This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Futures Fizzle After Greece "Hammered" In Riga, Varoufakis Accused Of Being "A Time-Waster, Gambler, Amateur"
Even though no rational person expected that the Greek situation would be resolved at today's talks in Riga, Latvia, apparently the algos were so caught up in spoofing each other to new record highs that futures, after surging once more overnight following the latest Google miss which sent the company and the Nasdaq soaring, actually dipped modestly into the red following headlines that the latest Greek talks have broken down after a "hostile" Troika "hammered" the Greek finmin, who was accused by European finmins of "being a time-waster, a gambler and an amateur."
It appears Europe is not a fan of game theory.
Bloomberg has the best summary of the latest Greek "negotiation" farce, all of which at this point serves only to kick the can not by months but by weeks until Greece runs out of confiscated money and is forced to either fold completely to Troika demands, leading to new elections or a referendum or conclude its pivot to Russia, setting off the next phase of the second cold war:
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis was heavily criticized by his euro-area colleagues amid mounting frustration at his refusal to deliver measures to fix his country’s economy and release financial aid, according to three people familiar with the talks.
Euro-area finance chiefs said Varoufakis’s handling of the talks was irresponsible and accused him of being a time-waster, a gambler and an amateur, one of the people said. Another said the Greek complained of the hostile atmosphere in the meeting, as he was criticized from all sides. A Greek official in Riga, Latvia, for the meeting wasn’t able to comment on the talks when reached by phone.
Going into the talks, the 19-nation bloc’s finance ministers voiced their frustration over Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s attempt to bypass their veto on financial aid with an appeal to Angela Merkel. “I demand very urgently that we get results on the table,” Austrian Finance Minister Hans Joerg Schelling said before sitting down for talks. “If you follow the media of the past days you hear time and again that ‘Tsipras says’ and ‘Tsipras thinks’, so apparently this has been moved to leaders’ level.”
With Greece running out of money and stalling over commitments to reform, euro-zone finance chiefs said the country’s authorities still haven’t shown sufficient progress on plans to revamp the economy to justify a loan payout.
Tsipras sought to circumvent the finance ministers’ authority less than 24 hours earlier, pleading his case with the German Chancellor and French President Francois Hollande on the sidelines of a summit on immigration in Brussels. Under euro-area procedures, it’s the finance ministers who have to sign off on any aid disbursement and Merkel said last month she’s not prepared to override those controls.
It could have been worse: someone could have literally beaten up VaroufakisL
- SCICLUNA: INSTITUTIONS BEING PUSHED TOWARD HOSTILITY ON GREECE
End result of today's meeting?
- MOSCOVICI SAYS FAR FROM A GLOBAL AGREEMENT ON GREECE
- DIJSSELBLOEM SAYS BIG, BIG PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED FOR GREECE
- DIJSSELBLOEM SAYS WIDE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GREECE, CREDITORS
- DIJSSELBLOEM: ASSESS GREECE AGAIN AT REGULAR MAY MEETING
Even the "apolitical" ECB hinted that stories leaked earlier of a surge in the collateral haircut may come true in the coming days:
- DRAGHI: ECB MAY EXAMINE CHANGE IN HAIRCUTS FOR GREEK FUNDING
So with Greece again achieving nothing, and not securing any new funds (aside from the cash it confiscated from its mayors), expect another round of pivoting toward Russia, which will promise much in exchange for the Turkish Stream deal being concluded and assuring that European energy needs are "met" courtesy of Gazprom for the next decade while leaving Ukraine in gas transit limbo.
Expect the brief bout of Greek euphoria which sent Greek banks surging, i.e., Piraeus Bank: +16.6%, AlphaBank: +9.2%, National Bank of Greece: +9.6%, to promptly fizzle following this latest disappointment. The Euro is already feeling the brunt of the algo disappointment, and after surging over 1.08 on another stop hunt just before the Europen open, the EURUSD has pared nearly all its gains.
Elsewhere in Europe, on a stock specific basis, HSBC (+3.2%) has also been in the spotlight with the Co. contemplating whether it should move its headquarters away from the UK, with China a touted possibility. AstraZeneca (-3.1%) announced their earnings pre-market and have traded lower throughout the session as profits were negatively impacted as two of the Co.’s bestselling drug patents are due to expire and competition from generic sales.
Today’s pre market US earnings include: LyondellBasell (LYB), with results expected to show an increase in profits as a consequence of capacity expansion and management comments on potential buybacks and M&A deals; Biogen (BIIB), as investors eye Q1 financials after the drug maker reported positive updates in Alzheimer's and MS and American Airlines (AAL), where focus will fall on PRASM outlook for Q2 to see if the airline will continue to experience improving margins.
In fixed income markets, Bunds (159.02) are underperforming USTs amid the strength in equity markets, while the GR/GE 10yr spread is tighter by around 10bps today ahead of the aforementioned European Finance Minister meeting.
Asian equities mostly rose with Chinese bourses at the forefront, in the wake of further disappointing Chinese data. Chinese HSBC flash Mfg PMI fell tumbled to a 12-month low at 49.2 vs. Exp. 49.6, the 4th consecutive month of contraction. Shanghai Comp (-0.5%) and Hang Seng (-0.2%) traded higher, the latter posting a fresh 7yr high, as the data supports the case for more government easing, before falling from their best levels towards the close to end the session in negative territory. Nikkei 225 (-0.5%) originally rose higher than yesterday’s 15yr peak after finishing yesterday’s session above 20,000 for the first time since Apr’00, before falling in tandem with the Shanghai Comp and Hang Seng prior to the close.
The energy complex sees Brent crude futures outperform their WTI counterparts and trade above the USD 65.00 handle, bolstered by ongoing Saudi strikes in Yemen, with the ongoing conflict inciting fears that supply from the region could be affected. Elsewhere, in the metals complex, copper is the best performer today as May’15 futures contracts broke above their overnight range of USD 2.70, while iron ore is on track to rise for the third consecutive week. UK miners Anglo American (+2.1%) and BHP Billiton (+1.8%) have outperformed on the back of commodity strength, with the latter announcing BHP Billiton announced they are curbing plans to expand.
In Summary: European shares remain higher, though off intraday highs, with the bank and telco sectors outperforming and insurance, media underperforming. German IFO above estimates. HSBC starts review over where to be headquartered. Euro-zone finance ministers meet in Latvia today. Greek finance minister heavily criticized by his euro-area colleagues, according to three people familiar with the talks. The Spanish and Italian markets are the best-performing larger bourses, Swiss the worst. The euro is stronger against the dollar. Japanese 10yr bond yields fall; Portuguese yields decline. Commodities gain, with corn , WTI crude underperforming and nickel outperforming. U.S. durable goods orders, capital goods orders due later.
Market Wrap
- S&P 500 futures up 0.1% to 2108.5
- Stoxx 600 up 0.5% to 409.1
- US 10Yr yield little changed at 1.96%
- German 10Yr yield down 0bps to 0.16%
- MSCI Asia Pacific up 0.3% to 155.7
- Gold spot down 0.2% to $1191.6/oz
- Eurostoxx 50 +0.7%, FTSE 100 +0.5%, CAC 40 +0.6%, DAX +0.8%, IBEX +1.4%, FTSEMIB +1.3%, SMI +0.2%
- Asian stocks rise with the ASX outperforming and the Sensex underperforming.
