Banker's media won't let you if a default looms:
"Restructuring of Greek debt is possible" April 19, 2011|By Landon Thomas Jr., New York Times
NEW YORK — The Greeks reject a debt restructuring out of hand. The European Central Bank fears that such a move would spread financial panic. And, meanwhile, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund insist that their recipe of bailouts combined with sharp spending cuts make restructurings unnecessary.
Nevertheless, the notion keeps popping up that Greece, and perhaps even other weak European Union countries, will be forced to restructure.
Almost a year after it was saved from default by a bailout about $157 billion from its European partners and the IMF, the Greek economy continues to sag under $484 billion in debt....
The bond markets have taken note as economists, as well as German politicians, have emphasized a restructuring solution that will require bond investors and banks to take a loss on their debt holdings.
Oh, THEY NEVER WANT TO HEAR THAT! That's GUARANTEED MONEY!!
Ever notice banks and "investors" never have to take a loss, taxpayers?
All of which reflects an emerging view, although it has not yet been stated, that it makes little economic sense for the monetary fund and the European Union to keep lending money to Greece....
That's the last thing debt-burdened countries need.
Until recently, France and Germany — and especially the European Central Bank — have been adamantly opposed to any restructuring that would require investors to take “a haircut,’’ or reduced returns, because of the effect this might have on French, German, and Greek banks.
Lately, however, there have been signs that once-closed minds are opening up to alternative solutions....
With $35.6 billion that Greece must raise from the public markets in 2012, the pressure is building on Athens to find a solution that somehow shares the pain more equally.
Up to now it has only been the people.
--more--"
"Recession-wary Greece feels pinch at Easter; Usually busy retail season weakened by cutbacks enacted after ’10 bailout" April 21, 2011|By Elena Becatoros, Associated Press
Nearly a year after Greece was rescued from bankruptcy by a $160 billion international bailout, its businesses are reeling from stringent austerity measures imposed as a means to pull the economy out of its debt hole.
And you were told it was going to fix things.
In a country where the vast majority of businesses are small- and medium-sized ones employing fewer than 50 people, enterprises have been closing at an alarming rate....
So Wall Street destroyed Greece's economy, 'eh?
The austerity package was essential to overhaul the economy after years of overspending and overborrowing.
All so two-faced "investors" could get paid.
"NATO figures show that Greece spent 2.8 percent of gross domestic product on its armed forces in 2008. That makes it the most expensive military budget in Europe in per capita terms, and second only to the United States in the alliance."
Oh, but there is plenty of money for the war machine?
But the flip side has been to slash Greeks’ disposable income, which in turn has contributed to the recession.
For retailers across the country — from butchers to bakers, chocolate shops and candle-makers to shoe shops — Easter, the most important holiday in the Greek Orthodox calendar, is usually a good time of year. There are gifts to be bought for godchildren, meals of roasted lamb to be prepared for Easter Sunday, friends and family to treat....
Ruined by Wall Street's mendacious greed.
“Consumption has fallen significantly because although people are in the mood to buy, they don’t have money,’’ said Themis Matsoukas, who owns a series of shops specializing in nuts, chocolates, and traditional sweets just off the city’s main Syntagma Square. “Their wallets can cope with only the bare necessities.’’
While bankers buy thousand-dollar watches and hundred-dollar hamburgers.
The public sector is Greece’s largest employer, so measures that included public sector wage cuts have had a ripple effect on consumer spending. Businesses in central Athens have also been severely hurt by repeated road closures for frequent demonstrations — and unions have called for yet another general strike on May 11....
Yeah, BLAME the VICTIMIZED PROTESTERS for the recession!
What an a**hole media! And that strike is tomorrow -- of which the disapproving banker's media sounds weary.
Many small and medium-sized businesses “have no reason to exist, actually they have no customers any more,’’ said Vassilis Korkidis, president of the National Confederation of Hellenic Commerce, noting that many were struggling to pay increased taxes and social security contributions for their employees.
