Category: Eurozone Debt Crisis
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Greek Parliamentary Debt Committee Declares All Debt Illegal / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Raul_I_Meijer
For a while now, I’ve had a German saying floating around my files, that I didn’t really know what to do with. I know now. The saying is:
In der Not ist der Mittelweg der Tod.
Which loosely translates as:
Read full article... Read full article...In emergencies, the middle ground is lethal.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
The Future of Greece and Gold / Interest-Rates / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Arkadiusz_Sieron
What are the possible scenarios for Greece and what do they imply for the gold market? The base-case scenario is that a bailout deal will be reached in coming days since no one wants the Grexit. Without the agreement, Greece would lose access to its external funding (like current bailouts funds, Eurozone’s crisis fund, IMF’s support or ECB’s Emergency Liquidity Assistance), whilst creditors risk Greece’s default, financial contagion and the loss of the euro’s prestige. However, both sides took tough positions, since Syriza does not want to disappoint its voters and does not believe in austerity policy, especially during recession, while creditors believe that the Eurozone is immune to possible Grexit. It is true that Greece and its creditors can only play the game of chicken to negotiate the best agreement and save face before their respective voters, but at this point, any mistake in negotiations can trigger a new crisis in Europe and increased volatility on the forex market. Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, June 09, 2015
Why Greece Must Leave Eurozone / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Raul_I_Meijer
French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron and German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel published a piece in the Guardian last week that instantly revived our long nourished hope for the European Unholy Union to implode and be dissolved, sooner rather than later. The two gentlemen propose a ‘radical’ reform for the EU. Going a full-tard 180º against the tide of rising euroskeptism, the blindest bureaucrats in European capitals are talking about more centralization in the EU.
Saturday, June 06, 2015
Greece’s Current Debt Problems / Interest-Rates / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Arkadiusz_Sieron
Greece is again on the brink. Hellas stood on the edge for the first time in spring 2010. In May 2010 the European Union and International Monetary Fund approved the first bailout worth €110 billion, under the condition of austerity measures. The first rescue package missed its targets as lenders’ economic forecasts for Greece were too optimistic. Therefore, in February 2012 the Troika (the Eurogroup, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund) finalized the second rescue package worth a €173 billion (including money left over from the first bailout) provided by the newly created European Financial Stability Facility. Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, June 02, 2015
Greek Government Favours Drachma - Won't Bow to Blackmail / Currencies / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: GoldCore
- Merkel, Hollande, Juncker, Lagarde and Draghi in “emergency” meeting re Greece
- Bankrupt Greece must find €1.6 billion to pay IMF in June
- First instalment of €300 million due on Friday
- Leaders of EU, IMF and ECB hold emergency summit in Brussels
- 58% of Syriza membership in favour of returning to Drachma
- Unforeseeable consequences and risks of ‘Grexit’
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Alexis Tsipras: The Bell Tolls for Europe / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: ...
MoneyMorning.com This is a letter From Greek PM Alexis Tsipras in today’s Le Monde. I have little to add, his eloquence needs few comments at this moment. One thing is certain: the negotiations will never be the same. And neither will Europe.
Friday, May 29, 2015
The Pressure Just Shifted from Greece to the US and EU / Stock-Markets / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Raul_I_Meijer
With the 3rd US Q1 GDP print coming in at -0.7% (-3% if not for inventories), perhaps the media spotlights – and lively imagination – can move away from Greece for a few weeks. The US has enough problems of its own, it would seem. For one thing, its Q1 GDP is now worse than Greece’s. Of course its debt is also much higher, just not to the IMF and ECB. But let’s leave that one be for the moment. Though a bit of perspective works miracles at times.
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Is Greece Still A Country If Someone Else Owns Its Assets? / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: John_Rubino
This story isn’t actually about Greece, but it begins there.
After the country went functionally bankrupt a few years ago, the solutions proposed by its creditors (mostly European banks and governments) included the impoverishment of its current citizens through cutbacks in wages and pensions, the impoverishment of its future citizens through the borrowing of even more money from the IMF and European Central Bank, and the sale of major state-owned assets to foreign companies to raise cash with which to make upcoming loan payments.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, May 22, 2015
One of Europe's Latest Debt Nightmares / Stock-Markets / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: EWI
Elliott Wave International's European markets expert Brian Whitmer often cautions his subscribers to beware of the pitfalls that will accompany the developing deflation in Europe.
On May 20-27, Brian is hosting a free 5-video event at elliottwave.com: Investing in Europe: 5 Critical Insights.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Greece Debt Crisis - Obama Has A Big Fat Greek Finger / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Will this Greek stuff ever stop? Probably, but don’t hold your breath. I was reading up on China, but that will have to wait till tomorrow. A friend just sent me a Sputnik story -they’re a Russian news channel, so they can’t be trusted, right?!- that adds more juice to the Syriza vs troika tale. And whaddaya know, the king of Greece leaks, Paul Mason at Channel 4, is involved once again.
Let’s do Mason first. He’s in Athens and, wait for it, he scored another leak. But not a direct leak to Mason; this one concerns a European Commission document leaked to Greek newspaper To Vima. There are some useful numbers here. Mason:
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, May 18, 2015
The IMF Leaks Greece, Institutions Forcing a Debt Default / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Whenever secret or confidential information or documents are leaked to the press, the first question should always be who leaked it and why. That’s often more important than the contents of what has been leaked. And since there’s been a lot of hullabaloo about a leaked document the past two days, here’s a closer look. Spoiler alert: the document(s) don’t reveal much of anything new, despite the hullabaloo.
