No need to encourage uninformed minds over here.
A protesting firefighter in Athens shouted slogans condemning Greece’s austerity measures as riot police cordoned off the parliament building during a demonstration Tuesday. (Petros Giannakouris/Associated Press)
"Debt crisis harries EU summit; Falling euro also pressing leaders" by Aoife White, Associated Press | March 25, 2010
BRUSSELS — European leaders face a moment of truth at a summit today, as markets press them to come up with a financial safety net for Greece — with help from the International Monetary Fund — to stop the euro’s slide and keep debt crises from afflicting more eurozone countries.
The euro hit a 10-month low against the US dollar yesterday as leading credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings downgraded Portugal’s debt, turning up the volume on investor fears that Europe’s currency union has no way to shore up members with troubled economies.
And I thought our currency was crap!
EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called on European governments to end dithering over what to do and agree on a detailed plan of financial help for Greece. He said their response at a two-day meeting would be a test of “their commitment to European and monetary union.’’
But Germany has blocked efforts by European nations to come up with a bailout program, saying Greece is not asking for help, is not on the verge of bankruptcy, and should turn to the IMF if it cannot borrow from markets. France and some EU officials were opposed to IMF involvement.
See: European Vacation: Globalists Bail on Greek Bailout
European diplomats said frantic negotiations yesterday might result in both France and Germany softening their views and finding a solution that includes the IMF and European Union sharing the burden of a financial rescue.
As directed to by their financial overlords.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, they said Spain’s Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is heading efforts to get the 16 eurozone nations to meet separately today on the crisis surrounding Greece, along with the meeting by all 27 EU member governments.
Greece’s debt crisis has undermined the euro by showing that the rules supporting the currency have not prevented governments from overspending and running up large deficits.
Yeah, it is their fault after Goldman Sachs screwed 'em.
Athens’s woes have led to fears that other eurozone countries with troubled finances, such as Portugal and Spain, will also find themselves unable to borrow at acceptable costs.
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"Eurozone, IMF OK Greece bailout; Plan comes with strict conditions" by Aoife White, Associated Press | March 26, 2010
BRUSSELS — Greece won a major pledge of financial support from the other countries that use the euro and from the International Monetary Fund in a deal that aims to halt a government debt crisis undermining confidence in Europe’s currency union.
Also see: European Vacation: Globalists Bail on Greek Bailout
The joint eurozone-IMF bailout program comes with strict conditions and makes no money available right now. It could be tapped only if Greece or other financially troubled eurozone members cannot raise funds from financial markets....
Yeah, you always have to go to the usurious banksters first.
The deal, reached at a summit last night in Brussels, was a clear victory for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has taken a tough line on any bailout. She demanded that a rescue for Greece come only when the country runs out of other options and said it must include the IMF.
Oh, I was just there!
It was also a defeat for the French and the European Central Bank, which had opposed turning to the IMF, out of fear it would damage the euro’s prestige and show that Europe is unable to solve its own financial woes.
Yes, the globalist house-of-cards collapsing.
Greece’s financial difficulties have weighed on the shared currency, driving its exchange rate down.
Yeah, it's even lower than the stinking dollar!
It has also illustrated a basic weakness in the euro: The budget and deficit rules adopted to support it were not strong enough to prevent governments from spending their way into trouble.
With some help from Wall Street, of course.
A default — if Greece cannot raise money to pay off debt coming due this year — would be a further serious blow to the euro, and most economists and market analysts expected that the European Union would find a way to stop it. But pledges of support had been vague until now....
Greek government officials said they believe the existence of a eurozone safety net will help them borrow at lower costs....
Yup, BORROW to PAY OFF DEBT while going DEEPER into DEBT!
Yeah, that will work.
Luxembourg’s prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, who heads the group of eurozone finance ministers, said they did not agree an amount of a possible bailout for Greece. Two diplomats earlier said the total loans would be about $29 billion. All eurozone nations are pledging to help.
Eurozone nations also want to prevent debt and deficits from getting out of control again, calling for tougher rules and sanctions....
The bailout program could be used to help other vulnerable eurozone nations, such as Portugal and Spain, that have seen debts soar.
Greece needs to borrow some $71.6 billion this year and must refinance about $26.5 billion in April and May. It has been able to sell bonds but says it cannot keep paying the high interest rates investors have been demanding to compensate them for perceived risk that Greece might not pay lenders back.