All so banker$ can get fat!
Korkidis estimated things would get worse before they get better.
“I don’t think we have reached the bottom of the barrel yet,’’ he said. “I think 2011 is going to be the most difficult year for all of us.’’
Except you know who.
--more--"
"Fears rise as S&P lowers rating on Greek debt; Austerity not bringing growth, investment" by Niki Kitsantonis and Jack Ewing New York Times / May 10, 2011
How interesting that the first section has been cut and rewritten from the print version I am staring at on the desk.
ATHENS — The Standard & Poor’s downgrade followed several days of speculation ignited by a report Friday by Spiegel Online that finance ministers from Europe's largest countries were holding a secret meeting in Luxembourg at which they planned to discuss whether Greece should leave the euro zone.
EU leaders denounced suggestions they were considering such an apocalyptic situation, and it was unclear whether the meeting in Luxembourg was secret or simply so routine to mention it to the media.
The media must REALLY THINK YOU ARE AN IDIOT to BUT THAT LAME-ASS EXCUSE!!! And then they went and CENSORED IT!
What they kept:
Analysts and investors said they did not see how Greece could get its debt under control when output is slumping and there is little sign that efforts to restructure the economy are bearing fruit.
You have been HAD, Greek citizens!
In a statement, S&P noted increasing sentiment among governments in favor of giving Greece more time to repay $115 billion in loans from the European Commission. But the commission would probably insist that private bondholders also accept slower repayment, S&P said.
Those are the kind of things that get you removed from government and leadership.
Even if creditors eventually get all of their money back, S&P said, “such an extension of maturities is generally viewed to be less favorable to commercial creditors than repayment according to the original terms of the debt.’’
In other words, the blood-sucking bastards can't wait for their payoff like you wait for a job!
How do you say guillotine in Greek?
The Greek government accused S&P of responding to market and media speculation....
Like what I'm reading?
What was added:
European political leaders as well as the European Central Bank have ruled out any kind of restructuring of Greek debt, saying it would undermine confidence in other countries like Portugal and Ireland and potentially create panic in financial markets.
Doesn't this sound like the SAME OLD CRAP THEY SOLD US when they were trying to get their initial $700 billion over here?
The strategy so far has been to play for time, in hopes that the economies of Greece, Portugal, and Ireland will recover and make it easier for them to cope with their debts.
Related: Portugal agrees to $116b bailout proposal
Also see: Poor Portugal Preyed Upon by IMF
Irish Bailout Exceeding Expectations
In Greece, the government is under pressure from its foreign creditors to raise money by privatizing state enterprises, but it is facing fierce opposition from powerful labor unions and critics within the governing Socialist party itself.
Yup, the GLOBALIST PLAN is the SAME in EVERY COUNTRY!!
A program that is expected to go before Parliament next week is ambitious. It would authorize the selling of stakes in three utilities, the Greek railway, the racetrack, and the national lottery. Also up for sale or lease are assets like disused facilities built for the 2004 Olympic Games and the site of the capital’s former airport, which the government of Qatar has expressed an interest in developing.
The government insists the privatizations will not be derailed.
Now you know who they li$ten to, and it's not citizens or voters.
The Greek labor unions, however, are determined to stop the sales, fearing that private ownership will lead to job cuts. They are lining up a barrage of protests, starting with a one-day general strike tomorrow.
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Update (just remembered it):
The Greeks Get It
Here's to the Greeks. They know what to do when corporations pillage and loot their country. They know what to do when Goldman Sachs and international bankers collude with their power elite to falsify economic data and then make billions betting that the Greek economy will collapse. They know what to do when they are told their pensions, benefits and jobs have to be cut to pay corporate banks, which screwed them in the first place. Call a general strike. Riot. Shut down the city centers. Toss the bastards out. Do not be afraid of the language of class warfare-the rich versus the poor, the oligarchs versus the citizens, the capitalists versus the proletariat. The Greeks, unlike most of us, get it."
