Posts
The Minsk talks are not the only show it town.
Greek Deal Rumor Falls Apart After Eurogroup Says "No Deal", Greece Adds Will Not Accept Bailout Extension
10
February, 2015
NO
DEAL!!! -
- *DIJSSELBLOEM: NO STATEMENT POSSIBLE WITHOUT JOINT CONCLUSIONS
- *DIJSSELBLOEM: POLITICAL AGREEMENT NEEDED ON THE WAY FORWARD
- *DIJSSELBLOEM: TO CONTINUE TALKS ON MONDAY, MOVE ON FROM THERE
The
Greek government has had enough of the delays, and has released its
own statement,reports Helena Smith in Athens. And crucially, it
reads,
“At this euro group there has been no agreement.”
“An extension of the memorandum cannot be accepted. Negotiations will continue with the goal [of achieving[ a mutually beneficial agreement.”
The
statement added that the Greek side had put forward well-founded
arguments as to why the bailout accord had failed, enlightening
listeners on Greece’s problems of public debt and the humanitarian
crisis it has also suffered.
- *VAROUFAKIS HOPES FOR `OPTIMAL' CONCLUSION AT MONDAY EURO GROUP
- *VAROUFAKIS SAYS EURO GROUP MEETING WAS VERY CONSTRUCTIVE
- *VAROUFAKIS: THIS EURO GROUP WAS NOT MEANT TO SETTLE ANY ISSUES
- *VAROUFAKIS SAYS IT'S `NORMAL, NATURAL' TO WAIT UNTIL MONDAY
*
* *
*
* *
UPDATE:
From Reuters: NO
DEAL YET ON GREECE
- EUROGROUP SOURCE TELLS REUTERS NO "DEAL" YET WITH GREECE, MAY BE AN AGREEMENT TO EXPLORE POSSIBILITY OF EXTENDING BAILOUT PROGRAMME
- SECOND EUROGROUP SOURCE SAYS GREECE AGREES IN PRINCIPLE TO MEET ITS FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS IN DRAFT COMMON STATEMENT
- GREEK GOVT OFFICIAL SAYS NO AGREEMENT IN EUROGROUP, GREECE WILL NOT ACCEPT AN EXTENSION OF CURRENT BAILOUT
And
stocks and EURUSD give back almost nothing...FOMO!!
*
* *
And
so it begins... 1am local time and we get 'unidentified sources'
stating that:
- *GREECE AGREEMENT `IN PRINCIPLE' REACHED, CNBC REPORTS
- *GREECE WILL STAY IN EU BAILOUT PROGRAM, CNBC REPORTS
- *DETAILS OF GREECE DEAL UNCLEAR, CNBC REPORTS
Stocks
futures and EURUSD are surging on it but we suspect - given the
timing - that there is no detail yet and this is nothing but a
blanket statement of effort for compromise to calm Greek bank stocks
for the week as they reach ELA limits.
- *GREECE, EUROPE SAID TO MOVE TOWARD BAILOUT EXTENSION
- *GREECE, EURO AREA DISCUSSING LANGUAGE ON BAILOUT EXTENSION
It
appears the "deal" of an agreement "in principle"
means that if Greece folds and satocks to Germany's program demands
then The EU will allow them to stay in and fund them... LMFAO!!
The
kneejerk reaction...
We
can't help but suspect this is about rallying Greek banks for the
next few days to avoid being forced into a rapid decision ahead of
the final statement next Monday:
- *FINAL DETAILS OF GREEK DEAL WILL BE KNOWN MONDAY, CNBC REPORTS
We
shall see...
*
* *
The
seating chart... Greece center stage right...
From yesterday
Tomorrow
Greece Decides: Europe... Or Russia
10
February, 2015
There
was much confusion earlier today surrounding the immediate fate of
Greece, when first thing in the morning Bloomberg reported a rumor
that the European
Commission would grant Greece a 6 month extension,
sending futures surging, and then several hours later, futures surged
some more when Germany's finance minister crushed the first
rumor, saying
"it was wrong" and that without a Greek program, it
was "all
over."
Which
means that the only relevant overnight news when stripping away the
endless trial balloons and BS that Europe covers itself with before
every important economic summit, was what the Greek defense minister
said as reported
by Reuters,
namely that Greece now has a Plan B if Europe refuses to budge - the
same "plan" we hinted
last month:
Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said that if Greece failed to get a new debt agreement with the euro zone, it could always look elsewhere for help.
"What we want is a deal. But if there is no deal - hopefully (there will be) - and if we see that Germany remains rigid and wants to blow apart Europe, then we have the obligation to go to Plan B. Plan B is to get funding from another source," he told Greek television show that ran in to early Tuesday. "It could the United States at best, it could be Russia, it could be China or other countries," he said.
