Jean-Claude Juncker rules out Greek exit from eurozone

[Marthanoir]

The head of the eurozone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, has dismissed suggestions that Greece may be forced out of the euro as "nonsense and propaganda".

Speaking in Brussels tonight, Mr Juncker maintained that the question of Greece leaving the single currency was not even mentioned once at tonight's Eurogroup meeting.

Mr Juncker said eurozone finance ministers had an "unshakeable desire" to keep Greece in the euro and they would do everything possible to ensure this happened.

Earlier, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan says Ireland does not want to see Greece exit the euro.

However, he warned that any new coalition in Greece should stick to its commitments under the EU-IMF rescue programme.

"I'd encourage (Greek political parties) to form a government that's pledged to implement the programme with whatever variations are necessary. I would like Greece to stay in the euro. It's very important that the eurozone stays intact."

He would not speculate on the implications for Ireland if Greece were to exit the euro. But he said that events in Greece had posed a "salutary lesson" for the Irish electorate.

Mr Noonan said the Taoiseach's reference to a stimulus package ahead of the referendum was based on work done at a bilateral level on options for growth during meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and later the Italian prime minister Mario Monti over the past number of months.

He said the objective to have a demand stimulus got a strong fillup from the French elections.

Speaking in Brussels, Mr Noonan said any proposal to lend support to Spanish banks in a way which did not convert bank debt into public debt could be "interesting" from an Irish point of view.

He said that such a proposal could offer a parallel for Ireland in relation to the Anglo Irish promissory notes.

Mr Noonan said IMF chief Christine Lagarde had raised the idea that any support for Spain should be for the banking sector and that any aid would not be transferred across onto sovereign debt.

"She seemed to be outlining a new IMF policy position. We would watch it with great interest," he said.

He said the source of the funding would be European and not IMF.

Euro ministers consider Greek problems

The political deadlock in Greece and Spanish banking uncertainty dominated the agenda at the Brussels talks.

Ministers aimed to send a strong message that Greece must respect the terms of a March deal for a reworked bailout package.

Governments issued Athens with a clear warning last week when they withheld some monies already supposedly signed off for the immediate post-election period.

While events in Athens in the short-term remain outside the control of Greece's eurozone partners, the finance ministers will be looking for answers from Spain.

Public financial forecasts suggest Spain, in recession with one-in-four unemployed, has little chance of meeting even revised government deficit targets.

The overall goal is to meet the notional EU target of a public revenue shortfall equal to no more than 3% of gross domestic product by the end of next year.

Figures were already sliding before the scale of the problems facing Spanish banks, after the collapse of a property boom, became apparent this week.

Drastic Spanish government reforms announced yesterday force banks to set up a new €30bn financial cushion and to remove risky property assets from their accounts.

"A prompt and profound reform of the banking sector is a cornerstone of Spain's crisis response and its overall reform strategy," said EU economy commissioner Olli Rehn.

Diplomats acknowledge that today's talks will not get to the root of the problem.

"The question is: when and how will we tackle this issue," said one.

"Not on Monday: we can't afford to give any encouragement at all to the markets."

Specific EU demands of national economic governance across the eurozone will be issued at the end of the month, so no major decisions on how to manage the Spanish question will be agreed beforehand, this diplomat underlined.

Spanish Finance Minister Luis de Guindos is expected to set out the Madrid government's preferred strategy at the talks.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0514/fin...certainty.html

[Marthanoir]

Greek coalition talks end without conclusion

Last ditch talks to form a coalition and avoid fresh elections in Greece ended inconclusively this evening.

President Karolos Papoulias has summoned all parties in parliament, apart from the ultra right, to a third day of talks tomorrow.

Greek Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos said he was not optimistic that a coalition government can be formed, but urged all parties participating in the talks to fight until a solution was reached.

Tomorrow's meeting will seek to form a government of "distinguished and non-political figures," said Mr Venizelos, who with New Democracy in a technocrat coalition last year implemented the bailout whose austerity measures Greek voters largely rejected in elections last weekend.

