"The deepening public opposition to austerity is likely to pose new challenges to any administration"
But don't bet against them!
"Opportunity knocks in risky Greek bonds; High-risk strategy could be profitable" by Landon Thomas Jr. | new york times May 05, 2012
LONDON - The common wisdom holds that the new Greek government, whatever its composition, will be unable to force another round of public spending cuts on its people. That could prompt Greece to leave the euro currency union and default on its debt.
But the contrarians, who are mainly distressed-debt experts, see a buying opportunity....
Uh-oh.
To be clear: The strategy is fraught with risk. But unlike previous and largely unsuccessful hedge fund strategies that tried to control how and when Greece might pay off investors, this bet is a pure play that Greece is going to survive as a member in good standing of the eurozone nations.
Investors like Hans Humes, president of Greylock Capital, a New York-based hedge fund, are betting that a new Greek government - even if it is a coalition that includes unruly splinter parties - will have to accept demands from Europe and the International Monetary Fund that the country adopt yet another round of to-the-bone spending cuts, to secure the money it needs to survive and make good on its debts.
Yeah, Greeks know all about fascism, and this is the purest form: "market" fascism
Bond traders say that others now doubling down on Greece include. Banco BTG Pactuel, the Brazilian investment bank; Finisterre Capital, a London-based fund company that specializes in emerging markets and, in particular, Brevan Howard, one of Europe’s largest hedge funds....
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Did you know Goldman Sachs screwed Greece, because the Greek people do.
"Greeks’ wrath over bailout terms is felt at polls; Top two parties give up ground to fringe groups" by Niki Kitsantonis and Rachel Donadio | New York times May 07, 2012
ATHENS - Greece was plunged into political uncertainty Sunday after voters bolstered the far left and neo-Nazi right in a wave of protest that saw the crushing defeat of the dominant political parties they blame for Greece’s economic collapse.
The parliamentary elections were the first time Greece’s foreign loan agreement had been put to a democratic test, and the outcome was clear: a rejection of the terms of the bailout and a fragmentation of the vote so severe that the two more-established parties were scrambling to form alliances in a hung Parliament.
The elections were seen as pivotal, determining the country’s future in Europe and its prospects for economic recovery. The outcome, along with that in France, is expected to resonate far beyond Europe and possibly lead to more upheaval in the eurozone. The results were also a clear rebuke to European leaders that their strategy for Greece had failed....
See: Fallout of French Election
In a sign of the depth of the social turmoil here, early results also showed the far-right Golden Dawn Party, whose members perform Nazi salutes at rallies, pulled in 6.8 percent of the vote - compared with less than 1 percent in 2009 - enough to enter Parliament for the first time with 21 seats.
The success of Golden Dawn is the ultimate expression of a protest vote. The party has gained ground by campaigning on the streets of Athens, where many residents fear a sharp rise in illegal immigration and where politicians from mainstream parties resist treading for fear of attacks by angry voters.
The party’s leader, Nikos Michaloliakos, pledged to “fight the memorandum of the junta inside and outside Parliament,’’ referring to Greece’s debt deal with creditors....
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What the web version chopped from my printed paper:
"Sotirios Dimos, 43, an employee at an Athens post office, said he had always supported the Socialists, but he voted for Golden Dawn. “The Socialists were incapable of doing anything,’’ he said.
Yeah, what happened was the Greeks voted for "change" and elected Socialists, and then nothing changed.
The next government will have to enforce a loan agreement with its creditors – the European Commission, European Central Bank, and International Monetary Fund.
Now say sieg heil like a good collaborator and satellite.
The deal stipulates slashing $15.5 billion from the state budget over the next two years and completing a crucial bank recapitalization.
Meaning the banks will be getting that money! Un-frikkin-real!
Yet fierce opposition to the bailout terms – tax increases and wage cuts that have seen Greece’s gross national product drop 20 percent since 2009 and unemployment hit 21 percent – has led to the implosion of the Socialist and New Democracy parties, and the rise of fringe parties on both the right and the left that oppose the loan deal.
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"Greek parties fail to form government" May 08, 2012
ATHENS — Greece’s bailout creditors appeared alarmed, stressing Athens must stick to its commitments. “Of course the most important thing is that the programs we agreed with Greece are continued,’’ said Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany.
