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Europeâs Two Years of Denials Trapped Greece
Keywords:
Failure by EU leaders to take early and decisive action to reduce Greece's debt to sustainable levels in 2009. This was when the IMF report by Dutchman Bob Traa blew the cover off the Greek coverup of deteriorated finances. Policy missteps included ECB president Trichet and other EU leaders pushing austerity measures and not taking needed tough action on reducing the debt. By November 2011 a 50% reduction in debt with bondholders taking the losses is not enough to correct the situation. Greece's debt is discounted by 70% by Nov 2011. Analysts estimate an 85% reduction in Greek debt being necessary for Greece to pull through without a default.
Dutchman Bob Traa's mid-2009 IMF report on Greece and the warning light on Greece
03/03/2010
Analysts point to the lack of immediate action as the main reason the crisis is spiralling out of control. The IMF report in mid 2009 raised the alarm on Greece's financial situation. One estimate is for bondholders needing to take 85% haircut on loans to Greece, instead of the 50% agreed to under the EU plan in November 2011. The situation has worsened as ECB president Trichet and others in the EU pushed austerity plans on Greece without working out needed serious debt reduction of over half the debt in 2009. The idea of a default in the eurozone was considered unthinkable, leading to errors in judgement by decisionmakers.
Grouped Articles
Greek Debt Crisis: The Back Story
New York Times 08/13/2011
A Warning Light to Alert the I.M.F.
New York Times 09/21/2011
EU Dismisses IMF's Criticism On Greek Bailout
Wall Street Journal 06/07/2013
Policy âTroikaâ for Europe Financial Woes at Odds
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Wall Street Journal 03/03/2010
Past Rifts Over Greece Cloud Talks on Rescue
Wall Street Journal 10/07/2013
A Brady Plan type solution for the debt crises in Greece, Ireland, Portugal and other EU countries.
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Grouped Articles
EU Dismisses IMF's Criticism On Greek Bailout
Wall Street Journal 06/07/2013
Personalities Clashing Over How to Handle New Greek Bailout
New York Times 07/23/2015
Nervous Europe Trying to Halt Economic Crisis
New York Times 11/30/2010
Europe's Central Banker Seeks Deeper Fiscal Union
Wall Street Journal 06/03/2011
'Contagion' and Other Euro Myths
Wall Street Journal 12/02/2010
Greek Myths and the Euro Tragedy
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Debt Restructuring for Greece- 2010-2012
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Grouped Articles
Policy âTroikaâ for Europe Financial Woes at Odds
New York Times 06/07/2013
Watch Athens, Not Paris, This Weekend
Wall Street Journal 05/04/2012
Expectations Grow for Greek Debt Restructuring
New York Times 04/18/2011
Wall Street Journal 04/20/2011
Investors Doubt Orthodoxy on Greek Debt
Wall Street Journal 05/02/2011
Greek Debt Talks Widen Divisions in the Euro Zone
Wall Street Journal 05/05/2011
Greece and prime minister Papandreou's Nov. 3, 2011 referendum proposal on the euro and austerity plans
07/01/2011
Grouped Articles
Europe, Athens Battle for Greek Hearts and Minds Ahead of Referendum
Wall Street Journal 06/30/2015
Hopeful Start to Greek Debt Negotiations Quickly Soured
New York Times 07/02/2015
Greek Referendum on Offer That Is Off the Table Baffles Voters
New York Times 07/02/2015
Why Not Give the Greeks Their Say?
New York Times 11/03/2011
Greek Leader Calls Off Referendum
New York Times 11/03/2011
Call for Greek Vote Unsettles Europe
Wall Street Journal 11/02/2011
Greece: EU, ECB, and EFSF negotiations for a selective default in July 2011
04/19/2010
Grouped Articles
Weber Sees Greece Needing More Aid
Wall Street Journal 04/19/2010
Greece Defaults on IMF Loan Despite New Push for Bailout Aid
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Euro Zone Moves Toward Greek Deal
Wall Street Journal 07/21/2011
Europe Must Choose Currency or Financial Union
New York Times 07/21/2011
Greece Gets New Bailout as U.S. Nears Brink
Wall Street Journal 07/22/2011
A Guide to the New Deal in Athens: How a 'Selective Default' Works
Wall Street Journal 07/22/2011
Preparation for Greece's exit from the euro currency and return to the drachma- November 2011-2012
07/01/2011
Grouped Articles
‘Grexit’ Could Happen by Accident
Wall Street Journal 01/12/2015
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New York Times 07/05/2015
Wall Street Journal 11/04/2011
Plan to Leave Euro for Drachma Gains Support in Greece
New York Times 11/01/2011
Europeâs Two Years of Denials Trapped Greece
New York Times 11/05/2011
IMF in the Eurozone financial crisis of 2010-2012
03/03/2010
Aid package to Greece and funds for other eurozone countries. The IMF's involvement in protecting the eurozone.
Grouped Articles
A Warning Light to Alert the I.M.F.
