Agora
Posts by Jens Bastian
Greek elections as seen (or imagined) from Berlin
The following is a thought experiment, which claims no more authenticity than being an exercise in the “What if?” At the core of this experiment is the question, what would various people inside the Chancellery in Berlin be thinking in terms of possible post-election scenarios in Greece following Sunday’s voting marathon?
Contributor: Jens Bastian
Categories: Europe (298), Politics (420), Greece (537)
Politics trumping economic prudence in Greece
The politics of the Greek recovery narrative is consistently trumping prudence. For those who refuse to be blindsided by the staged recovery euphoria there is enough evidence on the ground in Athens to be concerned about during the past week.
Contributor: Jens Bastian
Categories: Politics (420), Economy (357), Greece (537)
![Photo by Can Esenbel [http://www.mundanepleasure.com/]](resources/toolip/img-thumb/2013/10/16/stocks2_economy_esenbel-large.jpg "Photo by Can Esenbel [http://www.mundanepleasure.com/]")
Who benefits from Greece’s return to the markets?
Now that the euphoria is beginning to die down let’s take a second, more sober look at what Greece achieved last week when the investment community hailed the country’s return to the markets. Politicians from Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s government were quick to join the chorus of cheerleaders, with impressive support from members of the media and market analysts.
Contributor: Jens Bastian
Categories: Economy (357), Greece (537)
Does return to markets signal end of Greek crisis? The perils of ignoring macro-economic fundamentals
Politics today is the art of shaping a narrative, with the overriding preference being for one that is in harmony with markets and investors. This narrative is currently being formulated in real time in Greece. It is centred on the much anticipated return of the Greek sovereign to international bond markets.
Contributor: Jens Bastian
Categories: Europe (298), Politics (420), Economy (357), Greece (537)
![Photo by Can Esenbel [www.mundanepleasures.com]](resources/toolip/img-thumb/2013/10/16/cityconstruction_agora_esenbel-large.jpg "Photo by Can Esenbel [www.mundanepleasures.com]")
A return to capital markets for Greek banks but no return to domestic lending
In the future we may look back on the past two weeks as a watershed moment for Greek banks following the onset of the twin financial and sovereign debt crisis in 2009. After extensive and well prepared international road shows, financial institutions in Athens attracted unprecedented levels of foreign investors' interest for bond placements and capital-raising initiatives.
Contributor: Jens Bastian
Categories: Economy (357), Greece (537)