Eurozone finance ministers approve bailout deal for Cyprus

 

French minister of Economy, Finances and Foreign Trade Pierre Moscovici (R) and International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde (L) chat next to EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn (C) prior to an extraordinary Eurozone meeting on March 24, 2013 at the EU Headquarters in Brussels (AFP Photo / John Thys)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/cyprus-eu-imf-bailout-764/

The Eurogroup has approved a deal on a 10 billion-euro bailout for Cyprus, struck early Monday in Brussels. Cyprus avoids exiting the eurozone, but will have its second largest bank closed with heavy losses expected for big depositors.

“The size of financial assistance will amount to 10 billion euro,” Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem has announced at a press conference in Brussels after the eurozone finance ministers swiftly endorsed the plan.

“With this agreement we’ve put an end to the uncertainty that has affected Cyprus and the euro area over the last few days,”he added.

The new deal agreed between Cyprus and the Troika of international lenders - the EU, the ECB and the IMF - will set up a "good bank" and a "bad bank" and will mean that the country’s second largest bank Laiki will effectively be shut down.

Deposits below 100,000 euros will be shifted from Laiki to the Bank of Cyprus to create a “good bank.” Deposits larger than 100,000 euros will be frozen and used to resolve debts. It remains unclear how large the write-down on those funds will be.

The decision comes hours before the Monday deadline set by the European Central Bank, following heated talks between President Nicos Anastasiades and the Troika.

Earlier on Sunday the central bank in Cyprus has imposed an ATM withdrawal limit of 100 euros per day for the island's two biggest banks, in order to prevent a run on lenders.

Warren Pollock - market analyst and financial adviser says the financial turmoil in Cyprus is part of a broader crisis.

“In reality this is a global problem which has not been addressed since 2007-2008 and previous to that with the issuance of huge amounts of debt and leverage into the system both in Europe and in the United States,” he told RT.


“And when that debt goes bad, the only recourse which exists is to tap remaining collateral in the system which is the savings.”


Pollock believes that sooner or later this “sort of stealing” of savings may result in popular unrest. “We can definitely see smaller countries being the test to see whether savings could be stolen on a wider scale.”

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Cyprus imposes ATM withdrawal limit of €100 per day for island's two largest banks

 

People queue to withdraw their savings at a Cypus Popular Bank (Laiki Bank) ATM in Athens on March 22, 2013. (AFP Photo)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/business/cyprus-bailout-withdrawal-banks-756/

The central bank in Cyprus has imposed an ATM withdrawal limit of 100 euros per day for the island's two biggest banks, in order to prevent a run on lenders.

A spokesman for the country's second largest lender, Cyprus Popular Bank, told Reuters that the new measure began at 1pm local time (11am GMT) and would remain in place until the bank reopens, or until confirmation of continued emergency funding from the European Central Bank. Cyprus Popular Bank had previously limited withdrawals to 260 euros per day.

A government official said the restriction also applied to the Bank of Cyprus.

It was initially reported that the measure was implemented on all banks in Cyprus, although it has now been confirmed that only the island's two biggest banks have been affected.

The news comes after Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades took part in last-minute crisis talks with international lenders on Sunday, in an attempt to save the country from financial meltdown. The negotiations in Nicosia to seal a bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund failed to reach a solution.

Anastasiades then headed to Brussels to hold talks with EU, European Central Bank and IMF leaders ahead of a crunch meeting of eurozone finance ministers.

Government spokesman Christos Stylianides said in a statement on Sunday that Anastasiades and his team have a "very difficult task to accomplish to save the Cypriot economy and avert a disorderly default if there is no final agreement on a loan accord."

The news comes just one day after Cyprus and the Troika agreed to a 20 per cent tax on deposits over 100,000 euros at the Bank of Cyprus and 4 per cent on deposits held at other banks.

"Unfortunately, the events of recent days have led to a situation where there are no longer any optimal solutions available. Today, there are only hard choices left," European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said in a Saturday statement.

Cyprus is scrambling to come up with €5.8 billion by Monday, or face being kicked out of the Eurozone. The cash is a prerequisite for a further €10 billion in bailout funds.

Lawmakers' rejection of a previous proposal to tax all bank deposits prompted the European Central Bank to threaten to cut off emergency funding to Cypriot banks unless a deal was reached by March 25. Banks have been shut all week, and are due to reopen on March 26.

On Saturday, at least 1,000 bank workers in Cyprus hit the streets of the country’s capital of Nicosia. The demonstrators marched against the latest bailout measures taken by the country’s central bank.