New York Times 09/21/2011
EU Dismisses IMF's Criticism On Greek Bailout
Wall Street Journal 06/07/2013
Policy âTroikaâ for Europe Financial Woes at Odds
New York Times 06/07/2013
Wall Street Journal 03/03/2010
Greece Can Learn IMF Austerity from Turkey
BusinessWeek 05/27/2010
Past Rifts Over Greece Cloud Talks on Rescue
Wall Street Journal 10/07/2013
Italy and the financial crisis contagion effect from Greece.
05/14/2010
Grouped Articles
Wall Street Journal 05/14/2010
Wall Street Journal 05/22/2010
Italy's Shot of Southern Discomfort
Wall Street Journal 06/03/2010
Wall Street Journal 12/02/2010
New Rescue Package for Greece Takes Shape
New York Times 05/31/2011
Italy the economy: For ever espresso
Economist 06/11/2011
Similarities between the experience of Argentina in 2001 and the experience of Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain in 2010-2012
12/09/2010
The financial crisis in the euro-zone and a similar situation that prevailed in Argentina in 2001. Experts from that period are convinced that euro-zone bondholders will have to accept securities offering less interest and maturing over a longer period.
Grouped Articles
Greek Government Bonds Pay Off Big for Fund Managers
Wall Street Journal 10/28/2013
Argentine Farmers Reap Discontent
Wall Street Journal 05/29/2014
What Greece Faces if It Defaults
New York Times 04/29/2015
If Greece Defaults, Imagine Argentina, but Much Worse
New York Times 06/25/2015
The Argentina Veterans Eye the Euro Warily
BusinessWeek 12/09/2010
Government debt: Behold 2011, the year of sovereign shocks
Economist 12/18/2010
The logjam between the bondholders (mostly French and German banks) and the German government- 2010-2012
07/01/2011
The roots of the Eurozone financial crisis go back to the issue of who should pay for the excess lending of French and German banks. Will it be the German taxpayer or the banks that took excessive risks? German financial experts, the German government and parliament, German public opinion, are all adamantly opposed to letting the banks off without sharing at least 50% of the costs of a bailout. A review done by the European Commission in coordination witht he IMF and the ECB, shows that from May 2010 (the date for the inception of the aid program to Greece) to September 2011, $52 billion of the $91 billion loaned to Greece went to pay bondholders for bonds that came due. The July 2011 EU agreement for Greece called for 21% of losses to be allocated to the bondholders. The German government is pushing for 50% and German parlamentary leaders in Merkel's party are balking at anything less.
Grouped Articles
Wall Street Journal 07/13/2011
New York Times 04/13/2013
Policy âTroikaâ for Europe Financial Woes at Odds
New York Times 06/07/2013
Most Greek bailout money has gone to pay off bondholders - The Washington Post
Washington Post 10/23/2011
Dexiaâs Collapse in Europe Points to Global Risks
New York Times 10/22/2011
European Officials Shaping Greek Rescue and Effort to Aid Banks
New York Times 10/22/2011
Allan Meltzer's soluton for the financial crisis facing euro currency countries Portugal, Spain, Italy, Ireland and Greece
05/26/2010
Meltzer says a new currency union should be setup for the northern countries France, Germany, and others who commit to financial discipline and fiscally binding arrangements. The euro currency countries such as Italy and Greece should devalue their currency to fix gaps between wages and productivity in their countries. At a later stage these countries could be readmitted to the new currency union under strict fiscally binding arrangements with enforceable sanctions.
Grouped Articles
Germany reaps rewards of entitlement cuts - The Washington Post
Washington Post 09/20/2011
New York Times 09/25/2011
New York Times 05/26/2010
Wall Street Journal 09/14/2011
IMF Chief's Change of Tune on Bank Capital
New York Times 09/14/2011
Austerity in Italy May Not End Its Jobs-for-Votes System
New York Times 09/14/2011
Bloomberg Business Week's Peter Coy calls for debt forgiveness- creditor haircuts for sovereign debt in Europe, and bank writedowns of debt in the U.S. housing market
08/10/2011
Peter Coy of Bloomberg Business Week calls for debt forgiveness in the August 2011 issue of Business Week. Stretching out the debt issues without writedowns says Coy, only leads to austerity programs, stagnant growth and drags the issues out over many years. Better solutions can be found by starting anew with writedowns now and arrangements to make this possible, and returning to growth sooner. What about moral hazard? There is moral hazard in letting the banks bear no cost for reckless lending decisions, they are as likely to repeat this behaviour says Coy, as Greece or the underwater mortgage borrower in the U.S., if they did not have to bear the consequences of their decisions.
Grouped Articles
How Righteousness Killed the World Economy
New York Times 10/12/2014
Greece’s new prime minister wants Germany to pay for Nazi war crimes - The Washington Post
Washington Post 01/26/2015
For Europe’s Sake, Keep Greece in the Eurozone
New York Times 07/06/2015
How to Undo the Damage in Greece
New York Times 07/06/2015
Personalities Clashing Over How to Handle New Greek Bailout
New York Times 07/23/2015
BusinessWeek 08/10/2011
France's banks and losses from expansion in Greece
06/22/2011
French banks BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and other banks expanded in Greece. This is now turning out to be a burden.
