…the turn of the century. When the banking system came close to collapse, withdrawals were banned. The peso dropped in value, leading to high inflation, after Argentina defaulted on its public debt in 2002. Recent reports have pointed towards English currency printer De La Rue as a possible source of new drachma banknotes. Director of marketing for De La Rue, Rob Hutchison, will not comment on spe…
…onger run, Greece’s economy should benefit from having a much more competitive exchange rate. But its underlying problems, including the government’s chronic overspending, may not go away. 2. Bank runs Ordinary Greeks may queue up to empty their bank accounts before they get frozen and converted into drachmas that lose half or more of their value. Depositors in other eurozone countries…
…or the Euro area as a whole.” Greece’s international lenders have agreed to take steps to reduce the country’s debts, from an estimated 144%, to 124% of its gross domestic product by 2020. These include cutting the interest rate on loans to Greece, and returning 11 billion euros to Athens in profits from ECB purchases of Greek government bonds. Ministers have also agreed to help…
…nades against demonstrators. Correspondents say this highly symbolic visit is a show of support for Greece’s continued membership of the eurozone. It comes as Greece prepares to pass new cuts of 13 billion euros ($17 billion) to qualify for more bailout cash, a policy that has sparked growing unrest. While Germany has contributed the most money to the bailout, its chancellor is held responsi…
…o. The talks come amid reports that due to the worsening state of the economy, which affects tax receipts and welfare spending levels, Greece may now need to find savings of up to 13.5 billion euros – 2 billion more than thought. Greece discussions timetable • 22 August: Greek PM Antonis Samaras meets Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker • 23 August: Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande meet • 24 Au…
to assess its progress towards reducing its huge debts Greece has promised to reduce its budget deficit to below 3% of annual national income as measured in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the end of 2014. At the end of last year, Greece’s overspend was equivalent to 9% of GDP in 2011. Successive Greek governments have managed to trim 17bn euros from government spending. That has brought th…
Greece has set the new election date on 17 June and a judge has been appointed to head an interim government. Council of State president Panagiotis Pikramenos will head the caretaker government until the election. The election date was announced after party leaders met Greek President Karolos Papoulias on Wednesday. Final talks to form a coalition failed on Tuesday, raising new concerns over Gree…
BitFloor, one of the biggest Bitcoin currency exchanges, has been taken offline after 24,000 units ($250,000) of the virtual currency were stolen from its computer servers. Bitcoins can be used for online money transfers and trades, and the currency uses cryptography to protect it. But BitFloor’s founder, Roman Shtylman, said he had kept unencrypted “keys”, which the thief acces…
…sident Karolos Papoulias is wrong.” The caretaker government was sworn in this week after elections failed to produce a viable coalition to run the country. New elections have been scheduled for 17 June. The vote could result in a government that would refuse to implement the austerity measures that Greece’s last remaining international creditors are insisting on. Speculation is increa…
…ty plans demanded by the EU and IMF in return for two bailouts. Greek president Karolos Papoulias will appoint a caretaker government on Wednesday. Karolos Papoulias will meet all political leaders at 13:00 local time on Wednesday to put in place an interim government until the new vote, which is expected to take place on 10 or 17 June. “Unfortunately, the country is heading again toward ele…
…Greek citizens. “The eurozone has shown considerable solidarity having already disbursed, together with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) nearly 150 billion Euros in support of Greece since 2010.” European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has announced that EU leaders want Greece to remain in the eurozone but to "respect its commitments" He said the EU would take act…
…221;. The Syriza party, which rejected the bailout terms and came a close second, said it would lead the opposition. With more than 99% of votes counted, interior ministry results put New Democracy on 29.7% of the vote (129 seats), Syriza on 26.9% (71) and the socialist Pasok on 12.3% (33). There are 300 seats in parliament. Greek voters went to the polls on Sunday following May’s inconclusi…
…t press ahead with the terms already agreed. The heavily-indebted country has received two massive EU and IMF bailouts – one for 130 billion euros this March and one for 100 billion euros in May 2010 – to allow it to continue payments on its vast public debt and stay in the eurozone. Cuts in public spending, benefits, pensions and public sector salaries imposed as a result of both loan…
…217;s continued access to the bailout packages depends on a favorable report from the trio, and an official report is due to be released next month. Greece is currently trying to finalize a package of 11.5 billion euros ($14.4 billion) of spending cuts over the next two years. It is also being asked to put in place economic and structural reforms, including changes to the labor market and a renewe…
