The conflicting headlines continue to spew forth from the union of European nations. Reuters CYBC is reporting that Cyprus has agreed a 'deal' with EU/IMF lenders a 20% levy on deposits over EUR100,000 for Bank of Cyprus and a 4% levy on deposits of the same amount at other lenders (and the Cypriots have dropped plans to nationalize pension funds) citing a senior Cypriot official (who demanded anonymity). At the same time, EU Commissioner Olli Rehn emailed a statement saying that a 'deal' has yet to come forth:
- *REHN SAYS COMMISSION WORKING HARD TO FIND CYPRUS SOLUTION
- *REHN SAYS ONLY HARD CHOICES LEFT FOR CYPRUS
- *REHN SAYS `ESSENTIAL' CYPRUS SOLUTION REACHED ON SUNDAY NIGHT
So who does one believe? And with no market open to test this strawman, what will the decision-makers have to guide their choices? One thing is for sure:
- *REHN SAYS 'NO LONGER ANY OPTIMAL SOLUTIONS AVAILABLE'
- *REHN SAYS ONLY HARD CHOICES LEFT FOR CYPRUS
Via Bloomberg,
“we recognise the progress now being made by the Cypriot government towards a solution which can pave the way for an agreement on a financial assistance program”
“intensive work and contacts will continue in the coming hours”
“it is essential that an agreement is reached by the Eurogroup on Sunday evening in Brussels on a financial assistance program for Cyprus”
“this agreement then needs to be swiftly implemented by Cyprus and its euro-zone partners”
“events of recent days have led to a situation where there are no longer any optimal solutions available”
“there are only hard choices left”