"Greece readies drastic cutbacks; Tax hikes are part of deal to win loan" by Nicholas Paphitis, Associated Press | May 1, 2010
ATHENS — Facing a dire choice of additional pain or bankruptcy, Greece yesterday heralded drastic new cuts and tax increases to win rescue loans from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund — and avoid a disastrous default on government debt.
Prime Minister George Papandreou said cuts are inevitable if the country is to keep afloat.
“The measures we must take, which are economic measures, are necessary for the protection of our country. For our survival, for our future. So we can stand firmly on our feet,’’ Papandreou said in Parliament.
And by taking these steps he has destroyed the nation.
Greece, the European Union, and the IMF are expected to complete talks this weekend over what steps Athens must take as a condition of the rescue, which would provide $60 billion in loans this year and up to a reported $160 billion over three years.
The numbers keep going up.
By the end of this series of posts it will be ONE TRILLION DOLLARS, folks.
All TAXPAYER BAILOUTS so BANKS can get their DEBT PAYMENTS!
Papandreou is widely expected to detail the cuts tomorrow, the day after a mass protest rally planned by the country’s biggest labor unions to mark May Day. Officials briefed on the negotiations say the measures will include a further slash in civil service pay, as well as state and private sector pensions, and a new hike in indirect taxes, including a 2 percentage point increase in sales tax.
“It is a patriotic duty to undertake this, with whatever political cost, which is tiny faced with the national cost of inaction . . . and indecision,’’ Papandreou said....
The leaders of the world have truly lost it.
In Italy yesterday, Premier Silvio Berlusconi said his government was preparing a decree to formalize its expected $7.3 billion contribution to the EU rescue loan. Once an agreement is in place, Germany — which, as the largest EU contributor, has insisted on strict conditions for releasing the aid — is expected to quickly push the issue through parliament so Greece can get the money to pay debts coming due May 19....
Yeah, 'cause BANKERS NEED TO GET PAID on TIME!!F*** the CITIZENS!!!
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"Dollar strengthens on Greek bailout" by Associated Press | May 4, 2010
NEW YORK — The dollar climbed yesterday as markets digested a bailout for Greece and economic reports showed broad improvements in the US economy....
European governments and the International Monetary Fund have promised to help Greece with $145 billion in emergency loans. The money is aimed at keeping Greece from defaulting on its debts and preventing its financial crisis from infecting other indebted countries as Europe struggles out of recession.
But concerns remain about the Greek government’s ability to implement the deep cuts in services and pensions while also making the tax increases needed to rein in the budget deficit. Other countries using the euro are also struggling with debt.
The euro, once seen as a viable alternative to the dollar as a reserve currency, has plunged....
Interesting.
Trading was thin Monday, with markets in the United Kingdom, Japan, and China closed for holidays.
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Better prop it up, globalpukes.
"EU to set up fund to head off fiscal crisis" by James G. Neuger and Gregory Viscusi, Bloomberg News | May 8, 2010
BRUSSELS — European leaders agreed to set up an emergency fund to halt the spread of Greece’s fiscal woes, seeking to prevent a sovereign debt crisis from shattering confidence in the 11-year-old euro.
A BAILOUT FUND!!
And save the currency, f*** the people.
Jolted into action by the sliding currency and soaring bond yields in Portugal and Spain, leaders of the 16 euro countries said the workings of the financial backstop will be hammered out before the markets open Monday.
Translation: THIS PROJECT is COLLAPSING under the MASSIVE DEBT!!
GLOBAL GOVERNMENT is FINISHED because of GREEDY BANKERS!
“We will defend the euro, whatever it takes,’’ European Commission president Jose Barroso told reporters yesterday after the leaders met in Brussels.
Europe’s failure to contain Greece’s fiscal crisis triggered a 4.3 percent drop in the euro this week and led the United States and Asia to rally around in a bid to prevent a global sovereign-debt crisis from pitching the world back into a recession....
Umm, YOU NEVER CAME OUT OF IT, world. GOVERNMENTS and their LYING MOUTHPIECES of MSM said you did, but THEY LIE!
With the euro facing its stiffest test since its debut in 1999, the summit — called to discuss longer-term efforts to coordinate economic policies — turned into a crisis-management session that dragged past midnight....
Aww, bleary-eyed globalists!!!
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"IMF approves $38.5 billion loan to help rescue Greece" by Daniel Wagner, Associated Press | May 10, 2010WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund has put up nearly $40 billion to help bail out Greece and appease investors’ fears of a spreading European debt crisis.
The IMF’s executive board met in Washington yesterday to approve a three-year, $38.5 billion loan for the debt-plagued nation, part of a $140 billion package negotiated with other eurozone countries.
With hundreds of billions in debts and a budget deficit of 13.6 percent of gross domestic product, Greece was just weeks away from default when eurozone finance ministers agreed to activate a rescue. Greece has enacted tax hikes and deep cutbacks in government spending as a condition of the bailout. The austerity measures have sparked riots and social unrest in the nation.
“The Greek government should be commended for committing to an historic course of action that will give this proud nation a chance of rising above its current troubles and securing a better future for the Greek people,’’ the IMF’s managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, said in a statement.
These looting liars will get theirs sooner than you think.
“Today’s strong action by the IMF to support Greece will contribute to the broad international effort under way to help bring stability to the euro area and secure recovery in the global economy,’’ Strauss-Kahn said....