In
other words, a threat that if Europe doesn't need Greece (as the
EuroStoxx50 and S&P500 are so giddy to confirm), then Greece also
doesn't need Europe for the only reason it hasneeded
it for the past 6 years: to provide funding.
Not
only that, but Greece would also promptly default on debt held by the
ECB and launch the contagion that UBS
described earlier,
with the only question being how quick it would spread across what is
left of the European "Union" and Eurozone.
Western
observers were certainly not amused at the Greek comments.
As Newsweek
reported,
Dr Jonathan Eyal from defence and security think tank the Royal
United Services Institute (RUSI) called Kammenos’ statement an
“unbecoming
threat from a NATO member state.”
He told Newsweek: “It’s another reminder that the Greeks have never offered the kind of solidarity to Europe that Europe has shown to Greece.”
“It’s very obvious the Russians have an opportunity to subsidise a country that can stop a consensus that is required to keep up sanctions on Russia. It’s very grave indeed. The repercussions of this could be quite serious depending on what Greece do in return.”
This
would lead to the unthinkable: should Greece pivot to Russia it would
permit Putin to build Russian bases on NATO soil!
Eyal
was not impressed: "It’s possible although it’s a
farfetched. If you were to see Russian bases in NATO territory it
would obviously raise serious concerns." Or, as Putin would call
it, victory. Of course, just because on the surface this possibility
appears "farfetched" is why the western punditry is
refusing to completely ignore it.
We
bring this all up because as everyone by now knows, tomorrow night is
the emergency Eurogroup meeting when, among other things, Greece will
ask for a bridging loan to cover funding needs until August,
something which Germany has already suggested is a non-starter, and
yet hopes remain that somehow a compromise will emerge. Furthermore,
while there are future meetings in the immediate future, as a
reminder Europe's 10 day ultimatum to approve the bailout program is
ticking, and runs out just in time for the next meeting, after which
all bets will be off. So for all intents and purposes, tomorrow is
when Greece must get some much needed clarity on what happens next:
whether Europe is ready to compromise or, if not, consider Plan B.
And
while most are aware of all of the above, it is the Plan B aspect
which few have considered. It is here that as Kathimerini reported
yesterday, things are indeed getting serious, to the point where one
may be forced to even think about the "unthinkable."
As
Greek Kathimerini
reported,
"Greece's
Foreign Minister Nikolaos Kotzias is to visit Moscow on Wednesday to
hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Russia's
Interfax and TASS news agencies reported on Monday citing a source in
the Russian Foreign Ministry."
In
other words, at
precisely the same time as the FinMin is in Brussels discussing the
fate, or lack thereof, of Greece in the Eurozone, the new Greek
foreign minister will be in the Kremlin, getting instant updates from
Brussels and perhaps discussing the fate of Greece in the Eurasian
Economic Union.
Which
means that as soon as tomorrow night, if the Eurozone is indeed
intent on kicking Greece out as some have suggested, we may know if
not Russia but Europe is who suddenly becomes more "isolated",
as one of its current member flips allegiance to the man most hated
by the entire "developed" world.
Or
put in the simplest of terms, tomorrow
Greece will decide: Europe, or Russia.
’Bankrupt
but Free’: Greeks stage nationwide anti-austerity rallies
RT,
11
February, 2015
As their politicians took on the EU in Brussels, thousands of Greeks poured onto the streets of Athens and other large cities to protest austerity and voice support for the recently elected Syriza party.
Standing
in front of the parliament building in central Athens – the
traditional place for public demonstrations – a peaceful crowd held
placards with the slogans "Bankrupt but Free" and "Stop
Austerity, Support Greece, Change Europe."
"In
the cities of Greece and Europe the people are fighting the
negotiation battle, They are our strength,”leftist Prime Minister
Alexis Tsipras tweeted along with a picture of the rally in Athens,
which attracted at least 15,000.
Other large rallies took place in Kalamata, Thessaloniki, and Crete, with smaller solidarity demonstrations occurring in major European capitals
.
At the same time, in Brussels, new Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis began a round of talks to adjust conditions of the $284 billion bailout, agreed by a previous government in 2012.
According
to his recent statements, Varoufakis is looking to scrap about 30
percent of the conditions, which came attached with the previous
loans. He is also seeking to secure an extension for further talks,
funded by a loan that will allow the government to fulfill its
obligations.
Greece, which has a poor record of tax collection and a large public sector, has said it will implement a set of reforms.
A
recent poll said that 75 percent of all Greeks support the actions of
Syriza since it assumed power as the dominant part of the coalition,
following early elections on January 25.
Most
EU officials were skeptical about agreeing to any deal on Wednesday,
with German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble saying the talks
would give a chance to demarcate “red lines.”
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