Greece’s secret loan from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) was a costly mistake from the start. On the day the 2001 deal was struck, the government owed the bank about 600 million euros ($793 million) more than the 2.8 billion euros it borrowed, said Spyros Papanicolaou, who took over the country’s debt-management agency in 2005. By then, the price of the transaction, a derivative that disguised the loan and t ...

Nearly 86 percent of private investors have agreed to join in the debt-swap deal that will help Greece avoid an uncontrolled default. But is that good news? Many experts have their doubts. In a SPIEGEL ONLINE interview, economics professor Harald Hau argues that not only will the plan put the burden on taxpayers, but it will mean an even bigger crisis to come. SPIEGEL ONLINE: Almost 86 percent of private-se ...

By Andrew Rettman BRUSSELS - Official figures show that EU countries sold Greece over €1 billion of arms at the same time as negotiating its first bail-out back in 2010. France was by far the biggest seller, with a €794 million aircraft deal, according to recently-released European Council data on arms licences granted by member states. It also sold €58 million of missiles and €19 million of electronics use ...

Neoliberal economics planned in Brussels and Berlin will push Greece into third-world working conditions. The reporting of the Greek tragedy over the last couple of years gives the impression that economics is a master science. Yet, the mainstream economists who gave Lehman Brothers a certificate of rude health just before its collapse, predicted tat by 2012 the Greek economy would start growing. The econom ...

From kiosnet     Greek farmers have taken to selling their produce directly to consumers in a move to push down prices and cut out retailers they accuse of profiteering. In a climate of harsh austerity, soaring unemployment and diminishing income, thousands of Greeks are flocking to makeshift markets where farmers are reportedly selling their produce at less than half supermarket prices. The actio ...

Siemens in collaboration with the police and an attorney general attempts to break the strike of shipyard workers in Elefsina   Since last Wednesday the workers of the shipyards of Elefsina, outside Athens, are on strike demanding from the companies to sign an agreement that are not going to decrease any wages. All companies signed the agreement with the exception of Siemens and DECO. Yesterday people ...

By Charlotte McDonald BBC News   The eurozone crisis has sown divisions in the European family, and Greece in particular has often been singled out for criticism. Has Greece been living beyond its means? Are Greeks lazy? On this second point, the statistics tell a surprising story. This week Greece is facing more spending cuts after agreeing to a deal of 130bn euros (£110bn, $175bn) to help it avoid ba ...

“How can one speak of default in the future tense when we’re already bankrupt… Don’t you see the people scouring through garbage and sleeping on sidewalks? Those who led us to bankruptcy – the troika and the government – now claim they want to save us from bankruptcy. It’s incredible.” – Mikis Theodorakis, composer and songwriter “Everything is changing. Everything is frightening.” –Kathimerini, Greek newsp ...

We must do something. This is something. Therefore we must do it. Yes, Minister. What can I say? As Felix Salmon says, this really isn’t credible. The problem with all previous rounds here has been that austerity policies depress the economy to such an extent that it wipes out most of the topline fiscal gains: revenue fall, so does GDP, so the projected debt/GDP ratio gets, if anything, worse. Now we have a ...

The REinFORM.nl would like to thank everyone who participated in the solidarity action on the 18th of February in Amsterdam. We hope that the solidarity message which was sent yesterday to the Greek people from all over Europe will help them to keep on struggling. Even though we live thousands of kilometres away from Greece, our spirit is with them. And is the spirit of resistance... Solidarity Message From ...