Antonis Samaras of New Democracy said: "Everyone must take their responsibilities ... our efforts continue tomorrow.

"Our mandate all together is to build a government," Mr Samaras said.

Democratic Left head Fotis Kouvelis, who had earlier said that there was no chance of a deal if the radical left Syriza party was not included, indicated he would go to tomorrow's meeting.

Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras said he would also attend while NET TV reported that the Greek Independent party had agreed to take part, meaning only the hardline Communists (KKE) and far-right Golden Dawn would be absent.

President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso expressed the hope Greece could stay in the eurozone but Athens had to live up to its commitments, his spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen said.

New Democracy and Pasok backed the €240bn EU and International Monetary Fund debt deal agreed last year and approved by parliament as part of a technocrat government led by Lucas Papademos.

Today's developments seem like an attempted return to that solution which at least proved stable long enough to get the debt deal through but the political landscape is now very different.

Syriza has capitalised on the groundswell of frustration in Europe with governments which put austerity before growth, demonstrated only last week in France where Socialist Francois Hollande ousted President Nicolas Sarkozy largely on his pledge for change.

Syriza, which says it wants to remain in the eurozone, is widely tipped to emerge as the largest single party if Greece has to go to the polls again, threatening to prolong a crisis which has rumbled on since early 2010.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0514/new...in-greece.html

[Marthanoir]

Euro zone warns Greece to accept rescue rules, or risk exit


The euro zone has warned Greece to stick to its debt rescue deal or risk leaving the currency club.

The euro zone has warned Greece to stick to its debt rescue deal or risk leaving the currency club.

This comes as political deadlock in Athens and dire strains for Spanish banks returned to haunt finance ministers.

Eurogroup finance ministers opened talks in Brussels this afternoon.

Feuding political parties in Athens are under stern notice that Greece must respect the conditions of austerity under a March deal for a 2nd bail-out.

The alternative, increasingly forecast by analysts and now being broached even among European Union political partners, is that Greece abandons the euro.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, attending talks of chief diplomats in Brussels, stressed that membership of the euro zone depended on "complying with the rules of the game."

Jose Manuel Barroso, the head of the European Commission, still "hopes and wishes" that Greece can remain in the euro zone, his spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen said.

European shares sank today and the euro tumbled to the lowest point since January as markets increasingly speculated about the knock-on effects of an exit on the eurozone banking system.

"They know very well what the conditions are to get further money from the EU," said Luxembourg Finance Minister Luc Frieden. Full compliance from the next government installed in Athens is essential, he underlined, "otherwise we could not give further financial support."

Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan has already said that a Greek departure from the euro zone "isn't necessarily fatal" and could "technically" be managed.

Asked today if Athens might somehow be afforded more time, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on his arrival: "It's not about generosity towards Greece. I don't see what more could have been done in the negotiations."

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders, a former finance minister, added that 'Grexit,' as economists have taken to calling a Greek euro exit currency, would be a "catastrophe for Greece economically and socially."

Austria's Finance Minister Maria Fekter underlined that the EU rulebook remains unclear. "You cannot leave the euro zone," she said.

"You can leave the European Union and then you can leave the euro zone. Greece would have to strive towards accession again," she added.

Governments last week withheld some funds already approved for transfer in the immediate post-election period. "Brutal messages are being sent to Greece: we'll see if that knocks some sense into the leaders of the Greek political parties," a senior diplomat said.

Greek President Carolos Papoulias has this evening proposed forming a technocrat government and called for another round of talks with all parties, barring the extreme right, the leader of the socialist Pasok party has said.

Evangelos Venizelos said after meeting the president along with leaders of the conservative New Democracy and radical Democratic Left that the talks would take place tomorrow morning.

While events in Athens in the short-term remain outside the control of euro zone partners, the finance ministers will be looking for answers from Spain.