So the PEOPLE that REALLY NEED the BREAK get it right up the..... !!!!
I thought we were ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!
Banks ONLY OUT for THEMSELVES, huh?
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Related: New concern about Greece snuffs out a rally
WTF?
"Plan offers Greece room to breathe" by Elena Becatoros, Associated Press | March 27, 2010
BRUSSELS — A hard-won deal to provide a safety net for Greece provided the debt-ridden country with some welcome relief yesterday, with its cost of borrowing on international markets edging down slightly and labor unions at home saying they would hold off on any further strikes — at least for now.
Prime Minister George Papandreou said that while Greece still faced problems, the new plan would give it breathing space to implement his Socialist government’s harsh austerity program, designed to reduce its massive budget deficit and pull Greece out of a financial crisis that has rocked the European Union’s common currency.
Isn't that the ANTITHESIS of what we were sold as "socialism?"
The deal agreed to on Thursday by the 16 eurozone countries would provide individual loans from other eurozone countries and funding from the International Monetary Fund, to rescue Greece if it found itself unable to borrow or pay its debts.
Dig a bigger hole; eventually you will be "rescued"
The deal was reached after months of wrangling, notably between Germany, which strongly opposed having to pay to bail out a country that had been overspending for years, and France, which argued that a eurozone member should be supported and could not be allowed to sink.
Seems like old times, huh?
"In bond sale, Greece raises $6.74b; 1st borrowing test since rescue plan" by Derek Gatopoulos, Associated Press | March 30, 2010
ATHENS — Greece raised $6.74 billion yesterday with a seven-year bond issue, in a crucial first borrowing test after the euro zone unveiled a rescue last week to help Athens cope with its acute debt crisis. But the government’s borrowing costs remain higher than it wants....
The high yield comes before April and May deadlines to refinance about $27 billion in debt, with total borrowing needs at $72 billion this year....
How is that going to help?
The issue proves Athens can still access bond markets.
Related: Municipal Bond Milking
Same thing, bigger stage.
But Greece is still borrowing money at roughly twice the cost of Germany, and the government has repeatedly warned that the high rates are unsustainable. Greece had raised nearly $7 billion earlier this month, selling 10-year bonds on a punishing yield of 6.3 percent.
Last week, the 16 euro zone countries promised loans together with funding from the International Monetary Fund, to assist Greece if it is unable to borrow or pay its debts. The European Central Bank also extended relaxed rules that keep downgraded Greek bonds eligible.
Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said he expected bond yields to come down gradually. “I think it would be a big mistake to believe that a few days after the decisions at the [EU] summit and by the European Central Bank that the bond spread would collapse. That’s not what we expected,’’ he said. “We know that the spreads will have a gradual tightening, and more or less tighten the most after Greece passes the difficult stage of April and May.’’
Greece toughened its austerity program to win over the support of European governments, announcing an additional $6.5 billion in spending cuts and taxes earlier in March, including wage cuts for civil servants that have angered unions.
The financial crisis in Greece, whose budget deficit stands at 12.7 percent for 2009 — four times over the European Union limit — has rocked the euro. Athens hopes the existence of the rescue package will restore market confidence and diminish fears of a Greek default, leading to a reduction in borrowing costs.
Government spokesman George Petalotis called the European rescue package a “significant success’’ that would hopefully deter further speculative attacks.’’
The Public Debt Management Agency had named Alpha Bank, Emporiki Bank, ING, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, and Societe Generale as lead managers for the bond issue.
And WHAT will THEY be COLLECTING for (taxpayer-funded) FEE$, huh, reader$?
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I don't know; crisis "over," according to the BG.
"T. Tzannetakis, 82, former Greek prime minister" by Associated Press | April 4, 2010
ATHENS — Former prime minister Tzannis Tzannetakis, who led a short-lived coalition government in 1989 while Greece was rocked by corruption scandals, has died. He was 82.
Another CIA-sponsored coup?
Mr. Tzannetakis’s office said he died in Athens March 25.
During his three-month tenure as prime minister, Mr. Tzannetakis headed a coalition government that included his New Democracy party and the Greek Communist Party.
Yup.
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That's why it made the CIA paper, albeit in limited form.
