Agora
![Photo by Can Esenbel [www.mundanepleasure.com]](resources/toolip/img-thumb/2014/03/04/piano_800_esenbel_0403-large.jpg "Photo by Can Esenbel [www.mundanepleasure.com]")
Greece’s return to capital markets: Why not try a diaspora bond first?
Greece’s return to international capital markets during the course of 2014 is currently the talk of town in Athens. Sandwiched between Greece’s six-month EU presidency and reports of a primary budget surplus, whose size appears to be changing on a weekly basis, the objective of returning to capital markets is taking on ever more significance.
Contributor: Jens Bastian
Categories: Economy (331), Greece (498)
The wrong prescription
As is customary by now the troika’s return to Athens has been accompanied by a flurry of speculation about how targets will be met. This time the focus is on the structural rather than fiscal side. This simply means replacing the back and forth between Greece and its lenders over excruciating details of how money will be saved with a similar tug of war over the minutiae of reforms.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Economy (331), Society (142), Greece (498)
![Photo by Myrto Papadopoulos [www.myrtopapadopoulos.com]](resources/toolip/img-thumb/2014/02/21/cypruspeople_myrto_1000_2102-large.jpg "Photo by Myrto Papadopoulos [www.myrtopapadopoulos.com]")
Cooperatives on Cyprus: Why they were treated differently to banks
No country in an island in today’s integrated world. Thus, the lessons learned in one place can be used to identify problems elsewhere. Despite starting from a different source, the banking collapse in the USA has lessons for Cyprus and parallels to what happened on the island.
Contributors: Alexander Apostolides, Charis Michalis
Categories: Economy (331)
Should Greece really ask for a debt haircut?
There are very good reasons for arguing in favour of Greek public debt undergoing a haircut. Unfortunately, there are also some reasons for wondering whether things are not that simple and that a haircut might not be an ideal solution.
Contributor: Kostas Karkagiannis
Categories: Europe (282), Economy (331), Greece (498)
Spain’s economic recovery languishes amid graft scandals
Overwhelmed by corruption cases, Spain is struggling to recover from a two-year-long recession that is reflected in an unemployment rate that still remains over 25 percent -the second highest in the euro zone after Greece- and in a sluggish credit flow.
Contributor: Arturo Lopo
Categories: Europe (282), Politics (387), Economy (331), Society (142)