Public financial forecasts suggest Spain - mired in recession with one-in-four unemployed - has little chance of meeting even revised government deficit targets. Drastic Spanish government reforms announced on Sunday force banks to set up a new €30 billion financial cushion and to remove risky property assets from their accounts.

Spanish Finance Minister Luis de Guindos was to set out the Madrid government's preferred strategy at the talks. "Spain has taken all the adequate measures to return to economic growth and stabilise the Spanish economy," de Guindos said on arrival.

"Starting from there what we need is the cooperation of the whole of the euro zone - we need a global response," he added.

Noonan wants Greece to stay in euro

Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said Ireland did not want to see Greece exit from the euro.

However, he said that any new coalition in Greece should stick to its commitments under the EU-IMF rescue programme.

Mr Noonan also said that any proposal to lend support to Spanish banks in a way which did not convert bank debt into public debt could be "interesting" from an Irish point of view.

He said such a proposal could offer a parallel for Ireland in relation to the Anglo Irish promissory notes.

Speaking in Brussels ahead of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers, he said he would encourage the Greek political parties to form a government that has pledged to implement the programme with whatever variations are necessary.

''I would like Greece to stay in the euro. It's very important that the euro zone stays intact," he said.

He would not speculate on the implications for Ireland if Greece were to exit the euro. But he said that events in Greece had posed a "salutary lesson" for the Irish electorate.

Mr Noonan said the Taoiseach's reference to a stimulus package ahead of the referendum was based on work done at a bilateral level on options for growth during meetings with the Chancellor Angela Merkel and later the Italian prime minister Mario Monti over the past number of months.

He said the objective to have a demand stimulus got a strong fillip from the French elections.

On the question of a financial transaction tax, Mr Noonan said he would have no reservations on any plans Francois Hollande had in mind if it was based on the tax currently in existence in France, which was 10 times smaller that the stamp duty on share transactions currently in place in Ireland.

"Our difficulty with an FTT right through is we don't want a situation to emerge where there would be some imposition on financial services in Dublin which wouldn't apply in London," he said.

Mr Noonan said the head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, had raised the idea that any support for Spain should be for the banking sector and that any aid would not be transferred across onto sovereign debt.

"She seemed to be outlining a new IMF policy position. We would watch it with great interest," he said.

He said the source of the funding would be European and not IMF.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0514/gre...rs-agenda.html

[Marthanoir]

Spanish banks' borrow record sum from ECB

Spain's banks boosted borrowing from the European Central Bank to a new record in April, as they took advantage of emergency cheap loans.

surged to €263.5 billion from €227.6 billion in March and the fourth consecutive monthly record, Bank of Spain figures showed.

The ECB pumped over €1 trillion in cheap loans into the banking system in December and February, seeking to avert a dangerous credit squeeze.

Meanwhile, Spain's borrowing costs rose today in an auction of 12 and 18-month debt, central bank figures showed.

Spanish banks have found it hard to borrow money from banks in other euro zone countries because many in Spain are heavily exposed to the property sector, which has been in a slump since a bubble burst in 2008.

Spanish banks reveal new provisions

Spain's top four banks will build a new €11.3 billion cushion against bad loans, latest statements showed, but investors feared it was not enough. The extra cash meets drastic new rules announced on Friday.

These oblige Spanish banks to set aside an extra €30 billion in 2012 in case loans to the collapsed property sector go bad. That is on top of the €53.8 billion the banks were told to set aside to comply with reforms enacted in February.

Under the new reform, Madrid also charged two auditing firms with valuing banks' exposure to the property sector, and said it would force banks to shift seized property assets from their balance sheets and place them in separate agencies.

The big banks revealed the financial impact of the new rules for this year in a series of statements issued up to today:

- Santander, the biggest euro zone bank by market value, said it would set aside an additional €2.7 billion.

- BBVA, the second largest Spanish bank, said it would make an additional €1.8 billion in provisions.

- CaixaBank, the country's third largest, will provision €2.1 billion more.