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) report has revealed today that debt-laden Greece has made progress in improving its finances, but the country must do more to fight tax evasion. In a report, the IMF said Greece had made “exceptional” progress on reducing its budget deficit since 2010. But the IMF, one of the lenders that backed a bailout of Greece, said the “notorious”…
…rom the European Union and International Monetary Fund. They agreed to release 49.1 billion euros ($57 billion) after continuing austerity work by Greece, and a buyback of some of its debt. A total of 240 billion euros has been earmarked for Greece from the two bailout loans. So far, Greece has received nearly 149 billion euros ($191 billion) from the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund,…
Angie Varona has spoken at ABC News about the horror of inadvertently becoming an internet sex symbol after her online photo account was hacked. Angie Varona, 18, changed schools twice because of constant bullying after lingerie and bikini photos of her spread online in 2007 – when she was just 14-years-old. The teenager had uploaded provocative photos of herself to image-sharing website Ph…
…he pictures represented a crucial test of Britain’s free press. St James’s Palace had contacted the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) on Wednesday because it said it had concerns about the 27-year-old prince’s privacy being intruded upon, in breach of the editors’ code of practice. The palace said it had heard a number of UK newspapers were considering using the pictures, a…
…ons to take, and the sooner the better,” he said. Greece’s continued access to the bailout packages depends on a favorable report from the troika. Athens is trying to finalize a package of 11.5 billion euros ($14.4 billion) of spending cuts over the next two years. It is also being asked to put in place economic and structural reforms, including changes to the labor market and a renewe…
…han thought this year. He expects the economy to shrink by 7%, greater than the 5% forecast by the crisis-hit country’s central bank. Antonis Samaras said Greece would not return to growth until 2014. He is expected to ask for more time to repay its loans. Jose Manuel Barroso’s visit is overdue as Greeks often complain about European political leaders who spend plenty of time talking a…
…d: “Everyone should weigh their words very carefully.” Earlier, Christian Social Union leader Alexander Dobrindt, an ally of Angela Merkel, said he expected Greece to leave the eurozone in 2013. He said he saw “no way round” a Greek exit. He also called the European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi “Europe’s currency forger”. His party, a junior coali…
Olympic flame which will be used for the London 2012 torch relay has been lit during a ceremony in Olympia, Greece. The flame was kindled by a “high priestess” who captured the morning sun’s rays in a parabolic mirror. The ceremony came amid political and economic turmoil in Greece, the home of the Ancient Olympics, where a week-long leg of the relay will be held. The flame flie…
…credit rating again, citing a risk of default despite a recent debt write-off deal Moody’s said the planned debt exchange, which involves private investors of Greek debt writing off much of the 206 billion Euros in Greek bonds they hold, “would constitute a distressed exchange, and hence a default”. The agency acknowledged that the deal was necessary to help stabilize Greece. Bu…
…in six weeks, called after a 6 May vote proved inconclusive. On that occasion, each of the main parties tried but failed to form a coalition government. New Democracy is thought to have polled between 28 and 30% of votes, with 27-28% for Syriza, one exit poll carried out jointly by five polling companies for the main TV channels showed. An earlier version of the poll only 80% complete had the two…
…re banned in the two weeks before the election. Tough austerity measures were attached to the two international bailouts awarded to Greece, an initial package worth 110 billion Euros ($138 billion) in 2010, then a follow-up last year worth 130 billion Euros. While five of the seven main political groups reject the last bailout, only one – the Communists – wants the country to abandon t…
Brussels Summit: EU leaders in drive against tax evasionEU leaders at Brussels summit say they are committed to tackling tax evasion and will push for global action to curb banking secrecy. The president of the European Council,…
Venezuela's toilet paper shortage ended after National Assembly backs importVenezuela's National Assembly has backed the country’s plans to import 39 million rolls of toilet paper, in an effort to relieve a chronic shortage. Lawmakers voted to…
US immigration bill passes Senate panel with 13-5The immigration bill that would offer a chance of citizenship to millions living in the US illegally has taken a stride forward in Congress. A Senate panel voted 13-5 to…
Jose Manuel Barroso urges full tax data exchangeThe head of the European Commission has told the European Parliament he wants EU-wide exchange of income data as part of the fight against tax evasion. Jose Manuel Barroso…
Apple among America's big tax avoidersApple has been accused by US Senate of being "among America's largest tax avoiders". A Senate committee said Apple had used "a complex web of offshore entities" to avoid…
Yahoo buys Tumblr for $1.1 billionYahoo's board has approved a deal to buy New York-based blogging service Tumblr for $1.1 billion, US media reports say. The acquisition is expected to be announced as early…
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