Her remarks were echoed by a European Commission spokesman, Amadeu Altafaj Tardio, who stressed the need for “full and timely implementation’’ of Greece’s agreement with international creditors....
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"Greece’s political stalemate continues as leftists rule out coalition; Stalemate fuels concerns among lenders over debt" by Niki Kitsantonis and Rachel Donadio | New York Times, May 09, 2012
ATHENS - Resisting mounting pressure from Europe to quickly resolve Greece’s political crisis, the leader of a left-wing party that placed second at the polls Sunday effectively ruled out forming a coalition with the two dominant parties, raising the prospect of new elections and increasing chances the country could default on its heavy debt load and potentially exit the eurozone.
Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the Coalition of the Radical Left, known as SYRIZA, was given a mandate from President Karolos Papoulias to try to form a government Tuesday, after the front-runner, Antonis Samaras, the leader of New Democracy, failed to do so Monday.
Yet, to the consternation of European leaders and financial markets,
Tsipras held true to his party’s platform of opposing the loan agreement
that Greece made with its so-called troika of foreign lenders: the
European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International
Monetary Fund.
He called on the two dominant parties that backed the bailout, the Socialists, led by Evangelos Venizelos, and New Democracy, to revoke the deal.
He said ominously, for European leaders hoping for a quick resolution: “The popular verdict clearly renders the bailout deal null.’’
Such statements - and the results of Sunday’s elections, in which there were a groundswell of anti-austerity votes - have worried the country’s foreign lenders, who want Greece to abide by the commitments it made in exchange for the foreign financing it needs to meet expenses....
If Greece fails to enforce the benchmark cuts and structural changes set in a second loan agreement reached in February, its lenders will withhold the next installment of aid it expects in May. Without that, it cannot pay a bond that comes due on May 17 or meet expenses past July....
Tsipras has said that he would seek to form a leftist-led government based on five points: The abolition of the debt deal with foreign creditors and all related laws that have led to pension and wage cuts; the abolition of laws overruling collective labor contracts; the introduction of changes to the political system, including greater accountability for members of Parliament; the introduction of state inspections of the banking system; and the imposition of a moratorium on Greece’s debt repayments.
I agree. Why should the Greek people -- who had NOTHING TO DO with the FRAUD perpetrated on them -- be held responsible for those debts built on fraud?
Bankers are particularly concerned about SYRIZA’s proposal to nationalize the banks as a condition of the still-uncompleted bank recapitalization, a move the party says is aimed at ensuring the banks lend to the real economy, not engage in speculation....
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"Greek Socialist leader takes turn at rescue politics; 3d bid to govern seeks a coalition with moderates" by Niki Kitsantonis | New York Times, May 11, 2012
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"Chances for Greek pact dim; Left-wing party, opposed to debt deal with creditors, blocks coalition bid" by Niki Kitsantonis and Rachel Donadio | New York Times, May 14, 2012
ATHENS - Talks to form a new Greek government appeared near collapse on Sunday after the leader of a left-wing party that favors rejecting Greece’s loan agreement with foreign creditors again refused to join a unity coalition, making new elections almost a given....
The political wrangling has again highlighted a clash between democracy and market forces.
That is QUITE a STATEMENT, huh? We here in the West were RAISED TO BELIEVE THOSE THINGS went HAND-in-HAND!!
Greece’s political parties need to form a government that both reflects the will of the people - who on May 6 largely voted against the loan agreement and would probably take to the streets if a new government did not listen - but that does not allow the country to renege on its commitments to Europe.
Yeah, they HAVE TO SERVE the BANKERS FIRST!
Sorry, but you shitters have to make a choice; it is ONE or the OTHER!
Concerned about the political instability, European leaders have warned that if Greece does not keep its promises, Europe will stop financing it, causing the country to default and exit the eurozone.
I see that as a bluff.
But Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the Syriza, or Coalition of the Radical Left, has gained momentum precisely by defying Europe’s threat.
On Sunday, he insisted that his party would not join a unity coalition with the Socialists and New Democracy, who signed Greece’s debt deal. Syriza will “not be complicit in their crimes,’’ he said. “Those that governed the past two years have not only failed to accept the message from the elections. They continue their policy of blackmail.”
