Features
Great Expectations: Is Greece 2.0 hitting the target?
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Funding from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility has been central to shaping expectations of economic recovery in Greece as the country emerges from its ten-year economic crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Record year for Greek tourism raises concerns about sustainability
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Greece received record numbers of visitors and income from tourism in 2023, marking a remarkable comeback from the lean years of the pandemic – but, beneath the surface, the figures give some cause for concern.
What is driving the Greek housing market's recovery?
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When it comes to Greek house prices, there’s good news and there’s bad news. On the one hand, some read the recent rebound in property values almost to pre-crisis levels as a sign that the Greek economy is returning to normality after the decade-long financial crisis.
Record FDI flow into Greece raises bar, but is it sustainable?
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Greece has reported record flows of inward investment in 2021 and looks set to exceed the amount again in 2022.
Balance of payments shows shipping on course for bumper year, but economic benefits unclear
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Shipping provided the one bright spot in Greece’s trade balance in May, with transportation contributing 2.16 billion in receipts, compared to 1.44 billion the same month last year, an increase of 50 pct
Impact of uncertainty on economy starting to emerge in hard data
The uncertainty of the Ukraine conflict, which is being felt primarily through the energy crisis and the swelling inflation wave, has been reflected for months in sentiment surveys and is now gradually filtering through in hard data, sending the first recessionary signals.
One unicorn does not a Silicon Valley make: positive news on startup front also highlights limitations
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Record investments in Greek startups and a number of headline-grabbing exits – including Greece’s first “unicorn” – have generated a lot of interest in the space which the government views as a national success story. A closer look at the numbers reveals positive trends over recent years, however it also highlights the need for some perspective around a subject that is often susceptible to hype.
Impact of inflation already widespread, but data suggests worse to come
Although the Greek authorities did not underestimate the wave of price hikes that started swelling in the summer, it is becoming evident in official data releases that inflation will be far-reaching and most likely will last for longer than the government had hoped or planned for.
Discussion over PEPP, SGP draw attention to rising yields
The Greek sovereign debt market has enjoyed a buoyant period, largely thanks to the participation of the GGBs in the ECB’s emergency asset purchase of the pandemic codenamed PEPP, which pushed borrowing costs for the Greek state to historic lows.
Post-Covid era dawns on new landscape for bad debt in Greece
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At the peak of the Greek financial crisis, Greek banks had accumulated over 100 billion euros of bad loans. At the time, almost half of their outstanding loan amounts fell into this category, with borrowers falling behind on their repayments or deemed as being unlikely to pay.