Logo
Prev
search
Print
addthis
Rotate
Help
Next
Contents
All Pages
Browse Issues
Buy This Issue
Select edition
Monday
Thursday
Saturday
Home
'
The Weekend Neos Kosmos : 8 August 2015
Contents
DIGITAL.NEOSKOSMOS.COM THE WEEKEND NEOS KOSMOS | SATURDAY 8 AUGUST 2015 23 GREECE Bailout agreement on track Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and French president Francois Hollande agreed on Thursday that a new bailout for Greece could and should be agreed within days. The two men were speaking in Egypt on the sidelines of a ceremony to inaugurate the upgraded Suez Canal. President Hollande, speaking to reporters at the inauguration, said: "The objective is for the negotiations on the program to be concluded at the end of Au- gust. We know it's difficult but we must make sure that the conditions are met, in a good spirit. "For now I believe the atmosphere is right and discussions are going in the best of directions," he added. Meanwhile the Greek PM's office released a statement saying "the two leaders agreed that the negotiations can and must be concluded immediately after August 15". European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andree- Mayor contacts deprived Athenians Athens' mayor Giorgos Kaminis wrote to 20,000 of the city's residents on Thursday to advise them that they're eligible for food coupons but they must submit applications before the 26 August deadline. The letters were sent with the assistance of Hellenic Post, which covered the cost of postage and which will allow applications to be made at any of the 27 post offices within the boundaries of the city. More than 280,000 people have applied for assistance through the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) in Greece, authorities said on Thursday. The National Institute for Labor and Human Resources said that it has received over 130,00 applications, representing more than 280,000 people, for entry into a food program since mid-July. Of those applications, 50,226 have been submitted by individuals and the rest by public bodies, non-governmental organisations and charities representing people in need. Source: Kathimerini THI launches crowdfunding appeal In a response to Greece's economic crisis, The Hellenic Initiative (THI) in the United States has launched its first global crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo. Just past the two-week mark, the campaign is gaining momentum, with Greek American actress Nia Vardalos also getting behind the initiative. People around the globe are being asked to make a contribution within their budget, regardless of the amount and to share the campaign with others. US actress Nia Vardalos is backing The Hellenic Initiative crowdfunding campaign. PHOTO: AAP/AP. So far US$5,550 has been raised. The goal is to raise US$1 million within the next month. THI was established in the United States in 2012 to assist crisis relief and encourage business entrepreneurship in Greece. Since then it has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to NGOs in Greece which provide assistance to some of those most severely affected by the economic crisis. In June the Australian division of THI was launched in Melbourne. va said the lenders are hoping to finalise the 85 billion ($92.5bn) agreement in time for a debt repayment of more than 3 billion due to the European Central Bank on August 20. "We believe this is an ambitious yet possible timetable," she said. "Our teams have been on the ground almost two weeks, and they report satisfactory progress." Sources: Kathimerini, Reuters/AP French president Francois Hollande (C) meets Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (L) and head of the Arab World Institute Jack Lang (R) in Egypt this week. PHOTO: EPA/PHILIPPE WOJAZER. Banks on track for historic loss After the Athens stock market opened for business after a five-week hiatus on Monday, the Greece's bankingsector index saw 64 per cent of its value shaved off in the first three days of trading, in increments of almost 30 per cent a day - the daily loss limit. The bank losses came as the wider Athex Composite Index lost 'just' 19 per cent in the same period, as investors grappled with what's next for the country's beleagured economy. "Investors have to reassess the risk in terms of Greek banks and the risk of their holdings. It is obviously not a pleasant scenario and the sell-off has been quite considerable," said Richard Perry, market analyst at Hantec Markets. For the banking index, the weekly loss is on track to be 59 per cent, the biggest ever after both the banking index and the Athex staged a rebound in Thursday's trade, up 13 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively. A woman walks under an art installation at the Athens Stock Exchange this week. PHOTO: EPA/ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU. and far exceeding a 40 per cent wipe-out in May 2013. For the benchmark Athex, it looks likely to suffer 16 per cent losses, its fourth-worst week ever, after putting in its biggest one-day slide in the index's history at the begininng of the week. The projection comes even Property prices slide Greek residential property prices declined at a faster pace in the second quarter than the first, data showed on Tuesday, as Greece's slide back into recession hit household incomes and employment. Property accounts for a large chunk of household wealth in Greece, which has one of the highest home ownership rates in Europe - 80 per cent versus a European Union average of 70 per cent, according to the European Mortgage Federation. Bank of Greece data showed that apartment prices fell by 5.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2015 from a year earlier. The annual pace of decline accelerated from 4.1 per cent in the first three months of the year. The pace of price declines had begun to ease after a 10.8 per cent drop in 2013 up until the first quarter of 2015. Residential property prices have dropped by 40.5 per cent from a peak hit in 2008, when the country's recession began. The real estate market has been hit by property taxes which the government imposed to plug budget deficits, a tight credit market and a jobless rate hovering near 27 per cent. Apart from their negative wealth effect, falling property Residential property prices have fallen over 40 per cent since 2008. PHOTO: KATHIMERINI. prices also affect the collateral value on banks' outstanding real estate loans. Greece's economy shrank by 0.2 per cent in the first three months of the year compared with the last quarter of 2014, after emerging from a six- year recession last year. The European Commission projects Greece will fall back into recession in 2015, with gross domestic product contracting by two to four per cent. Source: Kathimerini "The longer-term scenario remains pretty bleak for Greece and its banks. Nothing particular positive has come out of [the bailout discussions] - there has been no write-down of debt and there's been no real longterm solution. It's just effectively kicking the can down the road," Mr Perry said. Greek banks have been surviving on a crisis lifeline thrown to them by the European Central Bank, through the emergency liquidity assistance. Since reopening on July 20, customers have reportedly deposited about €1 billion in Greek banks, easing some of the pressure on the banking system. Source: MarketWatch
Links
Archive
1 August 2015
15 August 2015
Navigation
Previous Page
Next Page