“We call on all Greeks, not just leftists, to condemn once and for all the forces of the past,’’ he said, “and to realize that the only hope that is still alive in this country is to unify against blackmail and stop the continuation of this barbarism.’’
I hope he has a good security detail.
Tsipras called on the conservatives and socialists to go ahead and form a coalition with Democratic Left, a moderate leftist party that splintered from Syriza in 2010 and that maintains resistance to the debt deal as a central plank in its political platform. “They have 168 seats, they have a majority, let them proceed,’’ Tsipras said, referring to the total in Greece’s 300-seat Parliament won by the three parties last week.
In a statement, Democratic Left called Tsipras’ suggestion “slander.’’ On Sunday afternoon, a party official said Democratic Left would not change its position, because a government without Syriza would “lack legitimacy and could stoke social unrest.’’
“The rage of Syriza is such that they would not allow such a government to stand even for a day,’’ the official said, predicting a wave of sit-ins and protests led by the left-wing party.
Syriza, which placed second in the election with 17 percent of the vote and which polls indicate would place first in a new election, has become the vessel for growing anger in Greece at the two once-dominant parties, which signed the loan agreement and had their worst election showing since their founding in 1974. New Democracy placed first with 19 percent, with the Socialist Pasok party at 13 percent - compared with a combined average of 80 percent for the two parties in previous elections.
Sad for the "Socialists." The word must only be applying to their policy toward banks.
In last week’s elections, the parties that supported Greece’s $220 billion loan agreement with its so-called troika of foreign lenders - the European Commission, European Central Bank, and International Monetary Fund - shared less than 40 percent of the vote, making it nearly impossible for any future Greek government to adhere to the current agreement.
The loan agreement stipulates steep wage cuts and tax increases in exchange for $220 billion in loans and the largest debt write-down in history, and after signing it in February, the technocratic prime minister, Lucas Papademos, said, “Sadly, the only alternative to today’s agreement is a catastrophic default.’’
Related: Markets Pick Papademos to Govern Greece
Since then, Socialist Pasok and New Democracy have shifted their rhetoric, saying they would support a unity government based on maintaining the euro and enforcing the loan agreement, but renegotiating key elements, suggesting that there is room for alternatives that Papademos once excluded.
On Sunday, Antonis Samaras, the conservative leader, showed his frustration with Tsipras’ intransigence. “I made every effort to contribute to forming a unity government, but Syriza does not want to heed the popular mandate,’’ he said.
He's the one not heeding the voter's call!
He added that the Syriza leader had rejected not only the prospect of joining a unity coalition with the conservatives and the Socialists but also a second proposal to give his vote of confidence to a unity government that would exclude Syriza but that would renegotiate the debt deal.
I don't know where I'm going with the Globe.
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Where Greece is going next:
"Greek president to offer proposal for nonpolitical rule; Support grows for party opposed to bailout terms" by Marcus Bensasson | Bloomberg News, May 15, 2012
ATHENS - President Karolos Papoulias of Greece will attempt to persuade divided party leaders Tuesday to accept a government of prominent nonpoliticians to steer the country and avert new elections, as speculation grew that Greece might exit from the eurozone....
Yeah, APPOINT ANOTHER ELITIST GOVERNMENT of GLOBALIST S***S!!!
SIGH!!
“We support a government of prominent figures as a necessary solution,’’ Venizelos said in comments televised live on state-run NET TV.
$ocialist $ell-out$!
The new plan threatens to extend the political gridlock that has left the country without a government for more than a week since the inconclusive May 6 elections....
Maybe that is what the rigged-vote (cui bono?) ruling leaders wanted.
Pasok, New Democracy, and Democratic Left agreed last week on a government that would last until 2014 and be committed to keeping the country in the euro region and renegotiating bailout conditions from the International Monetary Fund and European Union to boost growth. Syriza’s Tsipras turned down the approach on Friday as the first opinion polls since the elections showed he was gaining support.
Can you NOT HEAR the GREEK PEOPLE?