Protesters carried banners that read, “Hands off provident funds” and “No to the bankruptcy of Cyprus.”

Turkey sends ‘stern warning’ to Cyprus over gas reserves

Meanwhile, Turkey has warned Greek Cyprus against using hydrocarbon reserves off the island to overcome its debt crisis without the consent of Turkish Cypriots. Ankara says such a move could result in an end to efforts to reunite Cyprus’ Turkish and Greek zones.

Turkey has contacted the US and plans to take the issue to the European Union, Today’s Zaman reported.

Ankara “had to issue a stern warning” regarding attempts to offer natural resources in exchange for foreign loans, a Turkish official said on Sunday.

Turkey has repeatedly warned the Greek Cypriot government against unilateral moves to extract natural gas and oil reserves off Cyprus, saying that Turkish Cypriots also have a say on the reserves.

The dispute recently escalated when reports surfaced that hydrocarbon exploration rights were part of Russia-Greek Cyprus talks last week over a possible deal which includes Russian financial help. However, the talks did not produce an agreement.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev expressed doubt on the inclusion of hydrocarbon reserves as a loan deal, saying there are concerns surrounding commercial viability and questions stemming from Turkish objections.

 

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Spain jobless rate climbs by 2.73% in October

 

This file photo shows people standing in line outside a government employment office in Madrid, Spain, October 26, 2012.

Source; Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/05/270533/spain-jobless-rate-climbs-by-273/

Official data show that Spain’s unemployment rate climbed by 2.73% in October, bringing the number of the unemployed people in the European country to 4.83 million.

According to the data released on Monday by Spain’s Labor Ministry, October was the third straight month that the jobless rate climbed after a break during the summer tourism season.

Battered by the global financial downturn, Spain’s economy collapsed into recession in the second half of 2008, taking with it millions of jobs.

Protests have been growing against the Spanish government’s austerity measures and labor reforms, which are hitting the middle and working classes the hardest, amid the deepening economic crisis.

The government has remained adamant saying the austerity measures are needed to bring it through the crisis.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s proposed 2013 draft budget is expected to slash the overall spending by 40 billion euros ($51.7 billion), freeze the salaries of public workers, and reduce spending for unemployment benefits.

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If EU were a company its chiefs and CEOs would be in jail - MEP

EU Leaders pose during a family photo after a meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels (AFP Photo / John Thys)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/eu-budget-paul-nuttall-885/

With an EU budget that stands at 147 billion euros, a sum that looks set to increase, European MP Paul Nuttall told RT that even the EU doesn’t know where such a "crazy" sum of money is spent.

With EU members set to discuss the inflation-busting rise of 5% to the 2014-2020 budget, suggested by the European Commission, Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has rebuked David Cameron’s plan to try and repatriate powers to the UK. He described it as “false promise wrapped in union jack” which could trigger an “outright crisis” and result in the UK leaving the union.

Clegg also argued on Thursday that achieving a cut in the seven-year EU budget to be discussed in three weeks is “completely unrealistic” and the only realistic variant is the pushing for a real-terms freeze.

Cameron also wants to push for a freeze, but that freeze is in fact an increase, argues Paul Nuttall, a Member of the European Parliament from the UK Independence Party, due to the inflation.

RT:Is Nick Clegg right? Is the UK moving away from Europe?

Paul Nuttall: The UK is certainly moving away …Well, the people are moving away from Europe, shall we say. If we look at recent opinion polls 80 per cent of people want the referendum, so around 60 per cent of people actually want to leave the European Union altogether. So the people are certainly moving away. The political class that’s another debate, I mean, I think what Nick Clegg said is quite right actually. We can’t repatriate powers unless we have an iron fist behind us. And the iron fist has to be a referendum on our membership of the EU and then we can invoke something called Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty, which means that we can then start negotiation about we can repatriate back to this country.

RT:How welcome is David Cameron going to be in Brussels later this month – what do you expect him to say?

PN: I think David Cameron has already shown his hands. I mean if I was going out there wanting a bargain what I would say that I want a clear reduction – a cut – in the EU budget. What he is saying is that he wants a freeze, which is in fact really a rise what would go in inflation. And I think he has shown his hands and what will happen is that he will talk hard and at the end he will come back and we will lose again and the British people will only pay more and more money to Brussels.

RT:As a Euro MP, how much money does the EU really need to go about its business?

PN: The budget last year was 129 billion pounds [sic], which is a crazy amount of money. Every single year the budget goes up and member states, including Greece and Portugal and Irelands that are in serious trouble will be asked to put their hands in pockets and give more to Brussels. It is wrong.