- MSCI Asia Pacific up 0.3% to 155.7; Nikkei 225 down 0.8%, Hang Seng up 0.8%, Kospi down 0.6%, Shanghai Composite down 0.5%, ASX up 1.5%, Sensex down 1.1%
- Euro up 0.28% to $1.0854
- Dollar Index down 0.2% to 97.08
- Italian 10Yr yield up 1bps to 1.41%
- Spanish 10Yr yield little changed at 1.37%
- French 10Yr yield little changed at 0.42%
S&P GSCI Index up 0.2% to 435.9 - Brent Futures up 0.8% to $65.3/bbl, WTI Futures down 0.4% to $57.5/bbl
- LME 3m Copper up 1.2% to $6014/MT
- LME 3m Nickel up 1.7% to $12925/MT
- Wheat futures down 0% to 501.3 USd/bu
Bulletin Headline summary from Bloomberg and RanSquawk
- USD (-0.4%) has been the notable mover of the session so far, with the greenback paring all overnight gains to the benefit of major pairs, despite the USD moving off its worst levels later in the session.
- EUR saw strength this morning after positive German IFO and a relatively conciliatory tone ahead of today’s Eurogroup Finance Minister meeting, however comments heading into the North American crossover have been less optimistic and EUR gains have been capped by the large option at 1.0900 (713mln) set to expire at today’s NY cut
- Looking ahead, today sees US Durable Goods Orders (1330BST/0730CDT), comments from BoC’s Poloz and developments from the European Finance Minister meeting
- Treasuries steady overnight, head for weekly decline; market focus on Fed meeting next week, 2Y/5Y/7Y note auctions.
- Euro-area finance chiefs said Greek FinMin Varoufakis’s handling of talks was irresponsible and accused him of being a time-waster, a gambler and an amateur, according to people familiar
- Another said the Greek complained of the hostile atmosphere in the meeting, as he was criticized from all sides
- Eurogroup head Dijsselbloem says no chance of aid without comprehensive deal; Draghi says ELA will continue as long as Greek banks are solvent
- HSBC Holdings Plc is reviewing whether to move its headquarters out of Britain after more than two decades because of rising tax and regulatory costs
- Germany’s Ifo institute business climate index rose for a sixth month to 108.6 from 107.9 in March. The median estimate was for an increase to 108.4, according to a Bloomberg survey of 36 economists
- BoJ policy makers are likely to forecast that inflation will reach 2% and hold that level for two straight years from the year starting in April 2016, said people familiar with central bank’s discussions’’
- Meiji Yasuda Life, Japan’s third-largest life insurer. plans to boost unhedged foreign bonds by over JPY1t in FY2015, it says in outline of investment for the year started April 1
- A slew of negative stories raised yet more questions over donations to the Clinton Foundation and hefty speaking fees paid to Bill Clinton during his wife’s tenure as secretary of state, a steady rumbling that could prove detrimental to her presidential aspirations
- Sovereign bond yields mostly higher. Asian stocks mostly lower, European stocks, U.S. equity-index futures gain. Crude oil mixed, gold lower, copper higher
US Event Calendar
- 8:30am: Durable Goods Orders, March, est. 0.6% (prior -1.4%)
- Durables Ex-Transportation, March, est. 0.3% (prior -0.4%, revised -0.6%)
- Cap Goods Orders Non-def Ex Air, March, est. 0.3% (prior -1.4%, revised -1.1%)
- Cap Goods Ship Non-def Ex Air, March, est. 0.3% (prior 0.2%, revised 0.3%)
DB's Jim Reid completes the overnight recap
Despite risk assets shrugging it off, it was hard to ignore the softer data coming out of the US yesterday. The flash manufacturing PMI print of 54.2 fell 1.5 points from the March reading and was also below market expectations of 55.7. New home sales for March attracted plenty of attention as the -11.4% mom (vs. -4.5% expected) was the single largest monthly decline since July 2013. The oil-sensitive Kansas City Fed manufacturing activity index for April declined for the fourth consecutive month to a lower than expected -7 (vs. -2 expected) and the lowest since May 2009. Employment data was the lone bright spot yesterday with initial jobless printing another sub 300k print (295k), keeping the four-week average at 285k. Yesterday’s weaker data in fact means that the Bloomberg US economic surprise index has struck a fresh 6-year low after a modest rebound earlier in the month. The big release today is the often volatile durable goods orders and it’ll be interesting to see what we get as analysts firm up their Q1 GDP expectations ahead of next Wednesday. Just on that, it’s interesting to take an early look at expectations for the reading. With median estimates currently running at an annualized +1.0%, it’s the range that’s fairly impressive with analyst expectations anywhere from +0.1% to +1.7%. With the Atlanta Fed GDPNow model running at +0.1%, it’ll be an important release given the now data dependent Fed.
Moving on and in terms of earnings yesterday, it was a relatively mixed session as investors digested results out of Caterpillar (beat), Proctor and Gamble (miss), 3M (miss), PepsiCo (beat) and Dow Chemical (beat) in particular. There were some encouraging signs from earnings reports after the bell however as Microsoft and Amazon in particular reported above market, while Google rose 4% in after-market trading. We’ve highlighted the stronger Dollar effect this reporting period which again was highlighted in a lot of the management calls after, however it was also interesting to hear both PepsiCo and Caterpillar highlight weaker demand out of emerging markets, with both noting the instability in Brazil as a cause for concern. Caterpillar in fact also cautioned for a somewhat bleaker outlook for the remainder of the year, suggesting that demand in the remaining three quarters this year will be lower than Q1, with the impact from the downturn in oil markets potentially being felt more in the next quarter.
Having coming close to testing the 2% level intraday, Treasuries eventually ended 2.1bps tighter at 1.958%. The Dollar was a notable decliner meanwhile as the DXY finished 0.67% weaker for its second consecutive day of declines. CDX IG (-0.23bps) was a touch tighter but the main news in credit came post US close when AT&T announced that they had sold $17.5bn of debt in the third largest corporate bond offering on record and second biggest this year.
Elsewhere, a bounce yesterday in oil markets certainly aided energy stocks (+0.62%) as both WTI (+2.81%) and Brent (+3.38%) finished higher – the latter reaching a new YTD high. The news yesterday that a Saudi Arabia led coalition has resumed airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen – after previous reports that they were halting the strikes – probably contributed with reports on Reuters suggesting that forces would continue to target the movements of the rebels.
Closer to home yesterday, the damper tone was largely as a result of some disappointing PMI indicators for the region. For the Euro-area a 0.3pts fall in the manufacturing print and 0.5pt fall in the services print caused to the composite to fall to 53.5 (vs. 54.4 expected). Regionally, it was a similar story as Germany’s composite fell 1.2pt to 54.2 (vs. 55.6 expected) and France’s composite reading dropped 1.3pts to 50.2 (vs. 51.8 expected). Our colleagues in Europe noted, however, that although the fall was disappointing, the Euro levels generally remained above their Q1 averages and are about in line with their GDP forecasts for Q1 (+0.5% qoq) and Q2 (+0.4% qoq). They also noted that the relative resilience of the Euro area PMIs compared to Germany and France, suggest that economics outside of the ‘big two’ performed well on average in April. Wrapping up the data, UK retail sales were slightly disappointing with both the headline (-0.5% mom vs. +0.4% expected) and ex-autos (+0.2% mom vs. +0.5% expected) coming in below market.
