Greek Crisis
Monetising the… ECB: The latest insult to be added to Greece’s multiplying injuries
, 20/05/2013
Last week another installment of the cruel theatre of the absurd, also known as the ‘Greek Rescue’ (and more recently re-released as ‘Greece’s success story’), was delivered silently: Not for the first time, the bankrupt Greek state borrowed from one arm of the Eurozone to give to another, with massive interest to boot. To be […]
Greek Banksters in Action: On the latest twist in the story of mafia-style terror spreading through the Greek polity
, 19/04/2013
Last November I posted a piece entitled A Small Victory for Press Freedom in Greece’s Struggle against Cleptocracy. That story concerned the courageous decision of Kostas Vaxevanis, one of Greece’s few, valiant investigative reporters, to publish the so-called Lagarde List; the list of Swiss bank account holders that Greece’s political class did its utmost to […]
On CBC Radio's 'Writers' Program: Interviewed by Eleanor Wachtel on the Global Minotaur
, 08/04/2013
Over the past few years, I have been interviewed extensively on my views of the Crisis and my writings. Of all these interviews, this is the one that I enjoyed giving the most. Eleanor Wachtel generously afforded me the space to talk about Greece, my parents (and my experiences of growing up in Greece in […]
On ABC Radio National, discussing Greece's sorry state
, 18/03/2013
Interviewed on ABC Radio National, Saturday Extra, on the state of Greece: 16th March 2013
On the social conditions in Greece, now
, 04/03/2013
In preparation for a radio interview on ABC Radio National, I was asked the following questions on the situation on the ground in Greece. Thought I should share my answers with you. Will keep you posted re. the actual interview.
Economic illiteracy in the service of economic misanthropy: An Econ 101 reminder of the meaning of the multiplier for austerians
, 19/02/2013
Here is a quote from a recent pro-austerity article in an Establishment Greek newspaper: “Let us not forget that [Greece’s] primary surplus in 2009 was 10% and the result was a recession of 2.8%. Thus the fiscal multiplier was -3.5, not 0.5, not 0.75, not 1.7!” The author’s purpose, of course, was to argue that the […]
Why is the 2009 Greek government deficit probed by the courts, again?
, 29/01/2013
Greek judges are, again, moving against Mr Georgiou, the Head of ELSTAT (the revamped Greek national statistics bureau). Why is this happening? And what does it signify?
Greek unemployment: Interviewed by John Doyle, ABC Radio National
, 15/01/2013
Unemployment in Greece is now at a staggering 27%, but behind all the statistics and the ongoing international drama there lies a major human tragedy and an ongoing European Crisis that is ravaging the continent like an unstoppable bushfire. Click: RN Breakfast Tue 15th Jan 2013 – Greek unemployment
The Eurozone and Greece: Is the Crisis over?
, 15/01/2013
A journalist from Chile’s El Mercurio just put two questions to me: (1) Is the Eurozone safe? and (2) Is Greece stabilising? Here are my answers:
Taking stock of 2012: Interviewed by Doug Henwood on KFPA
, 09/01/2013
Just before New Year’s Eve, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Doug Henwood once again. As the New Year was approaching fast, our talk, naturally, summed up developments on the Euro Crisis during 2012 and the prospects for 2013. To listen click: Behind the News with Doug Henwood for December 27th 2012 Podcast Contents […]
Taking stock of the Global and Euro Crisis
, 16/12/2012
A Spanish journalist interviewed me on the Spanish language edition of The Global Minotaur. Her questions, however, gave me an opportunity to look retrospectively at the Global Crisis, its Eurozone offshoot and, of course, the worst aspect of the latter, the Greek calamity. In the process, I refer to what I call the ‘death of […]
Greek tv interview on the Crisis in Retrospect (only available in Greek)
, 13/12/2012
Skai TV Ευθέως show; a Greek variant of Hard Talk
Greek Debt Buyback – another sad verdict, surrounded by much merriment
, 12/12/2012
Greek authorities have announced that the Dutch auction has produced offers of 31.9 billion worth of (post-PSI) Greek government bonds at an averaged price of 33.8% of face value. The same sources reveal that the Greek banks were strong-armed into offering all their holdings (against their better judgment), a total of around 17 billion. Which […]
On the sad algebra of the Greek Debt Buyback
, 10/12/2012
In a previous post, I dissected the recent Eurogroup plan to save Greece (again!). Today I single out the debt buyback operation which is a crucial aspect of that plan.