RT:Large parts of the EU budget have been failing audits for years now. Where does all the money go?

PN: That’s a good question. I don’t know. It seems that the European Union itself doesn’t know. Look, if the European Union was a company then its directors and chief executives would all be in jail. But it is not. It is corrupt and it is another reason why British people want that referendum and want to leave.

RT:Weaker eurozone states are struggling to stay afloat – Spain's verging on a bailout. But the UK's not in the currency union. However it's still paying into the troubled region's coffers. How much is the currency bloc relying on the wider EU states?

PN: The currency block certainly relies presumably on Britain, actually, out of the states which aren’t in the currency [block]. And we pay somewhere 15 million pounds a day just to be members of this club and this doesn’t take into account the mega amounts of money – tens of billions it costs us to comply with EU directives and regulations. It burdens on the British people. It is something we are not happy about. We want a referendum because let’s not forget the last time we voted on our membership this organization was in 1975. We deserve a referendum and we want a say on this issue.

 

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Greek journalist acquitted of breach of privacy for Lagarde list

 

Greek editor of "Hot Doc" weekly magazine Kostas Vaxevanis waits outside a courthouse in Athens November 1, 2012 (Reuters / Yorgos Karahalis)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/greek-journalist-acquitted-list-787/

Greek journalist Kostas Vaxevanis has been acquitted of breach of privacy. He was arrested after publishing a list of 2,000 Greeks with Swiss bank accounts in his Hot Doc magazine.

­His trial began earlier on Thursday for publishing the so called 'Lagarde list'.

Vaxevanis' defense centered around claims that he published the same list as the one that French authorities handed over to their Greek counterparts two years ago. His legal team also argued that no one had complained of privacy violation.

The Greek authorities said that there was no evidence that names mentioned in the list, businessmen, politicians and high-ranking officals, did actually break the law.

While the case was wrapping up, another journalist Spiros Karatzaferis, was also arrested in Athens.

His detention comes after threats to expose damaging allegations about the country’s economy. He claimed to have proof that the Greek deficit, which forced the embattled country to seek bailouts, was fraudulent. Karatzaferis insists he received this information from the hacker group Anonymous.

Two TV presenters were also recently suspended for criticizing authorities on-air.

Cases of what local journalists call increasing government censorship has sparked mass protest, started by state television staff.

Greek editor Kostas Vaxevanis makes statements outside a courthouse in Athens November 1, 2012 (Reuters / Yorgos Karahalis)

‘Journalists arrested for doing their job’- editor

­Before Kostas Vaxevanis was acquitted, RT talked to editor Tim Gopsill, who said that journalists in Greece are simply trying to do their job and are being arrested for it.

­RT:In light of these arrests, do you see a problem with media freedom brewing in Greece?

Tim Gopsill: I would say so, journalists in Greece are absolutely doing their job. The country is in crisis, people need to know what is going on.

RT:Do you think the quick and heavy-handed response of Greek authorities – when one of these journalists didn't even get to reveal the information he claims to have – proves that they have something they want to keep hidden?

TG: I would say so, yes. They are trying to close it down, aren’t they? Because what these journalists are doing is trying to reveal to the public the important information relating to the economic crisis. Kostas Vaxevanis’s exposé relates to the real crisis in Greece and in other countries too, which is tax avoidance and the export of capital, the taking the money out of the country, which is what happened to the Greek economy.

RT: Are you surprised by all this?

TG: Well, I am not surprised that the government is in absolute crisis in Greece. The economy is tottering, it is the most terrible social deprivation. It is a terrible time for Greek people and they are being treated very badly, not only by the Greek government but the whole EU financial establishment. They need to know the truth, but the thing is that avoiding the tax and taking money off the country is one of the main causes of the crisis. It is absolutely right that it should be publicized.

RT:Both these journalists were arrested within days of each other, while two TV presenters were also suspended for criticizing on -air the authorities. What can we read into the timing of all this?

TG: The timing is related to the economic position. It is getting closer and closer to a confrontation between Greece and the EU and eurozone. The eurozone is showing very little mercy to the suffering people. The bailout to Greece is not going to people’s pockets or to the income of the livelihood of the people. It is going to the banks, who rather rashly lent Greece money in the past.

RT: The journalists strike left Greeks with no news for 24 hours on Wednesday. That's when the politicians were debating new cuts for next year's budget. Was it playing into the lawmakers hands, as the public were left with no information on this divisive issue?