Continuing the theme of late, Greece remained firmly in the headlight yesterday. Ahead of today’s Eurogroup, headlines on the wires suggesting that Greek PM Tsipras is urging an acceleration of talks with creditors and claiming that ‘a big part of the distance has been covered’ in particular attracted some attention, however we still remain cautious around these sorts of headlines with comments from Euro officials conflicting. European Commission Vice President Dombrovskis said yesterday that ‘progress is not good’ and that ‘it will apparently take more time’ while another EC member, Katainen, noted that ‘you cannot negotiate if you don’t trust’. With the Eurogroup meeting today however, it’ll be interesting to see where talks currently stand.
Despite the fall most European equity markets yesterday, Greek equities (+2.39%) closed higher with the headlines yesterday while 3y (-242bps), 5y (-139bps) and 10y (-52bps) yields all rallied in hope. The Euro was also a beneficiary, finishing 0.92% higher. Elsewhere, bond markets took something of a breather in Europe after the huge moves on Wednesday as 10y yields in both Germany and France closed unchanged at 0.163% and 0.412% respectively. Peripherals were a tad more mixed as Portugal (-3.0bps) and Spain (-0.6bps) closed tighter, while Italy (+1.5bps) widened.
Taking a look at today’s calendar, the only notable release in the European session this morning is the German IFO survey for April. The Eurogroup meeting in Riga and the associated commentary surrounding Greece will require a lot of attention meanwhile. The aforementioned durable goods orders in the US this afternoon will be of much focus, we’ll also get capital goods orders at the same time. Earnings wise it’s the turn of American Airlines and Xerox.
- 31579 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -


Nahh, he's a nice guy
See for yourself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afl9WFGJE0M
Diesselbloom hopefully understand the consequences of derivatives being unleashed ...
on a more substantive comment: until August Greek loans were being paid by new loans, that way the original 2.5 billion borrowed from Goldman to enter into EU become 400-500 billion today.
From August on, the loans have been paid by Greek taxpayers and real money collected ... by now, they have collected all money from local government etc. etc. have turned greece upside down looking for pennies ... now it seems is time for game over.... my bet is that it has been a plan all along affecting matters much bigger than Greece....
as they used to say in ancient rome ... let the games begin ... to spice it we got all kind of other crisis coming up anywhere ... you pick the place
So discussions are improving ...
They will eat themselves sooner or later.
That’s what parasites do.
or kill their host.
Throw those pathetic Greeks out of Europe already. It´s a worthless third world country and the Greeks are notorious liars and cheaters alltogether. They just don´t belong to Europe.
Okay, but don't cry to us when half the banks in Europe go mammaries dorsal.
I don´t care about banks. And Germany´s economy is not dependent on financial services at all.
Just say "tango uniform", OK?
Varoufuckaduckis will probably hang from a rope
a time-waster, check,
a gambler, check 2,
and an amateur ? Do they mean he wasn't trained by the squid?
YV is a pussy!
Fine: "Tits Up!"
Or, in this nutters case, "On the Fritz!"
You, sir, are a boon to the hashish industry, and thus a taxpayer, and thus on the hook for bailing out your financial services sector, whether you need them or not.
Really? Now, let´s see what is happening in that case.
"And Germany´s economy is not dependent on financial services at all."
keep telling yourself that
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-04-28/elephant-room-deutsche-banks-75...
but they are dependent on exports, particularly to the rest of Europe
Less and less so. Who cares about export that aren´t paid?
The plug on Cyprus (aka bail-in) was pulled only after fixed term bonds held by German and French banks had been paid back.
So what you going to do with all refugees you sent to Greece coming from your destruction in the southern Mediteranian once the greeks move out? Liberate them once again, twice baked type thing? You live in a sick world because you come from a sick world.
Step one. A wall around Greece. Step two. For the rest: 8 * 57 Infantrie, spitz.
A wall could get very expensive, especially given most of Greece's boundaries are water. And eventually you'll run out of people with wealthy relatives who can pay EUR100,000 for an exit visa. It didn't solve the Soviet Zone's money problems by a long shot.
I don't suppose you've considered gas? I hear it works wonders. Might make a perfect solution to the Greek problem.
Try a mexican wall first, if you don't succeed, don't try in Greece.
Under normal circumstances Grexit would be imminent. But what is normal in todays finances?
Your hate and racial discrimitation against Greece and the people of Greece will not save you. History will decide who is the liar and cheater. Cheaters are SIEMENS and Eldorado Gold Inc, who have evaded billions of tax in Greece of their Greek operations with the blessings of the FM ministers of their respective countries, Germany and The Netherlands, at the same time that they force Greek people to pay all their taxes !! How ironic? You are certainly giving the best example !!! . Liars are BILD who abstain to tell the public about the rate of interest of capital imposed on the Greek loans. Only Germany has made a profit of 80 bn EUR in the last 5 years by lending Greece with 35% interest (!!!), not to say about the Credit Loan the NAZI Germany took for the Bank of Greece and never returned !! UP TO NOW GREECE HAS PAID ALL OBLIGATIONS TO IMF, ECB, AND EC UNINTERAPTEDLY !! Not even 1 installment delayed ! Anyways, I will not spend more time to deal with you, we have a saying in Greece and you are ...fool of it. :)
Lol, i don´t hate Greeks, i just don´t like their general attitude and lifestyle. And you´re giving a pretty good example of the notorious lying Greeks usually do. After they are out of the EU and the Euro i couldn´t care less what they are doing. Join the Turks, or the Russians or apply for membership to the African Union. Just get out of my EU, the Greeks have no clue how to act and behave in a union of western states and never will.
Your hate and racial discrimitation against Greece and the people of Greece will not save you. History will decide who is the liar and cheater. Cheaters are SIEMENS and Eldorado Gold Inc, who have evaded billions of tax in Greece of their Greek operations with the blessings of the FM ministers of their respective countries, Germany and The Netherlands, at the same time that they force Greek people to pay all their taxes !! How ironic? You are certainly giving the best example !!! . Liars are BILD who abstain to tell the public about the rate of interest of capital imposed on the Greek loans. Only Germany has made a profit of 80 bn EUR in the last 5 years by lending Greece with 35% interest (!!!), not to say about the Credit Loan the NAZI Germany took for the Bank of Greece and never returned !! UP TO NOW GREECE HAS PAID ALL OBLIGATIONS TO IMF, ECB, AND EC UNINTERAPTEDLY !! Not even 1 installment delayed ! Anyways, I will not spend more time to deal with you, we have a saying in Greece and you are ...fool of it. :)
Derivatives and CDS are only important if you still naively believe that the rule of law will be followed. The fact is the rule of law was officially killed in 2008 with TARP and the boondoggle that allowed the bailouts of AIG, GE Capital, Government Motors, Fannie & Freddie, etc. This was doubled down on the world stage with the bail ins for Cyprus. The rule of law is dead. These motherfuckers will never execute Derivatives and CDS because they know that will destroy their Ponzi. So they will just violate the law by dictating to their minions the politicians to write new laws that bail them out. A never ending kick the can scenario. TBTF is global and there is no stopping it until there is revolution because people are starving in the streets.
«A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person or to a group of persons while himself deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses.»
more at Fred & EntendanceInvestors Beach
While criminals people are the ones that think that fixing a country problem means throwing more citizens out of work and force more IMF loans on a country unable to pay . Not only criminals in the EU but also reckless thieves .
For God's sake Varoufakis, grow some balls.
DavidC
He's got at least one ball ... atop his neck.