- Bankia, which the government announced last week will be nationalised to salvage its balance sheet from a vast exposure to the property sector, said it would set aside €4.7 billion.

Among others, Banca Civica, which is merging with CaixaBank, will provision €1.2 billion and number-five bank Banco Popular said it would set aside a net €2.3 billion, without giving gross figures.

Investors sent banking shares into a slide despite the reform, enshrined in a royal decree that was welcomed by officials of the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Bank of Spain figures show the commercial banks held problematic property assets, including loans and seized property, of €184 billion, 60% of their property portfolio at the end of 2011.

Credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service said in a report that the state takeover of Bankia and the extra provisions should induce banks to better protect against risk.

"But these actions still leave many banks and their creditors vulnerable to rapidly rising problem loans," it warned in a weekly report. "We view many Spanish banks as vulnerable to the current recession and ongoing real estate crisis," Moody's Investors Service added.

"We expect problem loans and loan losses to grow further, including in loan categories such as residential mortgages, loans to small and midsize enterprises and consumer finance, all of which the most recent royal decree does not cover," it added.

The Spanish government said banks will finance their own provisions, or turn to loans from the state-backed Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB) carrying an interest rate of 10%.

Moody's said it had already estimated total recapitalisation needs for the banks at €50 billion, in addition to €15 billion already committed by the FROB. Moody's said Spain could still turn to the European rescue mechanisms to find funding for its banks - an option that the government has refused to countenance.

"However, to be a realistic option, the access conditions for a strictly banking-related programme will probably have to differ significantly from the programs extended to Greece, Ireland and Portugal, so as to ensure continued access to private capital markets for the sovereign," Moody's said.

Spain borrowing costs rise for short-term debt

Spain's borrowing costs rose today in an auction of 12 and 18-month debt, central bank figures showed, as markets fretted over the final cost of the country's banking woes.

But the Treasury still raised €2.903 billion in the debt auction, near the top of its target that ranged from €2-3 billion. At higher rates, demand for the issue was moderate, exceeding supply by slightly more than two to one.

Borrowing costs were up from the last comparable auction on April 17, rising to 2.985% from 2.623% for the 12-month notes and to 3.302% from 3.11% for the 18-month notes.

Investors worried that Spain's public debt might rise sharply if the state is forced to help clean up the balance sheets of commercial banks, many of them heavily exposed to the collapsed property sector.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0514/spa...rovisions.html

[Repairman-Jack]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/f...euro-exit.html

Raising the spectre of a Greek exit, the German chancellor said “solidarity for the euro” was threatened by the ongoing political crisis in Athens.

Stock markets around the world fell sharply with fears mounting that a euro break-up could lead to renewed financial turmoil. The FTSE-100 index of Britain’s major companies fell by two per cent to 5465, with bank shares hit particularly hard.

The cost of Spanish government borrowing also hit a record high since the single currency was introduced because of concerns that the crisis will spread.

Today, François Hollande, the new French president, will be sworn in and, in an indication of the concern gripping Europe, will almost immediately travel to Berlin to hold talks with Mrs Merkel that will be dominated by Greece’s plight.

Attempts to form a new government in Athens have been thwarted for the past nine days, although the country’s president will meet all major parties this afternoon to discuss the forming of a “technocratic” administration rather than a coalition.

An outgoing Greek minister warned that the country could descend into “civil war” amid the chaos of a euro exit. “If Greece cannot meet its obligations and serve its debt the pain will be great,” Michalis Chrysohoidis was quoted as telling a local radio station. “What will prevail are armed gangs with Kalashnikovs and which one has the greatest number of Kalashnikovs will count … we will end up in civil war.”

New elections may be held next month and Greek voters are likely to be warned by European leaders that their country may be ejected from the euro if they do not support parties backing austerity measures.

George Osborne, the Chancellor, travelled to Brussels yesterday to take part in meetings with other European finance ministers about the worsening crisis.

