Category: Eurozone Debt Crisis
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Body Language Hints Greece Is Not For Turning / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Submissions
Anthony Alfidi writes: Tonight's NPR Marketplace broadcast repeated a Margaret Thatcher quote relevant to Greece's negotiating position: "The lady's not for turning." It is a very pithy assessment of the Greek approach to the eurogroup. The two sides met today and all public reports indicate that they have not agreed to resolve Greece's pending debt crisis. Body language can tell the story.
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Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Greece Crisis - Europe’s Political Great Rift Valley / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Raul_I_Meijer
So what happened there yesterday? What we know is that European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici delivered a communiqué, ostensibly coming from European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker – he at least knew of it – to Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who later called it ‘splendid’ and said his government had been’ happy’ with it and he had been ready to sign.
The European Commission, the day to day ‘directors’ of the EU, offered Greece four to six months of credit in return for a freeze on its anti-austerity policies. Still quite a sacrifice for Greece to make, it would seem, but they would have signed regardless.
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Tuesday, February 17, 2015
The Elegant Simplicity Of The Greek Conundrum / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Raul_I_Meijer
It’s really not that hard. It’s even elegantly simple. But that still requires you’re willing to listen, willing to think, and you don’t go into talks with your mind already made up. Obviously, that is too much to ask from the Eurogroup side of the negotiations with Greece. They haven’t been able to move one inch from their ‘Do as we say or else’ bluster.
German Fin Min Schäuble earlier implied that the Greek people have elected the ‘wrong’ government, an already unforgivable intrusion into a EU member state’s internal affairs. What if the Greeks said the same about Merkel et al, what do you think the reaction would be? Today, SPD executive board member, Joachim Poß, member of Merkel’s German coalition government, does Schäuble one better:
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Monday, February 16, 2015
A Way Forward for Greece / Personal_Finance / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Frank_Hollenbeck
The current Greek crisis is exposing the elephant in the room - a worldwide problem getting progressively worse by the day. It’s a problem that has plagued developed economies for the last two millenniums. A problem currently metastasized into a full-blown cancer before our eyes: fraudulent fractional reserve banking (see here and here).
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Four Dangerous Paths: Wargaming The Greek Crisis From A Global Investment Perspective / Stock-Markets / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Dan_Amerman
Sharp-edged Risk with a capital "R" has returned to the financial world as a result of Greek voters in overwhelming numbers electing the far left Syriza party and installing Alexis Tsipras as the new prime minister.
The investment world had in some ways grown placid since 2012, the days when the financial woes of the heavily indebted and economically troubled PIIGS (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece & Spain) dominated global financial headlines, and when a possible Greek default last threatened to bring down the financial world.
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Thursday, February 12, 2015
The Greek Issue Just Got Personal / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Raul_I_Meijer
It was already present over the past two weeks, for example in Yanis Varoufakis’ meetings with Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem and German FinMin Schäuble, awkwardly obvious in facial expressions and body language. A touch of personal discomfort. A touch of a threat that required chest-thumping and hubris to be brushed off. ‘You better do what we say or else’. Back then, perhaps it was still experienced from a political, deal-making, perspective. But in the course of yesterday it became clear something has changed.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Boris Johnson on Greece Euro-zone Crisis : "They've got to try and keep this thing together" / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Bloomberg
London Mayor Boris Johnson spoke with Bloomberg Television's Betty Liu today about Greece's future, the outlook for the U.K.'s membership in the European Union, concerns over citizens who join Islamic State, and technology in the U.K. He also shared that during his visit, he was mistaken for Donald Trump: "I was walking down, having my photograph taken just yesterday in the street in New York, and a young woman walked by and said, gee, is that Trump?"
On Greece, Johnson said: "I have a hunch 70 percent of the Greek population want to remain in the euro. The entire Greek establishment wants to remain in the euro. Everybody in power in Europe basically reckons there's nothing for it; they've got to try and keep this thing together."
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
The Euro’s Exponential Decay / Currencies / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Raul_I_Meijer
I don’t know about you, but I’m having a ball reading up on the preparations for the Wednesday/Thursday talks between Greece and .. well, everybody else. German FinMin Schäuble proudly declares that it’s do what I tell you or you’re finished, Greek FinMin Varoufakis says prepare for a clash. Greek advisors Lazard say a $100 billion debt reduction sounds reasonable, and some anonymous EU official says Lazard are incompetent and counterproductive (not smart, that).
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Syriza Defies Technocrats, US Pressures EU, Greeks Buy Gold / Stock-Markets / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: GoldCore
- Tsipras to push ahead with counter-reforms “in their entirety”
- Dijsselbloem tells Syriza it must comply with Troika this week or have funding cut from February 28th
- Varoufakis calls the Eurogroups bluff – does not believe EU would risk expelling Greece from Euro
- US apply pressure on EU to keep Greece in the fold, fears “Grexit” would push Greece into Russia’s arms
- Greeks buying gold as insurance against uncertainty
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Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Greece Dependency Has Created Dangerous Illusions / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: John_Browne
Once again the crisis in Greece is threatening the unity of the entire euro zone. Many analysts are asking what must be done to restore viability to the Union's weakest link. Lost in this discussion is that modern Greece, formed in 1830, has never really been required to stand on its own. Generations of support from abroad, typically given for strategic reasons, has created a false sense of prosperity in the country and has prevented the Greeks from accepting the realities of their current situation.
Monday, February 09, 2015
Greece Debt, Who is Accountable? / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Submissions
Raymond Matison writes: There are millions of individual and institutional investors worldwide who purchase equities and fixed income instruments. When they make a decision to purchase an investment, they hope to make a profit, but they also take on a risk of losing their money. If the stock or bond purchased loses value, it is solely the investor or lender who takes the loss.