Just because he refuses to bow down to the demands of the bankers and sign a death deal for this people, he is being called names now.
Exactly why SYRIZA should simply get out, default on 100% of the debt and tell the bankers to go fuck themselves, creating total mayhem all over global markets.
completely disagree. particularly on "the demands of bankers", where you should note that it's countries, not banks that hold the vast majority of the Greek Sovereign Debt
and those same countries aren't asking for any interest on this debt until 2023, which makes Varoufakis trying to solve Greece's future problems instead of the present problems, imo
is he putting the Greek Finance Ministry in order? is he making sure Greeks have fair taxes, and that those taxes are collected? he is, after all, the Greek Chief TaxMan, besides being an EuroCrat among enraged EuroCrat collegues
Varoufakis should tell all the countries that lent Greece more money at "gun-point" to solve a DEBT problem (albeit at 0% interest) to fuck themselves.
Default on 100% of it and play some Kamakazie Economics.
Huge El oh EL at your "fair taxes" comment.
Fair taxes would be spending tax money in your home jurisdiction. Currently Greece is shipping a ton of its tax revenue North in the form of interest payments, and the North is shipping a ton of cash South in the form of bailouts. Both peoples are getting butt-fucked and the only people benefitting are the assclowns in Brussels & the Bankers in FFM, London & New York.
which North? just asking if you did the math of who is paying what to whom. but again, does V have the authority of reneging any debt? no
He is the Finance Minister. In the Parlimentary System, the Prime Minister is just the "first of equals." Technically, within Greece's Parlimentary system, the Finance Minister is the head of the Government's finances, and is held to account by the government through the Parliment. Thus, it is his peragotive to renig on the debt or not to, and if the Parliment doesn't like it, they can replace him with someone else who will.
that's a huge misunderstanding you have on the "prerogatives" of the Executive Power. The Executive follows and applies the law. Debt, particularly sovereign debt, is written in law . In other words, it's legitimate
so no, he has no authority on reneging any sovereign debt. That's purely a matter for the Legislative
perhaps your misunderstanding stems in the use of the word "Government". in the US, it means all three branches. in Europe, we use it for the "Administration" only
I completely understand how the term "Government" in Rainbowland and in the USSA differs.
He is part of the Greek ekecutive branch. He is not the executive, there is no "the" executive in a Parlimentary system. While Greece's parliment agreed to the reforms required to secure financing through the bailouts, the terms of the Greek bills control.
The order sent through Parliment contained the terms "are to be repaid" referring to the obligations of the Greek state. You are 100% correct. However, Pensions and salaries are also, per various other acts of Parliment "are to be repaid." So if you have $200 in obligations and $150 in cash, in a parlimentary system, and the executive is compelled by the parliment to pay both -- this is where executive perogative comes in.
He can either choose which one gets paid, or he can go to the Parliment and ask for their advice through legislation as to the payment priority between the two obligations which he is already required to repay.
E.g., in a Parlimentary system when the executive is required to act in two mutually exclusive ways stemming from Parliment, is exactly what the perogative is for. We aren't talking about delegation or even secondary legislation, but the executive is chared with executing the laws of the land in a Parlimentary system.
I agree on all your above comments. Just one little correction.
Yes, there is ‘an executive’ in a parliamentary system. It’s the elected parliament itself – those who makes the rules/the laws that the ministries implements. Minister actually means servant of the people – the one who carry out the orders of the parliament (the “executive”).
"The executive" = "The majority" (in a parliamentary system).
You should remember that all sovereign lending is unsecured regardless of the sovereign-in-question's government structure. Per your comment, all Greece's legislature has to do is pass a law making said debt illegitimate, and it therefore is.
No, Varoufakis does not personally have the power to do this, but in this case that seems to be a distinction with very little difference. All my humble opinion, I know very little about various government forms in Europe and I stand to be corrected.
Targaryen, you wrote exactly what I'd have written, thnx. At the moment, Greece owes to Troika, not the banks, but that is because the Troika paid the banks with the bailout money, and now they want Greeks to pay them. If Greece says fuck off, they'd have bailed out their own banks, which is not Greece's problem at this point.
and all this hides a lot of the IMF's doings under the umbrella of "The Troika", and forgets one little thing: was anyone... forced?
but even more important: what is the state of the Greek banking system?
so again: Varoufakis stated job is to care about tax collection, setting up a budget, caring for the financial state of Greece in general, including it's banking system
is he doing all that? or does he and his cabinet minister collegues prefer to grandstand on something that would have time until 2023? just asking
of course, if the whole purpose of the commentariat is to cheer for something to go "WHAM!", then Varoufakis is doing a terrific job
Whether or not anyone was forced is NOT the problem here. What V needs to do in Greece regarding tax collection, and budget is NOT the issue either, you are distorting the discussion. V CANNOT fix Greek economy before the impossible debt burden is removed, whatever he does. If I knew as a Greek that my taxes would be used to pay the Troika, I would not pay a penny.
Posted above, but once again:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/04/23/are-eu-officials-plotting-regime-...
"Whatever anyone might say about the responsibility of prior governments for the initial recession (one that the United States and almost all of Europe shared), it was the troika (the ECB, European Commission, and IMF) that turned it into a Great Depression for Greece. They really should accept some responsibility for the current situation, instead of simply insisting that the Greek government continue with a failed program as if there had been no election."
This is the whole point Ghordius.
"V CANNOT fix Greek economy before the impossible debt burden is removed"
first, is his job to fix the economy? second, is debt without interest a burden?
yes, there has been an election. but no, I do not see a Greek law passed about that debt. I'd like to see a draft budget, nevertheless
"second, is debt without interest a burden?"
Come on Ghordo, you are better than this. Would you have a burden if you owed 180% of your annual income with 0% interest? (Not that the Greek debt has 0% on it anyway)
"that it's countries, not banks that hold the vast majority of the Greek Sovereign Debt"
Yeah Ghordius. That is because EU countries and EU taxpayers bailed out German and French banks that made bad investments in Greece. Did you ever get bailed out by your country after you made a bad investment? I didn't.
Sounds like rogue capitalism to me. You know, the one that privatizes profit and socializes debt.
your comment has some merit. Ireland was a case in point, imho. That damn Anglo-Irish Bank should have be let to default
nevertheless, rogue or not, capitalism starts with respecting contracts, doesn't it? but again, my point here is that the Greek Finance Minister has a job, and that job, in regard to defaulting on sovereign debt, consists in advising the Greek Parliament, not deciding it
meanwhile, is he doing the main part of his job as descripted?
Ghordo, I've directly asked you this question a few times before, and you have yet to ever answer it without a question in reply. (Aka lacking basic humanity 101)
If Greece leaves the EUR, and blows up the whole system, will you come back on here and admit you were wrong, or will you just never come back?
yes, I'll be back (Terminator voice) in such a case. or anyway. though the thing I'm missing is the "blows up the whole system". which system? there are several ones, and some are in competition with each other
as I wrote elsewhere, Greece could find itself with a Drachma backed 1:1 with USD, as Hong Kong. how would the esteemed commentariat judge such a case?
I would love to watch the Greek central bank try and maintain a 1:1 peg against the USD.
the way Hong Kong does it it's easy and straightforward. take in one dollar, issue one HKD
nevertheless, my question is still there: would it be better or worse?