Speaking on arrival, he said: “The eurozone crisis is having a real impact on growth across Europe.

“The British recovery has been damaged over the last two years not by Britain getting a grip on its public finances but by uncertainty in the eurozone. It is that uncertainty, not austerity, that is doing the real damage to the European recovery, and indeed the British recovery.”

Today, Mr Osborne may agree to looser banking rules, stipulating how much money banks must keep on their balance sheets, to allow more flexibility in responding to the turmoil.

A report from Fitch, the credit rating agency, said yesterday that the British economy may not re-emerge from recession before 2014 if there is a “shock case” of a disorderly Greek exit from the euro.

Germany and the European Central Bank are thought to have drawn up detailed plans for a Greek exit for the euro. They are designed to stop it provoking panic in other vulnerable countries, particularly Spain and Ireland. However, this is fraught with difficulties, particularly if Greece refuses to take part in an “negotiated exit”.

Yesterday, Mrs Merkel raised the spectre of Greece leaving the euro. She is under increasing pressure in Germany to force the country out of the single currency to avert several more years of uncertainty. “I believe it’s better for the Greeks to stay in the euro area, but that also requires that we set out a path on which Greece gets back on its feet step by step,” said the chancellor.

“The solidarity for the euro will end only if Greece just says, 'We’re not keeping to the [austerity] agreement.’ But I don’t expect that to happen. I do think they are making an effort. There are many, many people in Greece who actually want it.”

Wolfgang Schaeuble, the German finance minister, added: “We have a very nervous situation in the eurozone.”

He said the advantages of Greece staying in the euro outweighed any perceived gain from exiting the single currency. “But it will be strenuous,” he said. “The price if they decide to leave the euro is very high. It would cause a huge amount of turbulence for all of us.”

The British Government is largely watching the euro turmoil from the sidelines and has not seen the details of contingency planning in Germany. Ministers are relatively confident that British banks would not be hit too hard directly by a Greek meltdown, but the indirect impact of how this would spread through the global financial system are far less certain.

The Foreign Office also has plans to evacuate British citizens from Greece if it becomes dangerous. A government source said: “The situation is now political rather than economic so is out of our hands. We are well prepared to help protect British citizens from the storm.”

[OldArcher]

Spanish banks' borrow record sum from ECB

Spain's banks boosted borrowing from the European Central Bank to a new record in April, as they took advantage of emergency cheap loans.

surged to €263.5 billion from €227.6 billion in March and the fourth consecutive monthly record, Bank of Spain figures showed.

The ECB pumped over €1 trillion in cheap loans into the banking system in December and February, seeking to avert a dangerous credit squeeze.

Meanwhile, Spain's borrowing costs rose today in an auction of 12 and 18-month debt, central bank figures showed.

Spanish banks have found it hard to borrow money from banks in other euro zone countries because many in Spain are heavily exposed to the property sector, which has been in a slump since a bubble burst in 2008.

Spanish banks reveal new provisions

Spain's top four banks will build a new €11.3 billion cushion against bad loans, latest statements showed, but investors feared it was not enough. The extra cash meets drastic new rules announced on Friday.

These oblige Spanish banks to set aside an extra €30 billion in 2012 in case loans to the collapsed property sector go bad. That is on top of the €53.8 billion the banks were told to set aside to comply with reforms enacted in February.

Under the new reform, Madrid also charged two auditing firms with valuing banks' exposure to the property sector, and said it would force banks to shift seized property assets from their balance sheets and place them in separate agencies.

The big banks revealed the financial impact of the new rules for this year in a series of statements issued up to today:

- Santander, the biggest euro zone bank by market value, said it would set aside an additional €2.7 billion.

- BBVA, the second largest Spanish bank, said it would make an additional €1.8 billion in provisions.

- CaixaBank, the country's third largest, will provision €2.1 billion more.

- Bankia, which the government announced last week will be nationalised to salvage its balance sheet from a vast exposure to the property sector, said it would set aside €4.7 billion.