TG: What else can they do? All they can do is try to do their job, to tell the truth. But when they do they get arrested.

RT: But should they go on strike?

TG: Yes, I think so. They have got to put pressure on the government.

RT: All these events have drawn attention to the situation of media freedom in Greece. Have the authorities' efforts at guarding any secrets been counterproductive?

TG: I don’t see how they can get way with prosecuting these people. It is actually going to be a very interesting test of freedom in Greece, not just the press, but the court. I would expect that these journalists under what is the Greek version of the Human rights legislation that we have in this country, that we have around Europe, and the European convention and so on, will make sure that the court don’t convict them.

RT: Are other countries suffering from the crisis going to see more of this?

TG: If things get worse, yes.

 

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Greek police, firefighters, coast guards, medics protest against cuts

 

Greek police officers, firefighters, and coast guards protest outside parliament during an anti-austerity demonstration in central Athens on November 1, 2012.

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/01/269989/1000s-of-greeks-hold-demo-against-cuts/

Thousands of Greek police officers, coast guards, firefighters, and medical professionals have held demonstrations to protest against the government’s austerity measures.

The protesters took to the streets in the capital Athens on Thursday, Reuters reported.

Thousands of police officers and coast guards from various Greek regions marched to parliament to protest against salary cuts expected to be included in a new austerity bill.

Next week, Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras is likely to send the parliament a bill of labor reforms, which includes the officers' salary cuts.

In protest to the cuts, the police officers and the coast guards also handed out bowls of bean soup to the needy.

"[We say] 'No' to modern slavery. Our rage is overflowing. They lied to us again; those pre-election promises became dust after the elections, and will lead us to new medieval times," said Dimitris Sarantakis, the president of the Panhellenic Coast Guard Officers' Federation.

"Even if these measures pass the way they have arranged them, we will overturn them because we have not only reached our limits, we have now surpassed our limits," said Dimitris Vogiatzis, the president of the Police Officers' Federation.

A large number of Greek firefighters chanting anti-austerity slogans also marched on the parliament.

Earlier in the day, public hospital staff including doctors, nurses and ambulance drivers, walked off the job and staged a demonstration outside Greek Health Ministry headquarters. They said austerity cuts have weakened citizens' health and made their jobs more difficult.

They carried banners reading, "Austerity measures are bad for your health" and "Free public health care for all".

Greece has been at the epicenter of the eurozone debt crisis and is experiencing its fifth year of recession, while harsh austerity measures have left about half a million people without jobs.

One in every five Greek workers is currently unemployed, banks are in a shaky position, and pensions and salaries have been slashed by up to 40 percent.

Greek youths have also been badly affected, and more than half of them are unemployed.

The long-drawn-out eurozone debt crisis, which began in Greece in late 2009 and reached Italy, Spain, and France in 2011, is viewed as a threat not only to Europe but also to many of the world’s other developed economies.

Also on Thursday, a Greek court ruled that some of the spending cuts needed to secure more bailout funds for the near-bankrupt country are unconstitutional.

The Court of Auditors, which examines Greek laws before they are presented to parliament, said planned austerity measures such as raising the age of retirement to 67 and reducing pensions by 5 to 10 percent, could be against the constitution.

The court said the pension cuts for a fifth time since May 2010 violated many constitutional provisions, including the principles of individual dignity and equality before the law.

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Greece has finished talks with its creditors

 

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras (AFP Photo/Eric Feferberg)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/business/news/greece-troika-creditors-crisis-583/

Greece has finished marathon talks with the ‘Troika’ of creditors over its €31.5bln aid package, according to the Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

“Today we finished talks on the austerity measures and the budget. We did everything possible,” the Prime Minister said on Tuesday. "Should the agreement be approved [by the Parliament], and the budget adopted, Greece will remain within the Eurozone and will go out of the crisis.”

Samaras added that Athens had achieved “significant improvement” in the deal on offer, and warned of “chaos” if the measures were rejected by MPs.

At the moment Greece is seeking to receive another €31.5bln tranche out of the second bailout package amounting €130bln. In return the country should save €13.5bln in two years, with the exact ways of reaching the target remaining vague. The so-called Troika of creditors that includes the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank may ask Greece to implement around 150 reforms within 2 years, Germany’s Spiegel said last week. This will include certain changes to minimum wage rules, as well as abolishing professional privileges.