Contracts are a big part of the problem, once under a deadline haste starts making waste which leads to a speedy insanity that vaccums up all in it's sphere. Stay away from contracts, a handshake and product made with integrity will bring back the customer, low prices will keep them there. Anything less is, well, unsustainable.
a handshake and a transactions are contracts, too. sustainability of contracts is not a legal matter
No it isn't, but the contract and law firms that go with it and enforce it, are. The handshake and superior product need no firms and therefore reduce the cost of the superior product in the long run, in the short run, waste away.
My comment has a lot of merit. Capitalism starts with trusts. Contracts are just a manifestation of that. Germand and French banks made 'contracts' with a basketcase country while they knew it was a basketcase but still they continued. Why? Because they knew about the 'contract' (old boys network contract) they had with the EU. That the EU would bail them out.
"consists in advising the Greek Parliament, not deciding it". Like that works in the EU? Where does the EP ever gets consulted on financial issues? Oh right, on the EU budget that has never been approved ever by the EP but still gets put into action.
Shouldn't the EP decide on bailouts? I have the impression it are the EC, the council of ministers and the ECB that do that. Any EP involvement is just a smoke screen.
My feeling is that the EP is pretty powerless and it is the EC that decides everything. The MEPs get rewarded though for their services to the EC and their masters for legalizing the corporate takeoever of Europe. This week the MEP gave themselves an increase of their monthly 'expenses'. On top of their 8,000 Euro monthly salary they get a whopping 21,000 Euro to 'maintain their office and pay their staff'. Plus 300 Euro per day for every day they show for work (except they don't have to punch out).
In all honesty, the only "power" the EP has is it can veto a bill on the third reading in the parliment, but thereafter the EC can still override it.
Thus, the EP has about as much power as the Soviet Duma did.
Yep, and the EC is the politburo. Except they work for corporations and lobbyists instead for some marxist clique that controlled the means of production. The means of production (whether industrial or financial) controls them. There is a term for that.
You will find that out when they will push TTIP down our throats. Say goodbye to your social, labour and environmental rights. And the EU council can then also pack their bags because commercial tribunals will 'scrutinize' if national and EU legislation do not go against commercial interests of corporations. If they do, fat compensation needs to be paid.
Here more on that:
http://corporateeurope.org/pressreleases/2015/04/ttip-leak-eu-proposal-u...
the European Parliament is a bit of a special case. It has very few powers, because it's junior to all the others. Among the powers the EP has not, it's to tax
and frankly, I prefer it this way. So financing the EU is in the hands of the countries, not the EP and for sure not the Commission
so have a look who decides most of "all things EU", and you'll find the EU Council. which is the countries, the representatives of the sovereigns. which are again those who tell the Commission what they want, and when. The EC is only the "go-between" of the EP and the Council, i.e. the "keepers of the treaties"
so no, thanks, but the EP to decide on serious matters? that's not what we even want, with the exception of the "EU Federalists", which would prefer the EU to resemble the US
But but, they tell us the EU is a democracy and now you're telling me it really is Germany that is the boss. Cause let's be honest, they run the show. Whatever the other countries might think. Cause it was Germany that flooded Europe with their 'cheap' Euros and loaned to whomever wanted to borrow (served as an export subsidy for them). It was Germany that pushed that the EU taxpayers would bail out their banks. It was Germany that pushed for austerity thereby basically killing off competition.
It is an irony that the country that destroyed a continent twice in the span of 40 years is now the boss.
amazingly hierarchical, your thinking. there is an alliance, actually several of them, and your sights zoom in to a hegemon. because there has to be a hegemon in every alliance
ergo in every political or otherwise structured deal, there must be someone ripping the other off. a I win, you lose worldview
Agreed, and any discussion of contracts should include the term fraud. E.g. what do you call it when you lend someone money while knowing that they have no ability to ever repay it?
Damn double-click...
"SCICLUNA: INSTITUTIONS BEING PUSHED TOWARD HOSTILITY ON GREECE"
It's like a wifebeater telling his wife after he punches her: "look what you made me do!"
Finance Minier Mr. V has only been on the job for a couple of months while the troika has been at this, and lying about everything, for years. So who's the time wasters and the gamblers?
Give. me. a. break.
interesting comment. puzzling. particularly "while the troika has been at this, and lying about everything, for years"
any detail about what "the institutions" lied, in this case? or is it just a "they all lie" type of comment? just in case, The Vampire Squid Firmly Attached To The Face Of Humanity isn't part of the Troika, and they helped various Greek governments to lie about lots of things
Just say Troika. You know you want to.
I did, at the end of the comment. so, what about those "Troika lies"?
I distinctly remember M. Draghi saying the Bailout program would return Greece to growthy by 2014.
are we talking about lies or... forecasts?
there is some moral and legal difference between the two. I know, the current dominant meta-culture is doing a heck of a job of murkying the matter, but there it is, a forecast is an educated guess, and not even a promise, not even an electoral promise
What about
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324299104578527202781667088
"The IMF conceded that it bent its own rules to make Greece's burgeoning debt seem sustainable and that, in retrospect, the country failed on three of its four criteria to qualify for aid. "
"The Washington-based fund released the document, prepared by IMF staff, on Wednesday after its contents were reported by The Wall Street Journal."
"The IMF changed its rules in 2010 to allow countries to get "exceptional access" to its credit lines, or much bigger loans than normal."
technically, the IMF did not lie, and our dear WSJ is contradicting itself, by writing that it bent the rules in one sentence and that it changed it's rules in another
but yes, +1
It depends upon what the meaning of the word "is" is, right Ghordo?
You'd fit right in here in the Democrat party in the US.
sure/s. this guy comes with a ""while the troika has been at this, and lying about everything, for years" "
I challenge this dogmatic, all-encompassing view, and I am therefore a perfect US Democrat. of course /S
keep your simplistic worldview
Varoufakis deserves it, you can't argue with such scavengers, just say no and quit €
«A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person or to a group of persons while himself deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses.»
The Syriza government is indeed "wasting time",
and that may prove its ruin.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/04/23/are-eu-officials-plotting-regime-...
MEANWHILE...You dear Americans better stay tuned on Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): Job Loss, Lower Wages and Higher Drug Prices
Read more: http://3.boards.net/thread/22/banksters-crony-capitalism-integrity#ixzz3YDzk28c2
don't overlook its twin, the TTIP ( Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership )
So the troika has reached the name calling phase, that means they are getting desperate.
Greece ready to play the Russian card http://www.marketwatch.com/story/greece-ready-to-play-the-russian-card-2...
Greece May Sign Russia Gas Deal As Soon As Today http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-04-21/europe-isolated-greece-may-sign...
Greece calls on Chinese firms to bid for oil quest http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/20/us-eurozone-greece-oil-idUSKBN...
That’s rich irony, considering the current state of global play which is surely undoubtedly a result of much earlier maladministration in corrupt and perverse Trilateral Commission type virtual engineering and markets manipulation.
Talk about the kettle calling the pot black? Do those dolts in charge of trying to perpetuate and revive a collapsed and dead system with nothing but nonsense not realise that their time to play and lead in the Great Game is up and over? Do they not recognise the rank rancid reek smell of hubris whenever up to necks shovelling it?
Jesus wept…… what a shower of plonkers be they.
Seems like the Greek finmin must be doing something right whenever it elicits such a contrary reaction from proven track recorded time-wasters, gamblers and amateurs.
