugal could ease its debt by selling gold reserves.



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Soccorso Verde .