Among others, Banca Civica, which is merging with CaixaBank, will provision €1.2 billion and number-five bank Banco Popular said it would set aside a net €2.3 billion, without giving gross figures.

Investors sent banking shares into a slide despite the reform, enshrined in a royal decree that was welcomed by officials of the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Bank of Spain figures show the commercial banks held problematic property assets, including loans and seized property, of €184 billion, 60% of their property portfolio at the end of 2011.

Credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service said in a report that the state takeover of Bankia and the extra provisions should induce banks to better protect against risk.

"But these actions still leave many banks and their creditors vulnerable to rapidly rising problem loans," it warned in a weekly report. "We view many Spanish banks as vulnerable to the current recession and ongoing real estate crisis," Moody's Investors Service added.

"We expect problem loans and loan losses to grow further, including in loan categories such as residential mortgages, loans to small and midsize enterprises and consumer finance, all of which the most recent royal decree does not cover," it added.

The Spanish government said banks will finance their own provisions, or turn to loans from the state-backed Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB) carrying an interest rate of 10%.

Moody's said it had already estimated total recapitalisation needs for the banks at €50 billion, in addition to €15 billion already committed by the FROB. Moody's said Spain could still turn to the European rescue mechanisms to find funding for its banks - an option that the government has refused to countenance.

"However, to be a realistic option, the access conditions for a strictly banking-related programme will probably have to differ significantly from the programs extended to Greece, Ireland and Portugal, so as to ensure continued access to private capital markets for the sovereign," Moody's said.

Spain borrowing costs rise for short-term debt

Spain's borrowing costs rose today in an auction of 12 and 18-month debt, central bank figures showed, as markets fretted over the final cost of the country's banking woes.

But the Treasury still raised €2.903 billion in the debt auction, near the top of its target that ranged from €2-3 billion. At higher rates, demand for the issue was moderate, exceeding supply by slightly more than two to one.

Borrowing costs were up from the last comparable auction on April 17, rising to 2.985% from 2.623% for the 12-month notes and to 3.302% from 3.11% for the 18-month notes.

Investors worried that Spain's public debt might rise sharply if the state is forced to help clean up the balance sheets of commercial banks, many of them heavily exposed to the collapsed property sector.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0514/spa...rovisions.html

Howdy, Marthanoir!

Just a few simple questions, Sir...

How, and with what, are the Spaniards going to repay their loans?

How can the Euros force Greece to pay their debt, let alone run their country?

Who can bail-out Kuwait, when it's on the ropes, from saving the European banks?

Do you think the batting order will be Greece, Spain, Italy, France, Ireland- and then the rest of the world?

Thanks for your time and kind consideration, Sir.

OA, out...

[TXKajun]

Anyone besides me getting reaaaaaaaaalllllllllll tired of all the "on again-off again" bs about Greece, Spain and Italy? Jeez, let's get it over with and get on with our lives.

Kajun

[mbabulldog]

I don't think the decision will be up to Mr. Juncker; it sounds to me from all I've been reading is that Greece doesn't give a rats-ass about the Euro, and will leave on their own accord, and not wait for any "written invitation" from any outside body.

[Marthanoir]

Howdy, Marthanoir!

Just a few simple questions, Sir...

How, and with what, are the Spaniards going to repay their loans?

How can the Euros force Greece to pay their debt, let alone run their country?

Who can bail-out Kuwait, when it's on the ropes, from saving the European banks?

Do you think the batting order will be Greece, Spain, Italy, France, Ireland- and then the rest of the world?

Thanks for your time and kind consideration, Sir.

OA, out...

