Agora
We need to talk about unemployment
At the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Council of Ministers in Paris on Wednesday, Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras challenged the institution’s forecast that Greece will remain in recession next year, which would mean a seventh straight year of contraction. Stournaras thinks the OECD will be proved wrong. There isn’t a Greek in the world who doesn’t hope he will be proved right.
Contributors: Nick Malkoutzis, Yiannis Mouzakis
Categories: Economy (331), Greece (498)
Honey, I shrunk the Greeks
The IMF without any hesitation admits that the main beneficiary of that May 2010 so called Greek bailout was not Greece itself but the eurozone as it gave the opportunity to French and German banks to get paid in full and unload their large exposure to Greek debt from their books on the official sector and European taxpayers.
Contributor: Yiannis Mouzakis
Categories: Europe (282), Economy (331), Greece (498)
Consensus, conviction and the anti-racism bill
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras certainly presented himself as a leader with convictions when he took over New Democracy following the party’s disastrous showing in the 2009 general elections. Although less than four years have passed since then, it seems like light years away.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Politics (387), Greece (498)
Taking a macro snapshot
Could it be possible that consumed by the crisis we are missing the turn of events and the small signs of improvement that start emerging though unnoticed? Is the good news simply lost as the crisis tests the Greek social fabric?
Contributor: Yiannis Mouzakis
Categories: Economy (331), Greece (498)
Cyprus “success” preludes something bigger in European banking
At first, it looked anything but successful. Both Brussels and Nicosia seemed hopeless, had shot themselves in their feet, steamrollered over taboos, destabilised capital flows - created a mega blunder. Yet the Cyprus Gaffe (or Cyprus Rehearsal, or Cyprus Scare) is successful in having produced one sure effect: To make you sweat and scale down your accounts to less than 100K, then run to find the most secure refuge possible for your (depreciating) savings.
Contributor: Ilias Siakantaris
Categories: Europe (282), Economy (331)