Debt, Europe, Greece and the World Economy: Addressing the Kreisky Forum, Vienna, Wednesday 5th December 2012
, 02/12/2012
Anyone in Vienna this coming Wednesday (5/12/2012)? If so, perhaps you may pop in at the Kreisky Forum to hear me address: THE GREEK CRISIS AND THE EUROPEAN TRAGEDY THE DEBT CRISIS AND THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD ECONOMY For the official announcement…
The Eurozone after the November Eurogroup ‘Greek Deal’: On the current state of play
, 01/12/2012
On November 27th, 2012, the Eurogroup (comprising the Eurozone’s finance ministers) reached a decision on Greece. Its essence is a guarantee that Greece will remain in the Eurozone (and therefore off the Northern European agenda) for another ten to twelve months; at the very least until the German federal political cycle has seen through the […]
On BBC Radio 4's 'Today', discussing Greece's latest descent into the abyss
, 13/11/2012
Click here for the audio: BBC Radio 4, TODAY, 13th Nov 2012
Greece Debt Crisis Continues to Unravel, Offers Strong Lessons for the US: Radio interview
, 13/11/2012
Click here for an interview with Los Angeles area radio station uprisingradio.org in which we discuss the Greek debt crisis and the lessons to be drawn from it for the United States.
Dial Greece for Swindle: How disunity within the troika is straining their denial of Greece’s bankruptcy
, 13/11/2012
You may have heard that Greece is facing official bankruptcy as a result of Europe’s failure to deliver the funds that would allow the Greek government to carry on pretending that it is not insolvent – by redeeming a bond which is about to mature while in the possession of the European Central Bank. The truth […]
Hanging in quiet desperation is (becoming) the Greek way
, 12/11/2012
This blog has a tendency to worship the large picture and to focus on the great issues of the day, with the Euro Crisis as its usual focus. There are times, however, when the small, miniscule picture, some snapshot of one person’s world, offers a stupendously large perspective from which to gather the greater scheme […]
Which Second Haircut for Greece? By Kunibert Raffer
, 09/11/2012
Cross-posted from FSB Watch “Europe Pushed by IMF’s Lagarde to Consider Greek Debt Write-Off” Bloomberg reported recently. More cautious, the Wall Street Journal remarked that Lagarde had not expressly said so, although “some” saw a “public, albeit oblique, acknowledgment” of this necessity, and “some economists say” her request “would necessarily require restructuring Greek debt held […]
An emergency program for Greece
, 05/11/2012
The Greek government, under intense pressure from the troika of its lenders (IMF-EU-ECB), is about to give the wheel of depression another, powerful turn. At a time when national income is shrinking at a rate not seen since the Great Depression in any post-feudal society, in an economy where the circuits of credit (not just […]
A small victory for press freedom in Greece’s struggle against its cleptocracy
, 02/11/2012
A couple of hours ago, Kostas Vaxevanis, editor of HOT DOC, was acquitted by an Athenian court for having published the so-called Lagarde List. The charge was that he violated data protection legislation by publishing a list of more than two thousand names who had held a bank account with HSBC in Geneva. The not-guilty […]
Discussing Greece and Europe on Business Spectator; interviewed by Robert Gottliebsen
, 25/10/2012
Robert Gottliebsen, one of Australia’s leading business and economics journalist, interviewed me recently in Melbourne for Business Spectator. Like many anglosaxon business commentators, Robert clearly thinks that Greece is facing an impossible future within the Eurozone and that it would be better off leaving the currency union. In this interview, he began by asking me […]