Greek Financial Crisis

[daylightrobber]

From Guardian's live coverage

When the full tale of the eurozone crisis is finally written, the last hour deserves a special mention.

Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, has made a remarkable intervention into the Greek crisis in what looks like desperate, last-gasp bid to prevent the country ploughing out of the eurozone.

He has effectively told the Greek people that they are choosing between the euro and the exit door on Sunday, that their government has lied to them, and that he has been their friend and ally at the negotiating table.

Underneath it all, the desperate fear that the European project is swerving off course and about to lose its first member.

Juncker confirmed the claim that Greece’s creditors were prepared to discuss debt relief as part of a future aid deal, before Alexis Tsipras shattered hopes of a breakthrough last weekend.

A clearly wounded Juncker spoke of feeling “deeply distressed and saddened by the spectacle that Europe gave last Saturday”.

In a single night, the European conscience has taken a heavy blow. Goodwill has somewhat evaporated.

Crucially, Juncker is not offering a new compromise. Instead, he is arguing that the Commission was making a fair proposal – not “stupid austerity” – for the Greek people.

But his comments on the referendum are jaw-dropping: telling Greeks to vote Yes in Sunday’s referendum is one thing, but warning “not to commit suicide for fear of death” is another level altogether.

And he has raised the stakes in Sunday’s referendum to the highest level possible, by warning that “the whole planet” will see a no vote as a declaration that Greece wants to leave Europe.

This quote is absolutely disgusting considering the 35% rise in suicides since austerity kicked in.

 

[Frank Gallagher]

i thought this is what wonga was designed for. surely greece can just get a payday loan?!

 

[davek]

From the Telegraph of all places. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...k-debt-crisis-is-the-Iraq-War-of-finance.html

Excellent read.

 

[The Esk]

From the Telegraph of all places. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...k-debt-crisis-is-the-Iraq-War-of-finance.html

Excellent read.

Interesting article Dave. Of course though the eurosceptic right will want to push as much blame on the EU institutions as possible for their own agenda. A rare moment when the left and right draw similar conclusions as to the guilty parties albeit with entirely different motives.

 

[roydo]

Interesting article Dave. Of course though the eurosceptic right will want to push as much blame on the EU institutions as possible for their own agenda. A rare moment when the left and right draw similar conclusions as to the guilty parties albeit with entirely different motives.

But the EU institutions are to blame. 100%.

Currency union without political and economic union can not work. It is neither right not left, it is O Level Economics.

edit. But you are right that the, er, right, will use the issue to their anti EU agenda, no doubt.

 

[davek]

Interesting article Dave. Of course though the eurosceptic right will want to push as much blame on the EU institutions as possible for their own agenda. A rare moment when the left and right draw similar conclusions as to the guilty parties albeit with entirely different motives.

Oh yeah, of course. He has a dog in that other fight. Tbf to the author though, he did make that very point. I'm still amazed, 'Burkean' or not, that he's giving support to a government taking its mandate from the street so seriously.

 

[wm02]

Varoufakis is an expert in game theory. He knows what he is doing.

 

[The Esk]

Think we need a caption competition.....

 

[atrottel]

Interesting article from Nobel-Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz:
http://www.theguardian.com/business...litz-how-i-would-vote-in-the-greek-referendum

We should be clear: almost none of the huge amount of money loaned to Greece has actually gone there. It has gone to pay out private-sector creditors – including German and French banks. Greece has gotten but a pittance, but it has paid a high price to preserve these countries’ banking systems.

 

[The Esk]

Interesting article from Nobel-Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz:
http://www.theguardian.com/business...litz-how-i-would-vote-in-the-greek-referendum

I was saying this yesterday - approximately 10% has stayed in the Greek economy, the rest has been pretty much another bank bail out for German and French banks in particular. The result of which is the the "Greek" risk has been transferred from the shareholders of those banks to the taxpayers of Europe. whilst the indebtedness sits with the Greeks.

However the banks are not off Scott free - there's a great risk of contagion to other bond markets, and the elephant in the room is how much leveraged exposure through derivatives Deutsche and BNP Paribas are carrying.

 

[Toffeelover]

Terrible. As I said in my post replying to the Juncker statement, they are blackmailing the country and making attempts to discredit a legally elected government. Disgusting behaviour by all those parties.

 

[SpurtingLesbian]

 

[Tubey]

I'm actually disgusted at what is happening to Greece. A message to the EU - your own stupid currency which allowed the Greeks to be stupid with money in their own economic bubble is what caused this to happen, and as a collective it should be your collective responsibility to deal with it - not wage a financial war on a sovereign state and a freely elected government representing its' people.

The clowns are lucky people in general don't understand what has happened here or there'd be uproar.

I hope Greece walk away and give the lot of them the middle finger whilst doing so.

 

[The Esk]

Think we need a caption competition.....

Caption "We've had a call from some guy called Robert Elstone - he said he's on call if there's anything he can do to help"

 

[Frank Gallagher]

Think we need a caption competition.....

caption : 'i hear wonga just turned us down for a loan'