ECB
Economy
Piraeus Bank Takes Over Ailing ATEbank
ATHENS – The Greek government has agreed to hand over the performing loans and healthy assets of nearly-insolvent state-run ATEbank to the privately-run Piraeus Bank to keep it from closing, but the toxic assets will be given to the...
Economy
ECB, Eurozone Taxpayers Could Get 30% Greek Haircut
ATHENS – After stiffing private investors for 74 percent losses earlier this year on their holdings in Greek bonds, Greece may also give a so-called “haircut” of 30 percent losses to the European Central Bank (ECB) and the 16...
Economy
Greece Set to Slash Health Care, Welfare, Pensions, Salaries
ATHENS - Backtracking from campaign promises to hold the line on more austerity measures, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was set to meet on July 27 with international lenders providing critical bailouts to Greece as his government is reportedly ready...
Economy
Barroso Tells Samaras: We Want Results, Not Words
ATHENS – European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, in his first visit to Greece in three years, told new Prime Minister Antonis Samaras that international lenders want results in implementing more reforms if the country wants to keep rescue...
Economy
Another Delay in Deciding $15 Billion in Budget Cuts
ATHENS – After vowing during the campaign before the June 17 election to hold the line on more austerity measures demanded by international lenders in return for bailouts, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ uneasy coalition government has reportedly agreed...
Economy
September Crunch Time for Greece With Troika's Return
ATHENS – The seemingly endless saga of the rule of international lenders over Greece’s economy will take a summer hiatus but will pick up again in September when inspectors from the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) Troika...
Economy
Samaras Changes His Mind Again: No Bailout Renegotiations
ATHENS – Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who during the campaign before the June 17 elections said he would seek renegotiations of bailout deals with international lenders – but after being elected said he wouldn’t – then said he...
Economy
Greece Considers New Amnesty Program for Tax Cheats
ATHENS – The new coalition government led by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ New Democracy party is mulling whether to offer a new amnesty to tax evaders in a bid to bring in about 1.5 billion euros, or $1.81 billion...
Economy
Troika Return to Athens to Assess Progress
The troika returns to Athens today to begin an assessment of the second multi-billion euro bailout for Greece.
It is widely expected that officials from the European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund will find that Greece...
Economy
Germany, Troika, Squeezing Greece Toward Eurozone Exit
ATHENS – With the arrival of inspectors from international lenders in Greece this week to check on the progress of delayed reforms, speculation is growing that the country is inevitably heading toward an exit from the Eurozone of the...