Together, the IMF and EU bailouts give Greece enough money to avoid having to raise private funds for two years, IMF officials said. By that time, Greece hopefully will be strong enough economically to borrow through private debt markets, IMF deputy managing director John Lipsky said in a call with reporters yesterday.
Isn't that how they GOT INTO THIS TROUBLE in the FIRST PLACE!?
Earlier attempts to stabilize the Greek economy failed to reassure jittery investors, Lipsky said. He said yesterday’s action sends a signal that “the international community is willing to do whatever it takes to help Greece’s government overcome the severe challenges it’s facing.’’
And will do WHATEVER BANKS WANT THEM TO!
Eurozone ministers also met yesterday to consider other measures aimed at stabilizing global markets that were rocked last week by fears that Greece’s debt crisis will spread to other EU nations such as Portugal and Spain and hobble the global economic recovery.
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BRUSSELS — A bold $1 trillion rescue by the European Union halted the slide of the euro yesterday and sent markets soaring worldwide in a gambit that may ultimately be seen as the moment Europe truly became a union.
It is up to one TRILLION now?!!!
And LOOK at the DELUSIONAL GLOBALISTS thinking their s*** plan is now SUCCEEDING!
The sweeping cash injection was greeted with euphoria on Wall Street, where stocks rocketed to their biggest gain in more than a year.
Yeah, a BIG PILE of TAX LOOT will do that!
Still,
Yet, but, sigh....
the package did not resolve the basic dysfunction at the heart of Europe’s monetary union: Governments can still spend recklessly and saddle their partners with the bill.
Their "partners?" Other governments?
And WHO is BEHIND government wallets? TAXPAYERS!!
Hey, what is ONE MORE DECEPTION from the AmeriKan MSM!!!
The approval of a rescue package followed weeks of indecision that hammered the euro and sent world markets plunging on fears Europe’s debt contagion could spread well beyond Greece, where the crisis began several months ago....
But it's ALL FIXED NOW, right?
Of course, Greece was supposed to be fixed a month ago and HERE WE ARE AGAIN!!!
Analysts warned, however, that the emergency bailout fund would do nothing to reverse Europe’s soaring public debt — and could even worsen it.
That is what GOVERNMENTS DO: MAKE PROBLEMS WORSE!
“The last thing you give a drunk is another drink,’’ said Jeremy Batstone-Carr of Charles Stanley stockbrokers.
UNLESS he's a BANKER!!!!
“The process of providing a bridging facility for Greece and possibly other indebted nations will add significantly to regional debt and deficit ratios without actually solving the underlying problem.’’
The core problems are near-zero economic growth, high unemployment, and governments unwilling to take painful steps to get people to work more and longer.
How is THAT for a BUSINESS INSULT, 'eh, PEOPLE of the WORLD!
Yeah, YOU HAVE TO WORK HARDER and LONGER so BANKERS can LIVE IT UP!!!!!!
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But hey, who cares?
Investors applauded a $1 trillion loan package to deal with Europe’s growing debt crisis....
Of course they did; I would APPLAUD a ONE TRILLION DOLLAR GIFT from TAXPAYERS, too!!!!
Investors were relieved that, after long debate, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund agreed over the weekend to provide $960 billion to buy the bonds of debt- strapped nations and provide other relief to stabilize the banking system and help countries struggling with debt.
Yeah, as LONG as INVESTORS are RELIEVED then EVERYTHING is FINE!!!!
The move also bolstered the euro, which had been falling against the US dollar as investors worried that some countries would default on their debt payments.
“The fundamental backdrop has improved because Europe has really come through with a substantial package,’’ said Dan Peirce, vice president and a portfolio manager at State Street Global Advisors in Boston. Improvements in US employment and corporate earnings also should help strengthen investor confidence, he said. But “the volatility doesn’t look like it’s going to ease off anytime soon,’’ he said....
I'm so sick of economic shit bags shoveling shit.
Related: Executive Payday: State Street Escape
Separately, US Senator Christopher J. Dodd, the Connecticut Democrat leading the effort to overhaul regulations for Wall Street firms and banks in the wake of the financial crisis, said the Senate would hold hearings on the 1,000-point stock plunge by next week.
It is because your bill threatened to audit the Fed, Chris.
Didn't you get the message?
The market’s rebound yesterday was welcome news for investors and many companies....
Oh, well, then EVERYTHING is JUST GREAT if investors are happy!!!
Many market analysts were pointing yesterday to improving fundamentals in the economy, including a strong jobs report for April, with 290,000 jobs created. The report came out Friday but was largely overshadowed by the stock market news.
But
Still, yet, whatever. All BAD WORDS for a REPORT, according to my college writing instructor.
Europe’s underlying financial problems still pose a threat, analysts said.
“The European Central Bank put an all-in bet of $1 trillion,’’ said Bernard R. Horn Jr., president of Polaris Capital Management, a Boston investment firm. “That’s the only real news. Does it solve the problems in Greece, Portugal, Italy, and Spain? I don’t think those problems have been solved.’’
Oh, it is a BET now, huh?!!!
Rioting may stop in the streets of Greece, Horn said, but the overriding challenge remains: Governments need to cut spending.
Then END the FUCKING WARS, BANK BAILOUTS, and CORPORATE HANDOUTS then!!!!!!
“Just because the market’s up, everybody feels OK again,’’ Horn said. “The problem is, all the governments around the world are all borrowing simultaneously. The pool of savings is not as great as the demand for borrowing.’’
And the amount of money available in existence can never pay back what is owed.
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