Grouped Articles
Wall Street Journal 06/23/2011
Derivatives Cloud the Possible Fallout From a Greek Default
New York Times 06/22/2011
A Guide to the New Deal in Athens: How a 'Selective Default' Works
Wall Street Journal 07/22/2011
Wall Street Journal 07/22/2011
Fear, Rumors Pummel Europe Bank Shares
Wall Street Journal 08/11/2011
Bans Imposed on Some European Short Selling
Wall Street Journal 08/12/2011
Greece: prospect of default on debt.
12/29/2009
Grouped Articles
Greece Defaults on IMF Loan Despite New Push for Bailout Aid
Wall Street Journal 07/01/2015
Greece, Missing I.M.F. Payment, Is Called Effectively in Default
New York Times 06/30/2015
Unknown 12/29/2009
Unknown 12/29/2009
The Worst May Not Be Over for Europe
New York Times 12/31/2009
New York Times 02/15/2010
Richard Portes of the London Business School and other experts on the failures inherent in the EU's June 2011 Greece debt plan
06/22/2011
The EU's decision to adopt the French Banking Federation's plan that would double the cost of servicing Greece's debt will only make matters worse. This means increasing interest rates from 4-6% currently to 10% under 2% Greek economic growth, and makes debt servicing untenable. The adoption of similiar plans in the case of Mexico and Argentina in 2001, ended in failure a year after they were adopted, with private creditors taking losses. Financial markets see this with interest rates on Greek debt at 26%. Contagion might turn out to be worse as the situation deteriorates further.
Grouped Articles
EU Dismisses IMF's Criticism On Greek Bailout
Wall Street Journal 06/07/2013
What Greece Faces if It Defaults
New York Times 04/29/2015
If Greece Defaults, Imagine Argentina, but Much Worse
New York Times 06/25/2015
Move Buys Time for Greece, But Growing Debt Looms
Wall Street Journal 07/01/2011
Greece Approves Tough Measures on Economy
New York Times 06/29/2011
Wall Street Journal 06/30/2011
Simon Johnson and other experts on the debt crisis in Europe.
04/15/2010
Simon Johnson, Peter Boone and other experts unravel the debt crisis in Greece and in other European countries to give a lucid explanation of what happened and what to expect.
Grouped Articles
New York Times 04/29/2010
Greece, the Latest and Greatest Bubble.
New York Times 04/29/2010
As Greek Drama Plays Out, Where Is Europe?
New York Times 04/29/2010
New York Times 04/30/2010
BusinessWeek 04/15/2010
Economist 04/29/2010
The IMF and a new approach to Greece's debt crisis
04/28/2010
Christine Lagarde says Greece needs 2 more years to achieve deficit targets on Oct 11, 2013. She says the same approach of giveing more time to Portugal and Spain applies to Greece. This puts more pressure on Germany to provide new flexibility.
Grouped Articles
EU Dismisses IMF's Criticism On Greek Bailout
Wall Street Journal 06/07/2013
Policy âTroikaâ for Europe Financial Woes at Odds
New York Times 06/07/2013
Charlie Rose Talks to Christine Lagarde
BusinessWeek 04/28/2010
Greece Can Learn IMF Austerity from Turkey
BusinessWeek 05/27/2010
Past Rifts Over Greece Cloud Talks on Rescue
Wall Street Journal 10/07/2013
Watch Athens, Not Paris, This Weekend
Wall Street Journal 05/04/2012
Italy- government debt, credit ratings, and borrowing costs 2010-2013
05/14/2010
Italy's borrowing costs went up to 5.7% a week after the July 22, 2011 eurozone debt deal for Greece.
Grouped Articles
Return of Long-Term Bond Buyers Seen as Crucial to Europe
New York Times 06/29/2012
Italian Vote Turns in Bonds' Favor
Wall Street Journal 04/23/2013
Italy Urged to Resist a Relapse in Spending
Wall Street Journal 05/03/2013
Wall Street Journal 05/14/2010
Europe Bonds May Offer More Value
Wall Street Journal 08/23/2013
The Key to Italy's Rating Is Kept in Canada
Wall Street Journal 11/02/2013
Solutions to the Greece crisis.
05/27/2010
Would the solution adopted by Turkey in 2001 work? Devaluation of the currency is not an option for Greece. Turkey devalued the lira 54% in 2001.
Grouped Articles
Greece Can Learn IMF Austerity from Turkey
BusinessWeek 05/27/2010
Wall Street Journal 10/22/2010
European Debt Deal Has Flaws - News Analysis
New York Times 03/14/2011
For Greece, the Path to Restructuring Holds Pitfalls
Wall Street Journal 04/18/2011
Don't Bet on an Imminent Euro-Zone Debt Default
Wall Street Journal 04/18/2011
Expectations Grow for Greek Debt Restructuring
New York Times 04/18/2011
Greece and EU in 2015 - (5) What went wrong? What errors were made by Greece 2003-2009?
03/03/2010
Linked Articles
Europeâs Two Years of Denials Trapped Greece
New York Times 11/05/2011
Wall Street Journal 03/03/2010
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