Hiya OA,

I can't see how the Spanish can pay back the loans, the Greek model is to get Bailout mkII to pay back Bailout mkI but Spain's debts are too high to be covered by an initial bailout, the EFSF isn't large enough, the EU just doesn't have enough money to cover the Spanish, which means the main package would have to be covered by the IMF ie the US and don't think you guys have the dough either,

As for the Euros forcing Greece to pay back their debt, there was a story before about Netherlands requesting that the EU / IMF take "Direct Control" of Greece, http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showt...ht=netherlands that sounds like boots on the ground to me, you know about the EU Army don't you, its not publicized much but there was a big thing about it because it was felt that it contravened Ireland's neutrality,

Maybe my religious convictions colour my judgement but i feel that its a contrived situation to bring all countries under a central financial control, i further step towards the one world government,

As for the batting order, its anybodies guess, i watched an interview on Sky News with a Greek Government adviser, an American Richard Parker, he said Greece were looking at maybe leaving the Euro two years ago.
i believe Spain will be next, this could take down the UK, Santander his highly involved in the UK banking sector http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grupo_Santander
Italy has just had a shed load of banks downgraded this evening
I think its going to be a race to the bottom

[OldArcher]

Do you see Kuwait going down in flames, with the European banks, due to their support? Not only Kuwait, but other muslim nations, "bet" heavily on the Euro being an alternative to the Dollar... I'd think that they'd be looking for some place to run to...

Take care...

OA, out...

[Marthanoir]

Do you see Kuwait going down in flames, with the European banks, due to their support? Not only Kuwait, but other muslim nations, "bet" heavily on the Euro being an alternative to the Dollar... I'd think that they'd be looking for some place to run to...

Take care...

OA, out...

The Qu'ran prohibits gambling, betting and trading on risk so.... whoops
they should have stuck to Sharia banking

I know some of the Emirates in the UAE are having financial difficulties not sure how leveraged on Euro banks they are though,

[Marthanoir]

Anyone besides me getting reaaaaaaaaalllllllllll tired of all the "on again-off again" bs about Greece, Spain and Italy? Jeez, let's get it over with and get on with our lives.

Kajun

Euro Roulette, every chamber is loaded with blanks

[Marthanoir]

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Rising concerns that Greece could leave or be driven out of the euro zone pushed Irish bond yields higher on Monday, potentially complicating Dublin's plans to return to international bond markets later this year.

Irish 10-year government bond yields, a measure of the risk associated with investing in Ireland, nudged briefly above 7 percent on Monday on the back of market speculation that Greece could decide to leave the single currency bloc.

If Irish bond yields remain above 7 percent for an extended period, it could hamper plans to return to the market. The International Monetary Fund has already said it doubts whether Ireland can return to markets this year.

Ireland had Europe's highest budget deficit last year and its growth prospects remain fragile. Having already received an EU/IMF bailout, it is particularly susceptible to the knock-on impact from Greece and other bailed-out euro zone countries.

Ireland's deputy prime minister, Eamon Gilmore, and the country's finance minister, Michael Noonan, both underlined their concerns about the fallout from Greece on Monday.

With a referendum on Ireland's participation in the EU's new fiscal treaty set for May 31, Dublin is especially sensitive to the fallout from the euro zone debt crisis.

"Greece's exit would ... be damaging to the euro and could have serious knock-on implications for Ireland," Gilmore told journalists in Brussels.

"The only sure thing that we know about Greece is that we are unsure about what's going to happen... what its future is and that is precisely the kind of uncertainty, insecurity and instability that we have to avoid. What the euro needs and what Ireland needs is stability."

Noonan delivered a similar message as he arrived for a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Brussels.

"Greece should continue to stay in the euro," he said. "But they have to set their own house in order ... their problem is not really economic or fiscal. The immediate problem in Athens is a democratic problem."

Gilmore appealed to voters in Ireland to back the fiscal treaty, which binds countries into cutting their deficits and eventually balancing their budgets. The referendum has been compared to asking the nation whether it wants to keep the euro.

If Irish voters rejected the treaty it could ruin plans to return to borrowing on the markets as the country would be seen a higher default risk by investors without the backstop of the euro zone's rescue facility, the European Stability Mechanism.