Monday, May 11, 2015
New World Order - Greece Not Allowed Leave EU - Says Marc Faber / Stock-Markets / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: GoldCore
- Greece will not be ejected from the EU – Faber on CNBC
- Greek default will trigger massive losses for ECB and European banks
- Highlights geo-political impetus to keep Greece within EU, NATO fold
- Shows strategic geo-political importance of Greece in NATO’s Cold war with Russia
- China and Russia’s ever-closer relationship more important than declining UK
- “This Is A New World Order” – Dr Faber
Wednesday, May 06, 2015
German Greens Propose Radical Greek Debt Solution / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Raul_I_Meijer
In its German language edition, Der Spiegel ran a piece last night (translation is mine) about a proposal from the German Green Party (Die Grünen) to deal with the Greek debt crisis that is radically different from how its own government has so far approached the situation. The Greens are not in the Berlin government, but they are a force in German politics regardless, if only because the country loves so much to portray itself as green.
Wednesday, May 06, 2015
Yet Another Greek Secret: The Case of Greece's Phantom Assets / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Steve_H_Hanke
When banks are in distress, it is important to assess how easily the bank’s capital cushion can absorb potential losses from troubled assets. To do this, I performed an analysis using Texas Ratios for Greece’s four largest banks, which control 88% of total assets in the banking system.
We use a little known, but very useful formula to determine the health of the Big Four. It is called the Texas Ratio. It was used during the U.S. Savings and Loan Crisis, which was centered in Texas. The Texas Ratio is the book value of all non-performing assets divided by equity capital plus loan loss reserves. Only tangible equity capital is included in the denominator. Intangible capital — like goodwill — is excluded.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, April 27, 2015
Greece: Down and Probably Out / Economics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Steve_H_Hanke
Led by the charismatic Alexis Tsipras, the Syriza party took office in Athens on January 26th. The most prominent member of the new Prime Minister’s cabinet is Yanis Varoufakis, the Finance Minister. He is an economics professor, with a complete repertoire of anti-capitalist rhetoric. And with government spending amounting to 58.5% of Greek GDP, Varoufakis’ hot anti-austerity harangues have turned the meaning of the word “austerity” on its head.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
The Greece 'Grexit' Issue and the Problem of Free Trade / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: STRATFOR
George Friedman writes: The Greek crisis is moving toward a climax. The issue is actually quite simple. The Greek government owes a great deal of money to European institutions and the International Monetary Fund. It has accumulated this debt over time, but it has become increasingly difficult for Greece to meet its payments. If Greece doesn't meet these payments, the IMF and European institutions have said they will not extend any more loans to Greece. Greece must make a calculation. If it pays the loans on time and receives additional funding, will it be better off than not paying the loans and being cut off from more?
Thursday, April 16, 2015
U.S. Treasury Secretary Warns Greek Exit Will Cause Enormous Disruption and Hardship / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Bloomberg
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, spoke with Bloomberg Television's Peter Cook about ahead of the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank. Lew discussed his concerns about global growth, the strength of the dollar, and the risk posed by a possible Greek exit from the Eurozone.
On the impact of a Greek Exit, Lew said: "I think that there’s no doubt that if this leads to a crisis that -- such as Greece leaving the Eurozone, it will cause an enormous amount of disruption and hardship in Greece. I have said consistently that no one should think that all of the risk of a change like that is predictable in advance and, you know, even if the contagion risk is much less now than it was, say, in 2012 and earlier, it would not be a good thing in a world economy just recovering from a deep recession to have that kind of uncertainty introduced."
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Greece Debt Default and Drachma By End of April? / Economics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: GoldCore
- Greek government to withhold IMF payments according to the FT
- Prime Minister Tsipras denies preparing for default according to Reuters
- Government funds to run out by end of month
- Default would likely lead to “Grexit” and return to drachma
- EU may not withstand uncertainty surrounding break-up of monetary union
- Concern could trigger derivatives crisis and ‘Lehman moment’
- Like frogs in a pot of water that is very slowly coming to the boil
Friday, April 10, 2015
Euro-zone Crisis - Germany’s Trade Surplus Is a Problem / Economics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: John_Mauldin
In Code Red I wrote a great deal about trade imbalances among the various European countries, which were at the heart of the European sovereign debt problem. As the peripheral countries have tried to rebalance their trade deficits with Northern Europe and especially with Germany, they have seen their relative wages fall and deflation become a problem. Greece is the poster child.
The north-south imbalance in the Eurozone is still a problem today. In this week’s Outside the Box, I highlight a recent blog on that topic from none other than former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. He first published his blog on March 30, and it appears he is going to post to three times a week. It’s a very thoughtful commentary, and I will admit to having subscribed. He is going back to his “professor” style and communicates very clearly.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Can The Eurozone Survive? Not in Its Current Form Says PIMCO / Politics / Eurozone Debt Crisis
By: Mike_Shedlock
Echoing statements I have made many times, PIMCO says the single currency area must become a "United States of Europe" in order to secure its future.
Read full article... Read full article...