<--- this comment merits a -1
<--- this comment merits a +1
since your comment started with a cursive, and so it can't be voted on...
btw, it's the usual "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". wake up, it's one of the greatest fallacies of humankind
I respectfully disagree and junk you 1000, thanks 4 playin.
duplicate msg
Good analysis. Hey buddy, can you lend me 350 Billion? My house needs a new roof, and I will steal the rest, and leave my nephew's holding the bag, as Scrooge McDuck did, telling them to keep the white elephant in good repair.
Varofakuis did a better job than they, cause he has no other agenda than than GREECE, not stealth theft like the oligarchy they threw out. He said it. GREECE is insolvent, needs NO further loans !! Apparently the rest of the negotiators have a hearing problem. John Mellencamp said it best in the interview on RAIN On The SCARECROW
It is not rocket science that GREECE cannot pay it back. It is also likely that Germany is owning GREECE properly adjudicated and recorded debts from their predecessor in WWII. If Germany not owe from previous Gvts, then, IMO, Greece does not own due to FRAUD, on previous admin and lender behaviour.
http://denaliguidesummit.blogspot.ca/
Aaand gold just nosedived (or nose*dove*?) back down to ~ $1187. Stll sinking lower, it looks like.
I don't have any stocks or ETFs or futures or any of that kind of stuff, and I don't want any.
I want to know about metals prices. I must sell some more of my incredible shrinking stack by or before April 29 or all hell breaks loose. I'd like to get the best price possible. So, do I sell today? Tomorrow? Monday? Later? I mean, is it going to plunge even lower early next week? I really need to know that. Believe me, the day to day price movements DO matter to me.
It depands in what currency you are selling it.
If in dolar you should sell asap it will slowly dive down (imho till 900-1000 usd) till it sky rockets. if not in usd you might need to wait 1-2 days till usd rebounces a bit.
Many thanks to Moratar for a straight answer for a change. My immediate problem is that I MUST come up with a very considerable amount of money (up in the thousands) by next Wednesday at the absolute latest. Otherwise -- BIG trouble.
I have to pay in dollars, so I have to sell (physical metal) in dollars. Not online or over the phone, but in person, face to face.
I can easily believe that gold may eventually drop to $1000 or below in the near future, but probably not in the next few days. I doubt it will drop below $1130 in the next few days or weeks. But the timing does matter, because it determines how many ounces I must part with, probably forever. I've already lost four-fifths of my stack, never to get it back. If only I'd have sold it all back in 2011 or 2012, I wouldn't be nearly so badly off.
Is that you Tsipras?
Varoufakis, a game theorist, is only practicing what he knows. The "stupid" ones are the ones sitting down and discussing complex financial dealings as if it isn't entertainment but something serious. The Greeks know exactly what they're doing.
Yeah, they totally meant to join an ill-conceived currency union, get bent over a debt barrel by crooked bankers, and take it up the ass like their forefathers in perpetuity.
The people of Greece don't find this shit funny in the least.
None of that is Syriza's doing though. The good ol' boys have been voted out by the Greek people, after all.
today in DC is a meeting behind close door.
topic; gold yuan multicurrency reserve sistem
I hope the mutherphukers are in, or soon to be in panic mode..
He's an amateur time-waster and it's only gambling if you have any chance of winning.
The only help the Greeks should get from here on out ..is maybe a benefit concert in a couple of years to help thier starving children.....that is all.....if they are not going to do anything to help themselves....ie...cut wages and pensions...and collect taxes.....then nothing should be given to the drug addict...its over...sorry Greece..you got to greedy
Is that you Schaeuble?
But seriously, that's a whole lot of love right there in your post. Are those 'Starving children' the ones that borrowed billions to buy toys and ice-creams....yeh, fuck em!
Send me your address will you, I'll send you a an envelope of fucking humanity.
Obviously, Greece wants out of the Euro. She can't fix her problems while part of the monetary union. Their plan is to realign with Russia and the East. It's a good plan for Greece. It's not a good plan for the Euro. Instead of beating down Greece and continuing a ponzi style farce of debt servitude perhaps they should use this opportunity to clean up some of the fundamental imbalances their Union creates among member nation. Make it a club that enhances its members not destroys them.
Varoufakis needs to tell the Fourth Reich to go to hell. A nice weak currency, the new drachma, is perfect for a struggling country who relies on tourism for its economy. Hell, peg it to the rouble. That will really piss them off.
Varoufakis is not going to offer them anything as he has told them many time that Greece is broke and cannot repay any of their debt. Greece wants to stay in the EU and what he is after is for those Dickheads to show him how Greece can be saved, not how to destroy it. All those Dickheads care about is the Money that is nothing more than an entry in some Computer. Those Dickheads think it's OK for 25%+ to have no job. The Greeks would be better off to tell them to get stuffed, because that is what Brussel is telling them now.
Yaris's biggest problem is he has no nukes and can't print coin and doesn't belong to the same club.
Dammit, he already said Greece is broke.
The money they give Greece just goes out the back door to their own pockets again.
This guy's biggest problem is he is honest and has guts. If I were him, no more payments, put food on the table first.
The "professionals" will get a shock from their coke and hooker slumber when those derivatives come calling for coin from them.
Varoufakis should have fucked up the EU by declaring greek default long ago
the only reason i can imagine he has not done that yet is because he can not collect enough taxes to balance the budget (without counting debt payments of cause)
Overthrow the NWO. Force them back into the lines of the least resistance. Go Greece.
I'm going to posit a hypothesis.
Is the real reason the rest of the EU and Greece stalling is because, if Greece were left to go bankrupt it could cause a huge migration from Greece to the rest of Europe which could cause problems on their own doorsteps?
It might seem like small potatoes, but right now, in France, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, Ireland and the UK, immigration is a hot topic right now. The so-called asylum seekers (sorry, but if they were REAL asylum seekers they would find safety in the nearest country which would be Morrocco) drowning in the Med are already angering people because it;s just more people to take in on a system that can't cope. Now add into the mix a bunch of Greeks and you're asking for trouble.
In the UK we've had an influx of Eastern Europeans and we are being told by the left that, if elected, they would do nothing about it. This is angering UK citizens.
I can't help but think these delaying tactics are more than just financial. Something else is factoring into this....
excellent hypothesis
nevertheless, in the UK you have several huge homegrown problems about immigration
the first is that a lot of your administration does not even know what they are doing. the lack of statistics is appalling, and carried as other the lack of an appendix
the second is that you have two kinds of immigrations: from the former Empire and from the EU
and the third is that your government is really, really keen on not talking straight about where and who immigrates from
The Muslim boat people choose Italy over Greece .... that tells you something good about the Greeks !
To be fair, the boat left from Libya because no-one is checking the borders there. And from Libya, the closest European country is Italy (the island of Lampedusa). It's just politics and geography!
They don't mess with the Maltese crusaders .... they go straight to Francesco Shettino's "Auto-Strada" to Germany .... all expenses paid Italy's policy .... drown paying tourists .... rescue Muslim invaders !
Dude, I did touch upon the UK situation in my original post. You won't get any argument from me about how the immigration laws in the UK are screwed up. I get that, I really do. It's one of the reasons I want to move (unfortunately, I don't qualify to move to the US. Apparently, they don't want people from the UK with healthy savings, well educated people).
The UK are discriminating against people from India and New Zealand because we have to leave space for immigrants from the EU (almost certainly Eastern Europeans with little or no education). It's all screwed up! The trouble is no-one wants to talk about it for fear of either being perceived as a racist or people REALLY have no idea who's coming or going!