Democratic Left has said Syriza must be part of any government, or give its tacit support at least, if the government is to succeed. The position was adopted by Pasok and New Democracy....
Okay, if they get one you will know $yriza $old out.
Europe must reexamine its policy of austerity and acknowledge it has failed, Tsipras said Monday in an interview with the state-run Athens News Agency. “We ask that our country remain in the euro without the catastrophic policy of austerity, and we have the solidarity of Europe.’’
They SURE DO judging by all the VOTES!
See: Czeching in on Romania
U.K. Elections and Economy
Sunday Globe Special: German Ghosts
Bankers and their elite front men ought to be scared.
Greece will run out of cash by early July if its partners decide to withhold their next aid payment.
And bring down their project?
Its biggest creditors - the European Union, European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund - could lose $640 billion if the country defaults on its debt, according to some estimates, and Greece’s departure from the eurozone could trigger economic instability around the world....
So what is this I here about $95 TRILLION in credit default swaps?
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"Greece fails to form new government, calls new elections; Increasing chance of dropping euro shakes Europe" by Anthony Faiola | Washington Post, May 16, 2012
ATHENS - The threat of a full economic collapse in Greece escalated Tuesday after warring political factions failed to forge a new government, triggering fresh elections and heightening chances that this rudderless Mediterranean nation could be forced to abandon the euro.
The political chaos was raising the stakes across Europe, with a showdown now looming between Greece and eurozone leaders led by Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, who have demanded tough belt-tightening from Athens in return for its massive international bailout.
Underscoring rising fears of a messy breakup of the region’s currency union, the euro fell Tuesday while worried investors again drove borrowing costs precariously high for far larger Italy and Spain. If Greece were to exit the euro zone, the fallout could send those costs to unsustainable levels, raising the likelihood of even more massive bailouts to prevent a further rupture of the eurozone.
Those f***er$!!!!!!!
Fearful residents in recent days have been rapidly withdrawing more of their savings from Greek banks, faces uncertain new elections in June.
Related: The Bank Runs In Greece Will Soon Be Followed By Bank Runs In Other European Nations
I better go get my pittance of a balance out of the community bank.
Opinion surveys have shown that Syriza, a party that wants to break the terms of Greece’s bailout deal and that came in a surprise second in the vote, is polling in first place.
“The Greek people, after the May 6 elections, have declared the bailout null and void,’’ Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras said after the collapse of talks Tuesday. “We have made the decision not to betray people’s expectations.’’
The Greeks are riding a wave of resentment across Europe against the austerity prescribed as the cure for the crisis, with French voters electing Francois Hollande as the first Socialist president there in 17 years. Governments have dramatically cut spending in Greece and other countries that belong to the eurozone - including Spain, Italy, and Ireland - to try to restore investor confidence in nations that drastically overborrowed and overspent during the past decade. But economists increasingly say that the cure is killing the patient, with cuts coming too fast, too soon, running the region’s economies into the ground.
Bankers don't care.
Analysts in Athens, however, say it is unclear how Greek voters will lean in the coming weeks.
No it isn't!
Polls show Greeks overwhelmingly favor keeping the shared currency. But the rigid austerity demanded by Greece’s bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund has sent unemployment soaring to 24 percent and thrown the economy into a brutal, multiyear recession with no end in sight. Effectively, Greek voters want the euro but not the tough terms of the bailout.
Yet as pressure mounts on Greece to largely abide by the rescue terms or risk ejection from the eurozone, some observers suggest voters could shift back toward the parties that support the bailout....
Translation: the NEXT VOTE will be RIGGED for SURE!!!!!!!
In the long run, most Greeks still think that remaining in the eurozone gives them a chance at monetary stability and at remaining a key part of the vision for an ever-more-integrated Europe.
I doubt it.
A return to the drachma - though it could make Greek products more globally competitive in the long term - would at least initially cause a deep devaluation that could harm living standards even more, with high inflation and interest rates.
Yeah, thanks to the damn "investors."
Related: Globe Gives Greece the Answer
There is our road, people of the world.
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You know, I actually heard the Greek budget was in good shape if it weren't for the military-industrial complex and the bankers.
Related: Greeks Got Screwed Late Last Night
"Relief" didn't last that long, did it?
