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

[CityFarmer]

A view on Greek exit issue from Greenspan...

Greenspan sees Greek exit from euro as just a matter of time

LONDON (Feb 9): Greece’s exit from the euro is just a matter of time because no one wants to risk lending money to the country any more, according to Alan Greenspan.

Hours before Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was due to set out plans on how to keep his government paying its bills, the former Federal Reserve chairman said the nation’s crisis can’t be resolved as long as it remains in the single currency.

“I don’t see that it helps them to be in the euro and I certainly don’t see that it helps the rest of the euro zone,” Greenspan said in a radio interview with the BBC on Sunday.

“I think it’s just a matter of time before everyone recognizes that parting is the best strategy.”
...
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/sg/article...atter-time

[CityFarmer]

The newly on-board Greek government isn't a group of reckless politicians, base on recent observations. They might be able to fight thru a new venue for the Greece, but the challenge remains mammoth...

Merkel cool to bailout compromise as Greece said to seek bridge
By Bloomberg / Bloomberg | February 10, 2015 : 6:47 AM MYT

ATHENS (Feb 10): German Chancellor Angela Merkel signalled little willingness to compromise with Greece over the conditions attached to its bailout as the country tries to drum up support for a bridge funding plan before a euro-area finance ministers’ meeting on Wednesday.

Greece will seek about 10 billion euros (US$11.3 billion) in short-term financing as it tries to stave off a funding crunch while buying time to push its creditors to ease austerity demands, said a government official who asked not to be named because the negotiations are confidential.

While French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said Monday that “we need to put together” a plan for bridge funding, any such accord would require Germany to soften its stance in the standoff between Greece and its creditors over the conditions attached to its 240 billion-euro lifeline.

The impasse risks leaving Europe’s most-indebted state without any funding as of the end of this month, when its current bailout expires, putting Greece’s euro membership in danger.

“There is no way out” for Greece from its bailout obligations, Michael Fuchs, a deputy caucus chairman for Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union in parliament, told Bloomberg Television in an interview.

“We have a full disagreement at the moment, because what they want to do has nothing to do with all the agreements which have been made.”
...
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/sg/article...eek-bridge

[sgd]

The new greek government seems increasingly sympathetic towards moscow and anti nato.

I read the importance of Greece for nato are it's airbases and geographically the aegean sea sits at the entrance to black sea -which russia controls- nato and american naval forces in the aegean have prevented the russians from having easy access into the Mediterranean.

I think if greece leaves the eu or worse tries to exits nato membership I think there will be either a coup a war or an assasination.

[CityFarmer]

Greek government is seeking new way. It needs a master to achieve the mission...

Greece's Varoufakis seeks 'healing deal' on Monday

BRUSSELS - Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis played down a failure to reach a common position with the rest of the euro zone and said he believed a "healing deal" on Greece's finances could be reached on Monday.

Looking calm and composed after seven hours of talks in Brussels that lasted into Thursday morning, Varoufakis told reporters that the emergency Eurogroup meeting had never been intended to produce an accord but had been a good discussion.

EU diplomats said a broad common statement on finding a way forward for Greece and the euro zone had been drafted but that the Greek delegation, which consulted Athens by telephone, had not agreed to it. The radical new government insists it will not extend an international bailout that expires in two weeks but its EU partners say it must accept some conditional financing. REUTERS
http://www.todayonline.com/world/greeces...eal-monday

[CityFarmer]

China is out of the helpline, for the time being...

China says 'knows nothing' about aid offer for Greece

BEIJING - China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it had no knowledge of any offer by Beijing for aid to Greece after Greece's deputy foreign minister said China had offered economic support even though Athens had not requested it.
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http://www.todayonline.com/world/china-s...fer-greece

[sgd]

as I always say new leaders comes in always have "new vision" friend today foe tomorrow

of course china aware but maybe timing is not right so they cannot make a public record, maybe both russia and china waiting outcome of talks between greece and brussels. If talks fails out with the old in with the new of course getting help from russia and china comes with strings attached maybe economic or security strings or maybe even both.

China is out of the helpline, for the time being...

China says 'knows nothing' about aid offer for Greece

BEIJING - China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it had no knowledge of any offer by Beijing for aid to Greece after Greece's deputy foreign minister said China had offered economic support even though Athens had not requested it.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/world/china-s...fer-greece

[sgd]

wahahaha ... internal affairs

Of course, it clearly wouldn't be the US which would never act against the interest of its European "allies", so the real threat was very clear: converting Greece from a member of the Eurozone to an expansion of the Eurasian economic zone and a landing pad for both Russia and China into Europe. This is also a possible outcome we hinted at two weeks ago in "Putin's Unexpected Victory: Europe Furious That Greece Is Now A Russian Sanctions Veto."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-10...a-or-china

[CityFarmer]

In short, there is a room for negotiation...

Greece and Germany are working towards a compromise

BRUSSELS (Feb 13): Greece and Germany are pursuing a deal on the conditions required to continue the Greek bailout as each side signals a willingness to compromise, according to government officials taking part in the talks.

Germany won’t insist that all elements of Greece’s current aid program continue, said two officials in Berlin.

As long as the program is prolonged, they said, Germany would be open to talking about the size of Greece’s budget surplus requirement and conditions to sell off government assets.

For its part, Greece is prepared to commit to a primary budget surplus, as long as it’s lower than the current 4 percent of gross domestic product, according to Greek government officials.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s coalition also might be willing to compromise on privatizations, one of the officials said.

All the officials asked not to be named because the deliberations are private and ongoing.
...
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/sg/article...compromise

[CityFarmer]

An interesting read on the topic. I like the statement, "Every (advanced) country has realised that making capitalism work requires giving individuals a fresh start."

Yes, I agree on the "fresh start". The privilege of a fresh start, shouldn't come, before exhausted the means to protect the right of creditor, IMO. I reckon this is what the bankruptcy act is doing...

You Say Debt Relief, I Say Theft

As someone who sides with Germany in the matter of Greek debt, I often hear that creditors should be held culpable for driving deadbeats like Greece to the brink of bankruptcy. That's true to an extent, but not when the debtor is a government. Nation-states have confiscatory powers that allow them to do to their creditors what medieval kings did to their Jews. It's a big mistake to pretend that a country like Greece is more vulnerable than it really is.

Nobel prizewinning economist Joseph Stiglitz eloquently described the concept of lenders' fault in a recent column:

Debts are contracts -- that is, voluntary agreements -- so creditors are just as responsible for them as debtors. In fact, creditors arguably are more responsible: typically, they are sophisticated financial institutions, whereas borrowers frequently are far less attuned to market vicissitudes and the risks associated with different contractual arrangements... Every (advanced) country has realised that making capitalism work requires giving individuals a fresh start. The debtors’ prisons of the 19th century were a failure -- inhumane and not exactly helping to ensure repayment. What did help was to provide better incentives for good lending, by making creditors more responsible for the consequences of their decisions.
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http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/20...-say-theft

[specuvestor]

It takes both hands to clap. I reckon those who borrow is as much accountable vs those that lend. There will be huge repurcussions if favor is tilted towards the borrower. OTOH consumer protection is not about protecting the borrower, it is to protect the weaker party.

Able to have a fresh start is not a capitalist idea. Survival of the fittest and weeding out the weaker is. Idea of giving everyone a chance, fresh start and equal footing is the basis from education to death tax. When enough people think there is "no way out", things will happen