We need to pull up the borders, get immigration under control and reform our imigration laws. And if the rest of Europe are reading this, I suggest you do the same....
the non-PC statement is: from the EU, the white Catholic or Atheist Poles (and some Romanians), from the non-EU, the brown or black... well, mostly Muslims
but your "The UK are discriminating against people from India and New Zealand because we have to leave space for immigrants from the EU " is quite misleading
Maybe, just maybe, if the U.S. and their lapdog Britain stopped bombing the shit out of their countries (Iraq, Afghan, Libya, Somalia, Syria) they might decide to stay put and try to build a prosperous, happy nation amongst themselves.
And as much as I agree with you Bongo let me just say, if you bombed my house I'd be round your place the next day with my whole family in tow expecting you to feed, clothe and shelter us!
Can I just add, that one of the biggest proponents of mass migration from the middle east to northern Europe is Murdoch (The dual U.S. / Israeli citizen) who paid Blair 20 million when he resigned and who met with Cameron 25 times, in private, in Camerons first year of office. If that isn't suspect I don't know what is.
Oh, and try posting that on Sky News or Fox and you'll find yourself banned....like I did.
Hello, Plisken!
1. The moniker of the UK being a lapdog of the US might have been accurate a few years ago (and fair disclosure, I've used it enough times! I can be very critical of the UK!), but nowadays, I'm seeing more and more behaviour from the UK which would suggest they are trying to shake that title off. 1 example which springs to mind is the abstention of the UK in the UN vote of Palestine gaining official recognition despite the US pressuring the UK to vote against. As opposed to Australia who voted against the motion. In my opinion, I think Australia is now starting to be the lapdog of the US. But, you know what? that's not what I want to talk about. I just wanted to voice my opinion on that topic. And you seem like a smart enough person to have a reasonable debate with. :O)
2. Re: bombing people and then being surprised when they turn up on your doorstep. Although, I made it clear in a previous post, I didn't here, to be fair. So, let me say, I 100% agree with you, Pliskin. You'll get no argument from me about that. I despise the fact that the UK (and other other countries) destabilised Libya and then try to admonish themselves of responsibility. We shouldn't have done that and I disgreed with it entirely. But I wouldn't mind accepting the migrants until it was safe for them to go home. The problem is I have zero faith that the UK immigration system would do that when the time came. They'd no doubt slip through the system and just become another paperless immigrant in the UK. That's why I have massive problems with immijgrants coming to the UK.
3. I don't trust MSM so I don't even waste my time with them. But I must admit, I still like the BBC. (That's British Broadcasting Corporation! Not funny jokes, ok?!) :O)
Either way, I respect your point of view and want to keep this civil. :O)
Again, I agree with what you say, especially about Australia being the new lapdog, but as far as the U.K. NOT voting that equals voting for i.e. with the U.S. If I ask you "Do you want a chocolate ice cream or a strawberry Ice - cream and you say whatever you're havin...I think 'Pussy'
And 'Migrant' just means one person thats gone from one place to another, sounds fair to me, I'm a migrant in the country I live in, by definition if you go from Portsmouth to Bournmouth you're a migrant...
And, yeh, the BBC are probably the best of a bad bunch, although if WE were that big into them we wouldn't be here on ZH...
Look out for yourself Bongo (no-one else will) and keep it real amongst all the BS...even here on ZH...
Snake.
You too, Snake.
Always nice to talking with a conflicting view. It's a good way to learn.
As we say in the UK, See ya later, mate! :O)
How do you know whether it is a lack of statistics or unwillingness to reveal them ?
it is actually both of it. the lack of official statistics is due to the completely decentralized structure of the relevant infrastructure, the local councils. of course intelligence services can and do produce statistics, since they have the resources to do so
Yes, of course.
This is an issue because Greeks are European Christians and threaten to compete for the jobs of the elite once arrived in the north. The ideal immigrant for our masters' needs is an illiterate nigger too stupid to realize he's a slave, much less revolt, and who will cheerfully mark an X on whatever box of a ballot paper he can't read per his imam's instructions.
Not to mention the Greeks are not to be allowed to literally walk away from their oligarchs' debts. Only the oligarchs may do that.
Varoufakis is a "Troll" !
Of course Varoufakis is an amateur, he's only been a politician for a few months.
You bunch of European scammers have had years and years of practise deceiving, lying, stealing, misappropriating, living like royalty and generally acting like bloody dictators.
How else can a bloke behave if he isn't a "career" politician.
The one thing that pisses you all off is that he will not kow-tow, even grovel.
He's trying to do his best for Greece, whilst you're happy to fuck up everybody else just to keep the nightmare that is the EU afloat..
Varoufakis is an idiot!! He is a blogger and theorist. It take "cojones" and know how in politics to pull a country out of the gutter. The current Greek government look more like a bunch of teenagers.
"accused by European finmins of "being a time-waster, a gambler and an amateur.""
Ad hominem attacks prove he is making unanticipated headway against the giant brains who perpetrated the mess.
Yanis Varoufakis is not a time waster, gambler, and amateur. He is a Professor of Economics at the highly reputed Lyndon B Jonhson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA: https://www.utexas.edu/lbj/directory/faculty/yanis-varoufakis. At the same he is a Professor of Economic Theory at the University of Athens, Greece, while prior to that he has been Professor of Economics at the University of Essex, UK, the University of East Anglia, UK, the University of Glasgow, UK, and, the University of Sydney, Australia. Dr. Varoufakis has earned a PhD in Economics from the University of Essex, UK, and a Post-Doctorate in University of Birmingham, UK. These institutions, above, would had never allowed a gambler, a time waster and an amateur even to cross their thresholds.
With the exception of Dr. Mario Draghi none of the Eurozone officials has the same credentials with Yanis Varoufakis. Dr. Mario Draghi is the Director of ECB and was previously the governor of the Bank of Italy. Dr. Draghi has earned earned a PhD in economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), MA, USA.
All of Varoufakis accussers are either politicians of Bankers. Mr. Wolfgang Schäuble is a politician of the Christina Democratic Union (CDU). Mr. Schauble has studied law and economics at the University of Freiburge and the University of Hamburg and he is a lawyrer by occupation. Moreover, Mr. Jeroen René Victor Anton Dijsselbloem is a Politician of the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA). Dijsselbloem studied agricultural economics at Wageningen University. Pierre Moscovici is a French politician who served in the government of France as Minister of Finance from 2012 to 2014. Previously he was Minister for European Affairs from 1997 to 2002. He is a member of the French Socialist Party (PS), he has been a member of the Departmental Council of Doubs and of the French and European Parliaments. Pierre Moscovici obtained a Diploma in economics and in philosophy from Sciences Po Paris and the École nationale d'administration - National School of Administration. Christine Lagarde is a French lawyer and Union for a Popular Movement politician who has been the Managing Director (MD) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since 5 July 2011. Previously, she held various ministerial posts in the French government: she was Minister of Economic Affairs, Finance and Employment and before that Minister of Agriculture and Fishing and Minister of Trade in the government of Dominique de Villepin. Lagarde graduated from Paris West University Nanterre La Défense, where she obtained Master's degrees in English, labor law, and social law. She also holds a master's degree from the Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence. Angela Merkel is a German politician and a former research scientist who has been the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2000 and the Chancellor of Germany since 2005. Dr. Merkel has earned a doctorate as a physical chemist. None of these ladies and gentlemen that accuse Varoufakis as a gambler, time waster, and amateur has ever published any serious work in Economics and they are not in the position to understand a clue of what Yanis Varoufakis is saying to them. They either do not have the qualifications or their backgrounds are different. On the contrary Yanis Varoufakis has published prominent work in Macroeconomics and Economic Policy. Just to mention one of these works, Varoufakis together with Stuart Holland of Oxford University, UK, and James K. Galbraith of University of Texas at Austin, USA, and Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, USA, is the author of A Modest Proposal for Resolving the Euro Crisis.