When a family purchases a home and seeks a mortgage loan, the bank making the loan used to be at risk. That is, they made an evaluation of the borrower’s ability to repay, and used the property as collateral to secure the loan. If the loan went bad, the bank was at risk of losing money. Over the last decades, banks sell off their mortgage loans to be packaged into a security which is sold to investors, thus passing the loss risk to individual and institutional investors. It is the ultimate investor or lender who accepts the risk of loss.
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Friday, February 06, 2015
Greece To Leave The Euro or Not to Leave The Euro, That is The Question / Economics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Julian_DW_Phillips
As we watched the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister of Greece travel though Europe in a failed attempt to re-negotiate the terms of the "Bailout" it received, we find ourselves thinking quite differently to the mainstream commentators. Ours is not a jaundiced view but a realistic one. Pragmatism demands we do so. The prime underlying factors that will be brought into play are the interests of each side.
After all, countries don't have friends they have interests, even with fellow members of the Eurozone. These will dictate the result and likely the tactics on each side. We do not see these as friendly negotiations at all. For Greece the stakes are higher than they are for the E.U.
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Thursday, February 05, 2015
ECB ‘Blackmails’ Greece – “Grexit”, Bank Runs, Capital Controls and Bail-Ins Likely / Stock-Markets / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: GoldCore
- ECB ‘blackmails’ Greece – “Grexit”, bank runs, capital controls and bail-ins likely
- Shock announcement yesterday led to volatility in markets; turmoil in Greece
- Stocks, commodities including oil and Greek investments fall
- Euro gold surged from EUR 1,104 to EUR 1,126 per ounce or 2 per cent
- Greek government bonds will not be accepted as collateral in accessing cheap ECB liquidity from February 11
- Greek banks are believed to be heavily exposed to Greek government bonds
- Banks in difficulty will have recourse to Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) from Greek central bank but ECB has authority to block ELA
- Greece now shut out of markets
- ECB putting interests of banks over those of people … again
Thursday, February 05, 2015
Greece Have A Little Faith In Blotto / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Raul_I_Meijer
What, Greece again? Sorry!! But I see a lot of things flash by that make me want to say something. Today it’s the alleged 180 that Syriza made on debt reduction, before that it was their alleged kow-towing to Brussels on Russia sanctions, and tomorrow it’ll be something else again. It’s all media formatted bite-size and pre-chewed chunks, but the Greece-Troika stand-off is anything but.
Wednesday, February 04, 2015
The ECB Fears Deflation, But You Should Not / Interest-Rates / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Frank_Shostak
The European Central Bank (ECB) is planning to pump 1.1 trillion euros into the banking system to fend off price deflation and revive economic activity. The ECB president and his executive board are planning to spend 60 billion euros per month from March 2015 to September 2016.
Most experts hold that the ECB must start acting aggressively against the danger of deflation. The yearly rate of growth of the consumer price index (CPI) fell to minus 0.2 percent in December 2014 from 0.3 percent in November, and 0.8 percent in December 2013.
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Wednesday, February 04, 2015
Greece - Why There’s No Political Fix / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: John_Rubino
Tuesday’s markets really liked hearing that Greece’s new “radical-left” leaders had, once in office, backpedalled on their demand for debt restructuring. Now they apparently just want the country’s unmanageable debt to be rescheduled. See Hopes for Greek Debt Deal Rise After Athens Softens Tone.
This, of course, is just semantics. Either a big chunk of Greece’s debt somehow goes away or its economy implodes, so whatever they call the deal it will have to amount to a massive haircut if it’s to prevent a default in 2015.
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Monday, February 02, 2015
More Euro-tragedy / Stock-Markets / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Alasdair_Macleod
Despite the uncertainties ahead of the Greek general election, the European Central Bank (ECB) went ahead and announced quantitative easing (QE) of €60bn per month from March to at least September 2016. What makes this interesting is the mounting evidence that QE does not bring about economic recovery. Even Jaime Caruana, General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements and who is the central bankers’ central banker, has publicly expressed deep reservations about QE. However, the ECB ploughs on regardless.
Sunday, February 01, 2015
The German 10 Year Bund Effectively a Call Option at 30 Basis Points / Interest-Rates / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: EconMatters
Bonds are not Stocks
On Friday the German 10 Year Bund yield touched the 0.30 mark or 30 basis points, yeah that`s right the same instrument that was yielding 90 basis points in November of last year, a 140 basis points last May 2014, and 195 basis points at the beginning of 2014. It has gotten so ridiculous in the bond markets that I think investors have forgotten what bonds actually are as an asset class, they trade based on price appreciation like stocks, and this perverted mentality has completely ignored the risk component of what bonds represent as debt obligations.
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Friday, January 30, 2015
Why the European Central Bank's Massive Economic Experiment Will Fail / Interest-Rates / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Money_Morning
Peter Krauth writes: Last week, the European Central Bank's turn finally came to announce large-scale quantitative easing.
As the continent witnesses a battle between deflation and attempts at inflation, will it finally be enough?
Europe is following in the footsteps of the United States, hoping for similar "successful" results.
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Tuesday, January 27, 2015
It’s Not The Greeks Who Failed, It’s The EU / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Raul_I_Meijer
In what universe is it a good thing to have over half of the young people in entire countries without work, without prospects, without a future? And then when they stand up and complain, threaten them with worse? How can that possibly be the best we can do? And how much worse would you like to make it? If a flood of suicides and miscarriages, plummeting birth rates and doctors turning tricks is not bad enough yet, what would be?