Here's my summary of the news over the weekend in 90 seconds at 9 am in association with Bank of New Zealand, including news Greece's parliament is expected to vote around 11 am on a fresh austerity deal to avoid a national bankruptcy.
The Greek Prime Minister warned parliamentarians over the weekend they must vote for the deal or the nation faces an uncontrollable exit from the Euro and chaos.
Most expect the deal to pass through the parliament, but the situation is far from settled.
Greece's European donors are very sceptical about Greece's ability to follow through on the deal after elections in April.
Greece's leaders have repeatedly made promises and then broken them.
Concerns about the Greek situation late on Friday night rattled markets after a group of ministers walked out of the government.
The New Zealand dollar fell below 83 USc on Friday night as the US stock market experienced its biggest fall (around 1%) of the year.
European stocks also fell.
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11 Comments
Tonight's protest in Athens has all the makings of the vintage ones from May of 2010, and the nigh is still young. Here are some updates:
- Rioting spreads across central Athens, at least 5 buildings set ablaze - AP
- 2:02PM EST: FIRES ARE BURNING SEVERAL SMALL BUSINESSES AROUND ATHENS AS PROTESTERS CLASH WITH POLICE NEAR GREEK PARLIAMENT
- 1:52 PM EST: POLICE ARE CLEARING PROTESTERS FROM OUT IN FRONT OF GREEK PARLIAMENT BUILDING
- 1:50 PM EST: ATMS ARE REPORTEDLY EMPTY AROUND ATHENS... STILL UNCONFIRMED WORKING TO CONFIRM THIS
- 1:48 PM EST: LARGE FIRES ARE REPORTED AROUND ATHENS... INCLUDING A BRANCH OF EUROBANK AND STARBUCKS
- Skai TV reports that police have run out of tear gas & have asked for more supplies to be brought
As a reminder, the final vote is not until midnight.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/athens-burning-police-runs-out-tear-gas
The Greek Parliament will vote YES to the new bailout however "difficult" it would be.
Afterall they know that they will be gone by April election, but at least they get paid for the next two months....as for the Greeks, until and unless chaos and violence rule (like Syria) there will be no changes...even if they elect a new goverment in april.
Majority of Greeks still wants to stay in the Euro but complain about the austerity....they have to choose one or the either...but have yet to realise it .
who is getting the bailout money
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danielhannan/100135715/the-bailout-mo…
The Europeans can demand all they like and the Greek parliment can agree to anything. At the end of the day, the Greek public will have the final say, whether by democratically changing the government or civil uprising. Greece does not have a politically stable history.
There is a limit as to how much their ecconomy can be squeezed before the whole exercise is counterproductive and their ecconomy collapses.
I can only see this ending by Greece leaving the Euro and the only question is how much the Europeans will waste trying to prevent it.
The smart thing to do would have been to accept what is inevatible and plan to handle it in a way that minimizes the consequential damage.
From the comments section Daily Telegraph UK. Quite clever!
As Athens burns and the flames of revolt threaten to toast the great and the good , News reaches us of a meeting of the EU bigwigs. In a desperate appeal to the almighty they kicked off with a prayer!
Our pension which art in Brussels
Hallowed be Nick Clegg
thy acquis communautaire
thy edicts done
In Greece as they are in Berlin
Give us this day our daily bung
and forgive us our debt restructuring
as we castigate those who restructure against us
and lead us not into self governing democracies
but deliver us from Farage
For thine is the EU Commission
the Van and the Rompuy
ever closer and closer integration
Amen.
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