Tag Archives: Austerity

Angry bondholders storm Bank of Cyprus building, damage windows

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“Aggrieved bondholders who lost funds in Cyprus’s 2013 bailout caused damage to the headquarters of Bank of Cyprus on Monday when they tried to storm the building.  At least one window of the glass-covered building in the capital Nicosia was smashed and another three cracked when several people among around 200 demonstrators hurled stones and other missiles, witnesses said.  One woman was knocked unconscious during the protest and was taken to hospital. There was a heavy police presence in the area.  Hundreds of junior bondholders saw savings turn to nothing in the tumult of Cyprus’s financial bailout in 2013.  Cyprus received 10 billion euros in aid from the European Union and the IMF.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/23/cyprus-bank-protest-idUSL6N0WP38220150323

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Cyprus passes foreclosure laws, clears IMF rescue program hurdle

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“Lawmakers in Cyprus on Saturday passed key insolvency laws designed to open the taps for more international bailout cash. The vote makes it possible to operate foreclosure laws that international creditors have demanded as a condition for extending more loans to Cyprus. Recession, high unemployment and declining incomes have produced defaults on more than half of all private loans. The new laws should make it easier for banks to demand payment or seize assets, thereby reducing the banks’ own liabilities.The International Monetary Fund has been withholding 88 million euros ($95 million) in rescue money, citing Cyprus’ delay in giving banks the legal tools to deal with bad debt.”

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20150418_ap_6ddf947f243e480590b693c8bb76167f.html

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Greece demands €278bn WWII reparations from Germany

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“Germany owes Greece no less than €278.7 billion in World War II reparations, Athens said, referring to the destruction wrought upon the nation during the Nazi occupation. The sum exceeds Greece’s total debt of €240 billion to the EU.  The figure was calculated by a parliamentary committee and the Greek supreme court.  In response, Gabriel Sigmar, Germany’s economy minister and vice chancellor, described Greece’s demand as ‘stupid.’ Many Greeks blame Germany, as the country’s biggest creditor, for the tough austerity measures and record high unemployment it faced after getting two international bailouts total worth 240 billion euros.”

http://rt.com/news/247353-greece-germany-reparations-billions/

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Why Europe’s most powerful man got covered in confetti

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“During the the European Central Bank’s otherwise sleepy press conference on Wednesday, 21-year old protester Josephine Witt, who was clad in a t-shirt emblazoned with the words ‘End the ECB ****-tatorship,’ jumped onto the stage and showered ECB chief Mario Draghi with confetti and a manifesto decrying the ‘overwhelmingly powerful external environment of the ECB’s monetary policy.’ She was quickly carried off, and taken into custody before being released without charges.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/04/16/why-europes-most-powerful-man-got-covered-in-confetti/

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ECB’s Celebration of Its New $1.4 Billion Tower Is Spoiled by Protesters

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“Anti-austerity protesters seeking to spoil the inauguration of the European Central Bank’s new headquarters in Frankfurt’s east end set vehicles alight, erected barricades and left a trail of destruction across the city.  Police deployed water cannons to restore calm and keep the demonstrators at bay in the area surrounding the 1.3 billion-euro ($1.4 billion) tower, after setting up barbed wire and road blocks. Nine days after the ECB started buying sovereign debt in a 1.1 trillion-euro plan to revive inflation and rescue the economy, protesters are laying the blame for recession and unemployment in the 19-nation euro area at the doors of Draghi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-18/ecb-besieged-by-protests-as-draghi-celebrates-1-4-billion-tower

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Continued EU Weakness Gives Rise to Two Inflationary Trends

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“China – the BRICS – and the US are printing endless gouts of money, and now it appears as if the European Union is headed in the same direction. According to economists, the ECB could cut interest rates even further while embarking on a campaign of asset-backed purchases that might include a ‘fullblown’ QE. What’s the timing of something like this? According to the article, ‘the market is clearly expecting a large-scale asset purchase programme, maybe not at the next meeting but by the end of the year.’ It would seem that even as the US is scaling back such programs, Europeans may be exposed to an aggressive variant of the same strategy.”

http://www.thedailybell.com/news-analysis/35594/Continued-EU-Weakness-Gives-Rise-to-Two-Inflationary-Trends/

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He built his own toll road: solving problems the State’s too useless to fix

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“Faced with months of roadworks and upheaval, and the loss of business at the party supplies shop he runs with his wife Wendy in Bath, the pioneering 52-year-old rented a nearby field and built an alternative road to allow traffic to bypass the closure, charging drivers £2 each way.  He spent £150,000 on the gravel track next to the A431 in Kelston and says he will probably spend that again to maintain it.   Of course, the council has been quick to question his efforts, citing that mealy-mouthed old staple — health and safety.  Rather than thanking him, they’ve subjected Mr Watts to all sorts of snooty checks and inspections. Well, they must be furious. They have been utterly humiliated by him.”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2716156/A-hero-time-Inspired-man-built-toll-road-Hes-one-countless-Britons-rising-solve-problems-States-useless-fix.html

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Big jump in number of millennials living with parents reported

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“More Americans than ever live in multigenerational households, and the number of millennials who live with their parents is rising sharply, according to a study released Thursday.  A record 57 million Americans, or 18.1% of the population, lived in multigenerational arrangements in 2012, according to the Pew Research Center. That’s more than double the 28 million people who lived in such households in 1980, the center said.  For the first time, a larger share of young people live in multigenerational arrangements than of Americans 85 and older. The share of people in the older age group living in multigenerational households rose between 2000 and 2012 to 22.7%.”

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-more-millennials-moving-home-20140717-story.html

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Irish government promises income tax cuts in next budget

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“Enda Kenny has promised tax cuts in the next budget to help struggling families.  The Taoiseach vowed to cut the top rate of income tax for low and middle income earners admitting that the country has ‘been through the wars’.  Mr Kenny said: ‘We will reduce the 52 percent tax rate for low and middle income workers, starting with this budget in October.’  He added:  ‘Ireland has been through the wars. There isn’t a family in any part that hasn’t been affected.  ‘But my message is that we’re in recovery, things are getting better and we intend now to make sure they get better for everyone.'”

http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/politics/enda-kenny-promises-tax-cuts-3843833

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Robbing Peter

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“Spain may defend its decision by pointing out that it has one of the lowest tax takes in the European Union, which is true. However, what should be the issue here is not the amount of tax being imposed, but the principle upon which the tax is being taken. Let there be no doubt about this bail-in or any other—it is pure theft.  The measure in Spain is also an advance on the concept that, as long as an emergency is perceived to exist, confiscation is justified. In Spain, no emergency situation is being pretended; they simply want the money and have decided to take it.”

http://www.internationalman.com/articles/robbing-peter

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