The announcement from Samaras has caused immediate reaction from bloggers on the internet.Comments largely grin at the PM’s calling negotiations ‘successful,’ while in fact “the scale of the austerity that will be heaped on Greeks has increased by billions of euros since the measures were originally mapped out after Greece's second bailout back in March,” the Guardian blogger said.

Greece austerity package went from €11.5bln to €13.5B, €5.5bln of cuts in 2013 that turned into €9.5bln.

Labor reforms that had long remained an outstanding issue were agreed earlier on Sunday, with no detail revealed.

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Swiss banking giant UBS AG to cut about 10,000 jobs worldwide

 

Swiss banking giant UBS has announced plans to slash some 10,000 jobs worldwide

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/30/269503/swiss-banking-giant-to-cut-10000-jobs/

The largest bank in Switzerland, UBS AG, has announced plans to cut about 10,000 jobs worldwide, as the economic crisis in the European country continues to worsen.

"This decision has been a difficult one, particularly in a business such as ours that is all about its people. Some reductions will result from natural attrition and we will take whatever measures we can to mitigate the overall effect,” UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti said in a statement released on Tuesday.

According to the statement, the decision is part of a restructuring plan devised in response to the global economic downturn and the European financial crisis.

Reports say that the Zurich-based bank aims to save over three billion dollars until the end of 2015.

The bank has also posted a net loss of 2.3 billion dollars in the third quarter of 2012.

Since the beginning of the financial crisis in Europe, UBS which employs more than 63,000 people, has been hit by billions of dollars in trading losses, management mishaps and scandals.

Last year, the Swiss bank said it would cut only 5 percent of its workforce, or about 3,500 jobs. It also appointed new executives that have promised to emphasize the bank’s wealth management business and decrease its capital markets activities.

Europe plunged into the financial crisis in early 2008. Insolvency now threatens heavily debt-ridden countries such as Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain.

The worsening debt crisis has forced the EU governments to adopt harsh austerity measures and tough economic reforms, which have triggered incidents of social unrest and massive protests in many European countries.

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Troika proposes 150 new reforms for devastated Greece - report

 

Demonstrators shout slogans during a demonstration against the government’s austerity measures in central Athens. (AFP Photo / Aris Messinis)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/troika-greece-new-reforms-435/

While Greece claims the deal on its new rescue package is nearly final, the troika will reportedly require the country to implement 150 new reforms within two years.

­The reform proposals by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund – which comprise the so-called “troika” – include loosening of hiring-and-firing laws, changing minimum wage rules and abolishing professional privileges, Germany’s Spiegel reports.

To control the implementation of the reforms, the troika proposes keeping bailout tranches in a special frozen account, releasing them only after the reforms are introduced.

The report also suggested that the troika proposed a debt restructuring, meaning that creditors would write off some of their Greek debt holdings, along with a two-year delay for budgetary consolidation.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble sharply criticized the idea, saying "that is a discussion which has little to do with the reality in the member states of the eurozone.”

He suggested, however, that Greece buy back some of its debt at discounted prices, Spiegel reported.

Private investors agreed to write off almost all of their Greek debt as part of a second bailout package, put together earlier this year.

Meanwhile, so-called "official sector" bondholders, including other eurozone countries, are still clinging to their share of Greek bonds.

The European Central Bank made it clear it would not write off its share of Greek debt, as this would mean financing Greece – which is forbidden, the report says.

Athens is looking forward to a €31.2 billion tranche from its current bailout package. Otherwise, the country may go bust as early as the end of November, according to Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

Last week Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras asserted that almost all the conditions of the new deal had been agreed upon, saying the parties were still to discuss labor reforms and measures to reform products and services markets.

Earlier he had agreed to cut €6.5 billion in wages, pensions and benefits and to save €1.5 billion from reforms to the public sector. Some reports also said the pension age would be raised by two years, bringing it to 67, a move that would save Greece another $1 billion.

 

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Thousands march in Madrid against government austerity measures

A picture taken on October 27, 2012 shows placards on a fence installed by police to protect the Spanish Congress during a protest against the government's austerity reforms and the public payment of bank's debts in Madrid (AFP Photo / Dominique Faget)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/madrid-austerity-protest-march-396/

A massive police escort accompanied tens of thousands of Spaniards marching on the country’s parliament in Madrid as part of anti-austerity protests.

­The 2.3-kilometers march organized by the "Surround parliament" protest group was closely guarded by law enforcement with dog teams, vans with reinforced windows, officers in full riot gear as well as mounted police.

At the Parliament, the crowd was greeted by an even larger police presence and pushed them back behind a chain of metal rail barricades.

