Tag Archives: Austerity

Greece’s great fire sale

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“The idea of snapping up a Greek island certainly has its appeal. In March the Emir of Qatar bought six for £7 million, while a Russian oligarch bought Skorpios – previously owned by the Onassis family – earlier this month for a reported £65 million, as a present for his 24-year-old daughter Ekaterina Rybolovlev. To that end, the royal palace on Corfu, where Prince Philip was born, is now also for sale. So too is a large coastal estate which, the government boasts on its website, is next door to land owned by the Rothschild banking dynasty.  Officials refuse to discuss prices, saying that it depends on offers and the development proposals.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/10007606/Greeces-great-fire-sale.html

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Greece to sack 15,000 state workers in next two years to unlock bail-out cash

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“Greece is in deep recession, GDP has contracted by 22pc since 2008 and unemployment has spiralled to 27pc as the Greek government has implemented deeply unpopular EU-IMF austerity measures or ‘fiscal adjustment’ in return for loans.  ‘Our society has reached its limits. But finally we are meeting our targets and the programme is being improved,’ said Antonis Samaras, the Prime Minister, in a nationally televised address.  ‘Soon, Greece will not depend on the memorandums. Greece will have growth, it will be competitive and outward-looking. In other words, we will have a strong Greece.'”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9995140/Greece-to-sack-4000-state-workers-to-unlock-bail-out-cash.html

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Portugal’s elder statesman calls for ‘Argentine-style’ default

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“Portugal’s leading elder statesman has called on the country to copy Argentina and default on its debt to avert economic collapse, a move that would lead to near certain ejection from the euro.  Mario Soares, who steered the country to democracy after the Salazar dictatorship, said all political forces should unite to ‘bring down the government’ and repudiate the austerity policies of the EU-IMF Troika.  ‘Portugal will never be able to pay its debts, however much it impoverishes itself. If you can’t pay, the only solution is not to pay. When Argentina was in crisis it didn’t pay. Did anything happen? No, nothing happened,’ he told Antena 1.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9990651/Portugals-elder-statesman-calls-for-Argentine-style-default.html

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New demolition technique shrinks Tokyo hotel ‘in a clean manner’

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“Passers-by in Tokyo’s busy Akasaka district have started to notice something odd about a 40-floor hotel — it has shrunk to about half its original height.  Slowly but surely, and with none of the explosions or dust normally associated with the demolition of skyscrapers, the hotel is being torn down.  Engineers reinforced the top floor with steel beams and then effectively lopped it off, keeping it in place to be used as an adjustable lid that can be lowered down the building on an external support frame.  Workers at the Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka have brought in 15 hydraulic jacks on which this ‘lid’ now sits as they remove one floor at a time.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/27/new-demolition-technique-shrinks-tokyo-hotel-in-a-clean-manner/

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As cities lay off police, frustrated neighborhoods turn to private cops

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“After people in Oakland’s wealthy enclaves like Oakmore or Piedmont Pines head to work, security companies take over, cruising the quiet streets to ward off burglars looking to take advantage of unattended homes.  Long known for patrolling shopping malls and gated communities, private security firms are beginning to spread into city streets. While private security has long been contracted by homeowners associations and commercial districts, the trend of groups of neighbors pooling money to contract private security for their streets is something new.”

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2013/0405/As-cities-lay-off-police-frustrated-neighborhoods-turn-to-private-cops

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Europeans slammed by austerity measures now enraged by political corruption

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“A wave of corrosive political scandals at a time of economic woe is exacerbating the outrage of European citizens, who are channelling resentment into street protests or at the polls.  Italy, Spain and Greece have all been hit by fraud or graft cases allegedly involving the top brass. France joined the ranks of scandal-hit nations this week after its former budget minister was charged with tax fraud.  In France, outrage over the budget minister scandal has yet to erupt into popular protests.  But in some countries of southern Europe, which for several years have been hit by austerity measures more severe than in France, fury has coiled into potent blowback.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/05/europeans-slammed-by-austerity-measures-now-enraged-by-political-corruption/

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Italian-Switzerland border checks strike gold

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“Italian finance police had a lucky find on Easter Sunday during a routine check of a family car crossing into Switzerland: they discovered gold ingots worth about €4.5 million concealed in false compartments.  The car was driven by a 53-year-old Italian resident of the Swiss canton of Ticino, described by the police as the legal representative of a Swiss company.  He was travelling with his wife and three children, apparently going for an Easter trip.  The man was immediately charged with money laundering. The ingots and the car were seized.  There has been an upsurge in the smuggling of gold from Italy to Switzerland in the past few months.”

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/Border_checks_strike_gold.html?rss=true&cid=35384346

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Irish county officials vote to allow some citizens to drink and drive

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“County officials in southwest Ireland have voted to loosen drunk driving restrictions for certain older, rural constituents. The BBC reported that county councilors in Kerry County, Ireland have backed legislation that would allow police to issue citations exempting certain drivers from normal restrictions on driving under the influence.  Councillor Danny Healy-Rae, the motion’s sponsor, said the law is intended to apply to ‘older people’ who ‘are being isolated now at home, and a lot of them falling into depression.'”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/01/22/irish-county-officials-vote-to-allow-some-citizens-to-drink-and-drive/

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The Next Domino: Slovenia Government Bond Yields Spike

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“The country, another relative newcomer to the euro, is struggling with its own banking problems. The IMF expects Slovenia will have to recapitalize its three largest banks this year, which could cost a billion euros.  That will increase Slovenia’s budget deficit, which is bad news because the country is already having trouble selling sovereign bonds on the open market in order to finance the government.  So, the question is whether Slovenia will be the next EU member state to need a bailout.  Slovenia’s top central banker, Marjo Kranjec – who also sits on the ECB Governing Council – says it’s not going to happen.”

http://www.businessinsider.com/slovenia-government-bond-yields-spike-2013-3

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Jittery Spaniards Seek Safety in Bitcoins

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“Since Sunday, a trio of Bitcoin apps have soared upSpain’s download charts, coinciding with news that cash-strapped Cyprus was planning to raid domestic savings accounts to pay off a $13 billion bailout tab. Fearing contagion on the other end of the Mediterranean, some Spaniards are apparently looking for cover in an experimental digital currency. That Spaniards would consider converting a portion of their dwindling savings into a peer-to-peer currency vulnerable to wild price fluctuations and the odd thieving Trojan speaks volumes about banking confidence in some parts of Europe.”

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-03-20/jittery-spaniards-seek-safe-haven-in-bitcoins

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