This is all I have to say. Varoufakis's accusers are not only vulgar and prejudiced against Yanis Varoufakis and Greece but also absolutely inappopriate to deal with the Eurozone economic crisis (because this is what we are talking about - this is not a Greek crisis). Their inability to understand economics and their ignorance of economic affairs has driven Greece to bankrupsy and has put their own countries, the Eurozone, and the global economy in a great danger. Never in European history is Europe led by such innapropriate and unskilled leaders as the ladies and gentlemen mentioned above.
One more point. Greece, up to now, has not delayed not even one single installment to the IMF, ECB, and EC. On the contrary the country pays uninterruptedly its obligations despite the fact that the money agreed to be given to Greece out the loan are withheld in Brussels for no obvious reason, as Greece is regularaly paying its obligations. Unless they are fools that are driving the world economy to a chaos, or otherwise they are just ignorant about world economics. The second point is much more dangerous than the first. A fool can be excused, but an ignorant person? You better answer this question yourselves. Thanks
I accuse him because I am FOR Greece and the Greek people; while I think there's some room for structural reform in Greek government spending top to bottom (seriously, you guys are fucking ridiculous and make goddamn California look fiscally sane), the Greeks have ultimately been screwed over by the idiotic construct known as the Zooro. They need to exit and they needed to do it a long time ago, hence the accusation of being a "time waster". He is wasting the Greek people's time trying to play "games" with the IMF/ECB/EZ/EU troika of dumb instead of moving on with the only plan that has a future with Greece in it.
Ghordius and other EU lovers ..the system is rotten, your leaders like Amerika's are rotten, your euro is paper worthless if you were sane but still you crave moar euro's and Frn's ..like madmen we argue over the right of debt like it was a REAL THING..it is made up and what flows from your insanity is killing greece and much of the west.
While there's always room for more efficiency in a bureaucracy, the Greeks don't spend all that much. Pensions plus salaries as % GDP are at about the EU average, and many more EU countries spend more. Their argument is to improve the economy which will improve gov revenues to pay pensions instead of cutting them even more at this juncture. Seeing as they are in primary surplus territory, cutting pensions again should not be some urgent priority. Still, they have agreed to get rid of most early retirements which everyone agrees is just unfair.
They have already improved tax collection with a new payments system that entices people who are in arrears to join by erasing fines that accrued and allows for payment in installments, and that has helped them the last month. It can be done online and payments can be made through any major bank in Greece instead of wading through government offices and lines. Its far easier to entice people to pay over time than spend money and effort to go after each one. They are also making headway against the big fish: http://www.thetoc.gr/eng/news/article/arrest-warrant-issued-for-leonidas.... His name also appeared on the famous Lagarde list. That is the son of Giorgos Bobolas, one of the well known oligarchs.
That's already 2 things the previous government refused to do in the years they were in power. They just let all the austerity and pain fall on the little people, like families of 2 or more children who pay more in tax than any of their peers in other countries of the EU.
What they could and should do is weed out the fuckers that got their jobs simply because of clientelism especially the last 4 years (see this: http://www.thepressproject.net/article/75883/The-Greek-State-Leaks) and replace them with deserving people where the jobs are not redundant or not needed. The savings from this though would be trifling as far as Europe is concerned; that is more a matter of fairness and justice in Greece, and should be an improvement of services for citizens.
Syriza continues to diddle with the TROIKA while Greece burns.
That raises suspicions that Syriza seeks a way to renege on its election promises by means of a deceptive sell-out package to the TROIKA.
or
the unending 'negotiations' will cause Syriza support to become disillusioned,
and then a 'regime change' favorable to the TROIKA will be engineered.
Pointing to his rear end .... Yaris Varoufakis .... (Thar is whar you fuck us!) !
The Greek crisis .... is a "pre runner" .... for the Afro-American student loan defaults !
Cutting Greece lose from the EMU and let them default isn't really so much about banking contagion, but the fact that the Drachma would simply implode and lead to a rise of the Neo Nazis. Nobody gonna ain't coming for vacation to Greece when the brown-shirts march the streets. This would lead to an exodus, and possibly further destabilize the entire Balkan region. There's no way in hell the Eurocrats will allow that to happen.
I got a stack of derivatives a mile high that bets you're wrong. ;)
Totally wrong about vacations. Lots of people looking for deals would book immediately. Mabye not for Athens. But definitely for the islands.
Yanis "Vasilator" Varoufakis.
I never was impressed with this guy. He folded like a cheap suit.
Austerity has never fixed a country and never will. The Euro-trash won't tell you that. Austerity kills countries and makes them bigger slaves to debt.
Greece is best off just doing nothing and making no payments. Make the Euro-TRASH make the first move.
BTW, we need more amateurs running things. The pros are useless at anything except political gamesmanship.
Right, so Greece borrows even more? The cause of the problem is transformed into the solution?
I don't know what Yanis still thinks he is doing either. Either Greece folds or in a month Greece defaults, in three Syriza is overthrown and Yanis and Danae are dead or in exile. There is no third scenario.
Surely the done thing in a zero-sum game is to quit as soon as checkmate is inevitable?
Greeks have succeeded in making themselves disgusting pariahs - the well-deserved fate of all socialist parasite vermin.
It is their own self-hatred that drives these ministers. What they hate about Varoufakis is that he reminds them so strongly of themselves. Can kickers par excellence can't stand being forced to stare at can kicking.
Greece sticks it to the ziobanksters and all the Uruppean political whores are pi$$ed right on cue. Incredible though how many stupid sheeple still allow themselves to be played (by jew banksters, poilitical pimps and ilk) like nationalist fiddles, played off against the other nationalist fiddles, German sheeple pissed off at Greek sheeple pissed off at Polish sheeple ad nauseam) and all the while the zio banksters on Wall St laugh their a$$e$ off as they suck one ex sovereign nation basketcase dry after another.
Next Mr Varoufakis pivots EAST, dumps the NATO gang of killers, steals "Hunter " I'm a Zio whore Biden's Ukrop gas toll booth and all Urupp wakes up pronto.
Onwards to the long awaited and much overdue collpase of the Ponzi Casino crapper in the Wall St casino of the Potemkin Village of rigged Mercan "market capitalism".
As for the Schadenfreude Mercans here who never manage to grasp the big picture...just wait till the USSA made tsunami of toxic derivative shit finally comes home to drown US! You'll be dreaming of a Greek vacation when it does.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-great-american-bubble-mach...
Any Rolling Stone article is suspect.
If the slave masters are calling him names than doesn't that mean he is actually hurting them?
You know this is all about mortgages and stripping the greek people from ownership of their houses, so as to get more forced work out of them, right?
Just because we accept it as the way things have to be, I'm glad to see that the greeks do not.
Just how come all the fucking land was divvied up ao that I have no right to live on any of it without working for 20 years first?
Wasn't the whole point of the industrial revolution to free us from the neccesity of labouring for survivial?
So how come the banks own all the housing. How did that happen? The greeks understand, and that's what your man varoukis is fighting.