Demonstrators were protesting against the latest measures introduced by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government as tens of thousands of jobs were lost in the third quarter with a bank bailout in sight.

“And now they are going to give banks a bailout, rescue them as if they were princesses,” Alan Pipo told the AP. “They should be put out on the streets, just like all those families who are being evicted from their homes because they are unable to keep up with mortgage payments! "

Demonstrators held a minute’s silence with their backs turned on parliament to show their condemnation of the government’s policies, that’s as a quarter of Spaniards are now unemployed.

The crowd also moved in front of Bankia Bank, where a group of protesters have been camping out since Monday, in an effort to pressure the bank to halt evictions that have so far affected 400,000 families in Spain.

Earlier on Saturday, nearly 3,000 off-duty police officers had also taken to the streets to voice their anger over austerity measures and the withdrawal of their Christmas bonuses.

Overall the Spanish economy has been struggling for years and now faces a staggering unemployment rate among the young of 52.34 per cent according to country’s National Statistical Institute.

In an effort to rebound the economic growth PM Rajoy has hiked taxes, cut spending and introduced harsh labor reforms in an effort to persuade investors that his government can manage Spain's financial trouble without a full bailout.

But some researchers believe that instead of cutting spending, it might be wise to increase it.

“The alternative is actually not to cut spending, but to invest in the economy, to invest in growth to make sure that there’re jobs. And the only way to ultimately get out of this debt, is to grow out of debt and not to cut your way of debt,” Jerome Roos, a researcher on the EU debt crisis at the European University Institute in Florence, told RT.

Spain’s economic output has shrunk for five quarters in a row and the country’s banking sector has been given a €100 billion loan by the 17 Eurozone states.

 

Demonstrators take part in a protest against the government's austerity reforms and the public payment of bank's debts in Madrid on October 27, 2012 (AFP Photo / Caesar Manso)

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Violent clashes erupt as Italy protests austerity

Demonstrators march on the ring road during the No Monti Day demonstration on October 27, 2012 in Rome (AFP Photo / STR)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/italy-austerity-protest-clashes-384/

Violent clashes erupted between police and protesters in the northern Italian town of Riva del Garda as tens of thousands took to the streets of Italy in a nationwide anti-austerity demonstration dubbed ‘No Monti Day.’

Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the crowd of angry protesters who fought back with clubs and banners on the streets of Riva del Garda.

Reports say the country’s Prime Minister Mario Monti, who is seen by many as a root cause of the Italian people’s suffering, was attending a meeting in Riva del Garda when the clashes began.

The demonstration in Riva del Garda was just one out of many taking place in Italy on Saturday.

In Rome police expected some 30,000 to take to the streets, but activists estimate that up to 100,000 showed up.

Protesters marched through the city to demand more jobs, investment in schools and universities, more money for healthcare and the end of the austerity policy brokered by Monti and his technocratic cabinet.

Monti, who replaced Silvio Berlusconi last November, is accused of introducing tough austerity measures that have hit ordinary Italians hardest asthe country’s economy continues to falter.

The protests in Italy come a year after ‘Occupy Rome’ turned extremely violent as scores of masked protesters attacked police with rocks, clubs and hummers.

The rioters torched cars, smashed windows, looted shops and even set the building housing Italy’s Defense Ministry on fire.

 

Screen shot from AP video

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One year after IMF bailout, Greece still big on military spending

(AFP Photo / Louisa Gouliamaki)

Exactly one year ago, the EU agreed to several extreme measures to combat the ongoing economic crisis, to mixed results. But despite its unique economic distress, Greece shows no sign of cutting back its considerable military budget.

­A year ago to the day, EU leaders met to tackle debt troubles that German Chancellor Angela Merkel described as Europe’s worst economic crisis since the end of WWII. The EU spent a month negotiating the deal, which was proclaimed to have saved Greece by writing off half the country’s debt, which at the time amounted to 160 percent of its GDP.

The second aim of the package was to protect other European countries from financial instability. The EU decided to more than double the eurozone bailout fund, also known as the European Financial Stability Facility.

A handful of nations expressed skepticism of the deal at the outset. Now, a year later, consensus has emerged that the eurozone crisis shows no sign of abating, and the financial and business climate across Europe has significantly worsened.

But as the crisis worsens, some nations, like Greece, have chosen to spend more money on the military while simultaneously slashing social programs.

A man holds a placard in front of riot police forces during a protest march marking a 24-hour general strike on October 18, 2012 near the parliament in Athens. (AFP Photo / Louisa Gouliamaki)

The Greek arms anomaly

­Greece continues to be one of the world’s biggest arms importers, despite having little chance of meeting the deficit reduction targets pegged to its International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout loan, according to a preliminary report by the organization’s debt inspectors.