Only countries that have signed up to the fiscal treaty can make recourse to the ESM, a permanent 500 billion euro bailout fund that will become active from July.

http://m.yahoo.com/w/legobpengine/ne...GB&.lang=en-GB

[Marthanoir]

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has shot down renewed calls for the referendum on the European fiscal treaty to be postponed.

He rejected claims from a group of independent politicians that uncertainty in France and Germany, and potential revisions to the treaty text mean it is too soon for the Irish people to cast their vote.

"The date is fixed for May 31," he said. "The reason it's important we leave it at May 31 is that it allows us to send out a very clear signal of certainty from our people, about our country."

The Taoiseach said sticking to the original referendum date shows potential investors that Ireland is serious about being part of the eurozone.

"We can send out a very clear and strong signal about where Ireland is headed," Mr Kenny added.

"We know we are headed in the right direction and secondly, as a country in a programme, investors who are considering our country now will see the symbol of certainty and can make their decisions accordingly."

Earlier, Independent MEP Marian Harkin said the referendum should be deferred due to game-changing events in Europe last week.

She said Ireland was in no position to vote on whether to ratify the fiscal deal until potential revisions, including a new growth stimulus, are written into the text.

Ms Harkin also pointed out that if one of the main architects of the treaty -Germany - was unable to ratify it in parliament with majority support, Ireland should hold back from voting.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was forced to defer the ratification of the fiscal compact because she failed to drum up enough support from parliament.
http://m.yahoo.com/w/legobpengine/ne...GB&.lang=en-GB

[tanstaafl]

Argh! I wish everyone would specify what they mean when they toss around words like euro, Eurozone, Euros, etc. The words are definitely NOT interchangeable! As far as I know there are ten countries in the European Union that don't use the euro currency, so it's potentially possibly for Greece to no longer be allowed to use the euro currency but still stay in the EU (perhaps as a junior member on "double secret probation").

[Marthanoir]

Argh! I wish everyone would specify what they mean when they toss around words like euro, Eurozone, Euros, etc. The words are definitely NOT interchangeable! As far as I know there are ten countries in the European Union that don't use the euro currency, so it's potentially possibly for Greece to no longer be allowed to use the euro currency but still stay in the EU (perhaps as a junior member on "double secret probation").

Euro = currency
Eurozone = group of nations that use the Euro currency
Euros = EU politicians
EU = European Union
EFSF = European Financial Stability Fund
ECB = European Central Bank
ESM = European Stability Mechanism

Yes the issue is whether Greece leaves the Euro (currency) not the EU

[Repairman-Jack]

Anyone besides me getting reaaaaaaaaalllllllllll tired of all the "on again-off again" bs about Greece, Spain and Italy? Jeez, let's get it over with and get on with our lives.

Kajun

YEP

Tired of every fart and burp in the DOW being blamed or credited with the euro trash bs

[tanstaafl]

Euro = currency
Eurozone = group of nations that use the Euro currency
Euros = EU politicians
EU = European Union
EFSF = European Financial Stability Fund
ECB = European Central Bank
ESM = European Stability Mechanism

THOSE are the kind of definitions I can readily understand! Now if only everyone ELSE used the same definitions instead of using the terms practically at random ...

By the way, for those that didn't recognize the "double secret probation" reference, it's from the movie "Animal House" when the university dean couldn't come up with anything else to intimidate the unruly fraternity. I half expect some equally surreal label to be slapped on the Greeks as some spineless intermediate step towards actual separation from the euro currency.

[Richard]

once you sign up to the pan national rule of the Unions you're in it for life, same will apply to the North American Union, African Union, SE Asian Union etc

[skip8]

Euro = currency
Eurozone = group of nations that use the Euro currency
Euros = EU politicians
EU = European Union
EFSF = European Financial Stability Fund
ECB = European Central Bank
ESM = European Stability Mechanism

Yes the issue is whether Greece leaves the Euro (currency) not the EU

Another: EMU = Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union (This Wiki-page is pretty good.)

Not to be confused with: Emu