Why Greece's spillover across euro area will probably be contained this time

(16-07-2015, 10:22 AM)BlueKelah Wrote:

(16-07-2015, 10:20 AM)yeokiwi Wrote: Got this kind of PM,

"I don't want this bailout"
"this bailout is not fair"
"I do not believe it will help Greece"
"Please vote NO in referendum"

but

"Please vote yes for this bailout"

???

got, is called the bulls**t type loh Similar to some of the PM in countries around Singapore.

I am surprised they got the vote for bailout through the parliament, it seems like all the politicians there are only interested in kicking the bucket down the road....

soon... new show(s) coming to a cinema near you...

http://www.valuebuddies.com/thread-6243-...#pid116429

Previously Alexis Tsipras choose to believe that a referendum and a strong 'no' mandate would give him more bargaining power(or it could be a strategy to buy time). But reality sunk in when Angela Merkel was prepared for greece to be out at least temporarily. And there was growing support in the rest of Eu countries to just pull the plug due to the uncooperative nature of Greece. The stark reality hits home, if EU pulls the plug, there is a high chance that Greece will be in chaos as they did not have a back up plan. It's a new government, a new finance minister, it's already a miracle they are keeping government running, they are not even prepared/ready to print the new currency if the need arises.

Very much like a child threatening to run away from home if pocket money is cut. Finally the parents say, if you want to leave, fine.
The child leaves the house for a while but figured that he could not survive on its own at this point in time with no resource.
The child comes back and agrees to whatever the parents demand.

ROFL Imagining a cartoon of Tsipras laid over Merkel's lap and getting spanked....

ok not exactly what i imagined but close enough..


source : www.zerohedge.com

Merkel maintains tough stand on Greek debt, as banks prepare to reopen
AFP JULY 20, 2015 6:55AM

Greece’s banks will reopen tonight, with more liberal withdrawal restrictions. Source: AFP

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has again ruled out forgiving some of Greece’s crippling debt but said Berlin is open to a flexible repayment plan.

Ms Merkel told public broadcaster ARD that “there can’t be a classic haircut — forgiving 30 or 40 per cent of debt — in a monetary union”.

But she noted that Greece had received other forms of debt relief in recent years including a “voluntary writedown for private creditors, extended maturities and lower interest rates”.

“We can discuss possibilities along those lines again,” she said. Ms Merkel said that such steps could only be agreed when initial terms of a new €86 billion ($126 billion) bailout package are hammered out.

Her comments came as Greece prepared to restart its struggling economy with a revamped government, a bank reboot and a new round of tax hikes agreed after months of fraught confrontation with its creditors.

Banks are set to reopen tonight (AEST) after a three-week shutdown estimated to have cost the economy some €3 billion ($4.4 billion) in market shortages and export disruption.

Crisis-hit Greeks will also have to endure widespread price hikes with a broad batch of goods and services — from sugar and cocoa to condoms, taxis and funerals — now taxed at 23 per cent, up from 13 per cent.

To sweeten the pill, the tax on medicines, books and newspapers eases from 6.5 per cent to 6 per cent.

Greeks will from tonight be able to withdraw up to €420 at once per week, sparing people the ordeal of queuing daily at ATMs in the summer heat, which thousands did for three weeks for just €60 per day.

But capital controls remain largely in place, including a block on money transfers to foreign banks and a ban on the opening of new accounts.

Greece last week had to agree to a tough fiscal package to earn a three-year bailout from its international creditors and avoid crashing out of the eurozone.

The IMF, one of Greece’s creditors alongside the EU and the European Central Bank, caused a stir this month with a bombshell report criticising the latest bailout deal and warning that lenders would have to go “far beyond” existing estimates for debt relief.

And on Thursday ECB chief Mario Draghi added his voice to calls for debt relief for Greece — whose debts amount to 180 per cent of economic output — saying the main question at this stage was what form this relief should take.

Ms Merkel handily won a German parliamentary vote on Friday to begin negotiations on a new bailout package.

But a rising number of deputies from her conservative camp have rebelled in successive votes on Greece and Ms Merkel’s hard line finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, has suggested it might be better for Greece to take a five-year “time-out” from the euro.

Mr Schaeuble said in an interview yesterday that he was prepared to resign rather than go against his convictions in the upcoming negotiations with Greece.

Asked about the comments, Ms Merkel said she and Mr Schaeuble would continue to be Germany’s negotiators in the talks.

“And I can only say that no one has come to me and asked to be relieved of his duties,” she said.

Ms Merkel said any talk of a possible “Grexit” -- Greece exiting the eurozone — was now off the table.

“What counts is what was agreed at the talks” during an emergency eurozone summit last weekend in Brussels where leaders agreed to negotiate another Greece bailout.

“Now we’ve said everything that’s to be said about that and are looking to the future.”

For the first time in months, technical teams representing the creditors — the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund — are expected in Athens next week to assess the state of the economy.

The austerity package caused a mutiny among politicians of the ruling radical Syriza party, forcing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to carry out a limited reshuffle on Friday.

Even so, most analysts and even government officials say early elections are now inevitable, and are likely to be held in September.

Mr Tsipras — who barely has time to eat or sleep, according to his mother — faces a fresh challenge in parliament on Wednesday to approve a second wave of reforms tied to its economic rescue.

Pro-government newspaper Avgi on Sunday said the vote would be a “crash test” that could even result in the prime minister’s resignation.

“If there are new losses, in whatever form, (Tsipras) will hand back his mandate,” the daily said.

Mr Tsipras’ coalition holds 162 seats in parliament, but in last Wednesday’s vote, only 123 government MPs backed the bailout — just over the minimum 120 required to sustain a minority government.

Nearly a quarter of Syriza’s politicians — 39 out of 149 — failed to support the reforms bill, which passed thanks to solid support from opposition parties.

Greece is also scheduled today to repay €4.2 billion to the ECB. For this purpose, the EU on Friday approved a short-term loan of €7.16 billion, which will also enable Athens to repay debts to the IMF outstanding since June.

AFP

Ms Merkel is a tough lady, indeed...

O$P$ - i think that is basic principle especially towards smelly legs...

(20-07-2015, 08:48 AM)CityFarmer Wrote: Ms Merkel is a tough lady, indeed...

Ideally, it should be the case, but I reckon Ms Merkel has made a much tougher decision... She persisted on her view amid peer pressure...

(20-07-2015, 08:57 AM)greengiraffe Wrote: O$P$ - i think that is basic principle especially towards smelly legs...

(20-07-2015, 08:48 AM)CityFarmer Wrote: Ms Merkel is a tough lady, indeed...

If greece thinks they can do better with 50% value of their currency, by all means, leave EU...

otherwise, continue to play this game over and over again...

at least Ms Merkel is now telling EU to prepare for Greexit in 5 years time... generous duration for greece in fact!

warren buffet what in 7 hades is he thinking he'd drunk too many cherry cokes this time, he just plonked down 15 mil euros to buy an island in greece

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-0...426104.htm

The current Greek parliament, able to move in action, if wishes. I reckon, Mr Tsipras knowing that he is doing. What is he thinking?

Greek parliament passes second crucial bailout bill

ATHENS] Greece's parliament on Thursday passed legislation on a second batch of reforms needed to help unlock a huge international bailout for the country's stricken economy.

The bill, which includes civil justice reforms, a bank deposit protection scheme and measures to shore up the liquidity of the banks, was backed by more than 170 MPs - a clear majority - as voting continued in the 300-seat parliament.
...
Source: Business Times Breaking News