The IMF report will likely recommend more austerity in Greece, in addition to 89 other stalled reforms Athens has failed to enact.

Despite the push for cuts in other spheres, the Greek government continues to spend a considerable portion of its budget on arms, amounting to 7 billion euros in 2011. From 2002 through 2006, Greece was the world's fourth-largest importer of weapons. Despite the country’s ongoing debt crisis, it remains the tenth-largest military importer.

As a proportion of its GDP, Greek defense spending is nearly double that of any other EU member. The country also has a less-than-transparent procurement process and a reputation for budgetary corruption, RT's Peter Oliver reports.

Long-running tensions between Greece and Turkey are believed to be the main reason behind Athens’ high levels of military spending. Following Turkey’s 1974 invasion of Cyprus, Greece has spent an estimated 216 billion euros on arms.

“Greece still considers that it is facing a threat from Turkey. And that we need to maintain credible military forces to deter that threat,” Thanos Dokos, the Director-General of the Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy told RT.

Germany, one of Greece’s main creditors in the IMF bailout and a leading voice for eurozone austerity, is also one of Athens’ biggest arms suppliers. Greek military imports account for some 15 percent of Berlin's arms exports.

Vladimir Kremlev for RT

“In my point of view there's no justification that Greece continues to spend so heavily on military equipment. But of course it is export earnings for Germany, there are NATO interests there, so it's just being done and it's not being talked about too much,” political and economic analyst Maz Otte explained to RT.

“Once in a while it pops up, but German politicians aren't really questioning it,” he added.

With Greece plunging further into dire economic conditions, some have leveled charges of hypocrisy at Germany’s dual role as arms supplier and austerity advocate for Athens.

“For [Berlin], social spending cutting is the first thing that comes to their minds. Whereas to me as a Green, the first priority would be making cuts to the defense sector,”Franziska Brantner, German MEP from the Green Party said.

“I think there is elite in Greece both with in the political sphere, as well as the arms lobby that does keep specific percentages from every sale of arms,” journalist Loukas Germanos told RT. “These are the people who are sending that money abroad to Swiss bank accounts.”

With former Greek defense minister Apostolos Tsochatzopoulos in custody for charges of fraud and embezzlement, the country’s high military budget will likely remain a contentious issue. Economists estimate that if Greece had cut defense spending over the past decade to levels comparable to other EU nations, it would have saved some 150 billion euros – more than its last IMF bailout.

 

Health employees protest outside the Health Ministry in Athens against pay and budget cuts planned in the latest round of austerity measures. (AFP Photo / Aris Messinis)

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Spain jobless rate exceeds 25 percent in 3rd quarter

 

People wait in line at a government employment office in the center of Madrid on September 4, 2012.

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/26/268825/spain-unemployment-hits-new-high/

Official data show that Spanish unemployment rate has exceeded 25 percent in the third quarter of 2012 as the country continues to grapple with economic woes.

New figures released by Spain’s National Statistics Institute on Friday showed that the country’s unemployment rate climbed to 25.02 percent in the third quarter, up from the previous 24.63 percent.

The institute also pointed out that a total of 5.78 million people were out of work in the July-September quarter, up 85,000 from the previous three months, while the number of Spanish households in which every member is unemployed rose to 1.74 million.

The release of the recent figures follows Spain’s labour unions call for a general strike for November 14.

With its high unemployment rate, Spain is under pressure to get its public finances back on track amid concerns in the markets over the state of the country’s banks and the wider economy.

The Spanish government has also been sharply criticized over the austerity measures that are hitting the middle and working classes the hardest.

Public protests have grown in the country over speculation that the government will seek a Greek-style European bailout to keep its borrowing costs in check.

Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s proposed 2013 draft budget is expected to slash the overall spending by 40 billion euros ($51.7 billion), freeze the salaries of public workers, and reduce spending for unemployment benefits.

Battered by the global financial downturn, Spain’s economy collapsed into recession in the second half of 2008, taking with it millions of jobs.

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French banks get blow from S&P, as Eurozone crisis weighs

 

(AFP Photo /Philippe Huguen)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/business/news/s-and-p-france-banks-downgrade-293/

S&P downgraded three French banks, including the 3rd biggest lender in the world BNP Paribas, saying the outlook for another 10 lenders was negative. The agency said European turmoil was increasingly pressing, with economic data backing the gloom.

Banque Solfea and Cofidis were the other 2 French lenders that came into the S&P firing line. The agency cut the outlook on another 10 banks including such market giants as Societe Generale, and Credit Agricole to negative from stable.

In its decision, S&P lowered its long-term rating on BNP Paribas to “A+” from “AA-", while cuttingsmaller players Banque Solfea to “A-” from “A” and Cofidis to “BBB+” from “A-". The forecast on both short – and long – term ratings was negative.

“…the constraints of a relatively high public debt burden, reduced external competitiveness and persistent high unemployment are being aggravated in our view by the ongoing eurozone crisis, a more protracted recession across Europe, and lower domestic growth prospects”, S&P said in its press-release.

“We consider that this economic environment, including the persistence of low interest rates, will put pressure on domestic revenue growth for French banks in 2013-2014,” the agency added.

The recent economic data has indeed been saying that the second largest European economy is coming closer to a recession, agrees Anna Bodrova of Investcafe. “While it [France] remains one of the strongest European economies, the country is clearly suffering financial difficulties,”the analyst added.

Earlier this week the central Bank of France said the $2.56trln economy was set to contract 0.1% in 3Q, which will mark the first quarter of contraction since the start of 2009.

Another economic benchmark released this week was a preliminary Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) that is used as an indicator of business activity. Despite a slight improvement in October to 44.8 from a September reading of 43.2, the figure showed the French economy remained under pressure.

Any figures below 50 signal contraction.

“The latest Flash PMI data for France indicate a lack of any significant improvement from the severe weakness seen in September. With GDP looking likely to have contracted in Q3, the latest poor figures suggest that the downward momentum has been carried over into Q4 and the economy could well end the year in recession. A further weakening of business sentiment in the service sector to its lowest since the start of 2009 underlines the pervasive gloom among businesses at present as uncertainty drags on and investment decisions are delayed accordingly,” Jack Kennedy, Senior Economist at Markit and author of the Flash France PMI, commented in the report.

The country’s Government also cut its official forecast for the next year, with France’s President Francois Hollande saying the economy was expected to grow just a notch above zero – about 0.8% – which compares to a 1.2% expansion forecast before.

 

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Thousands in Madrid protest 2013 budget cuts (PHOTOS)

 

Demonstrators raise their arms during an assembly outside Madrid's Parliament October 23, 2012, as the debate for the 2013 budget goes on inside.(Reuters/Susana Vera)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/spain-protests-parliament-budget-madrid-091/

Thousands have taken to the streets of the Spanish capital, just outside the Parliament building, to protest their government’s latest bid to further cut spending in 2013.

­Cordoned off by police riot vans, the crowd outside the government headquarters in Madrid yelled slogans lambasting further austerity measures and political corruption, demanding the resignations of the deputies of both the ruling conservative Popular Party and the opposition Socialists.

"People in the street feel like [lawmakers] don't respect us," Noelia Urdialesa, a care assistant, told the AFP. "They are making cuts in health and education, affecting the most vulnerable."

Earlier in the day, students also staged an anti-austerity protest against new cuts to education that are expected in the 2013 budget, which will lead to larger class sizes and higher tuition fees.

Approximately $6.5 billion has been cut from education funding in Spain since 2010.

Politicians, meanwhile, are debating a new budget plan that would add an additional €39 billion in savings, as part of the plan to reduce spending by €150 billion between 2012 and 2014 with pay cuts and tax rises.

Speaking at the start of the debate, Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro said the draft budget "aimed to combat the crisis," adding that it was a budget that would make "2013 the last year of recession for Spain."

But people outside do not believe that reaching such targets is even a remote possibility.

“Those deficit targets are impossible to meet. Everybody knows that, so the government is counting on the EU to ease those targets. But the problem is that easing the targets does not mean that the government will ease their austerity policies,” journalist Miguel-Anxo Murado told RT.

This is very difficult, as Spain’s economy continued to shrink in the third quarter, according to central bank estimates Tuesday. This is the fifth quarter in a row that Spain's economic output has shrunk.

In late September during similar protests, 38 people were arrested and 64 injured when officers clashed with protesters demonstrating against austerity cutbacks and tax hikes.

This time, no casualties have been reported.

More protests outside Parliament are planned for Thursday and Saturday.

 

Demonstrators gather outside Parliament as the debate for the 2013 budget goes on inside Parliament in Madrid October 23, 2012. (Reuters/Susana Vera)

 

A demonstrator (C) wearing a Guy Fawkes mask does the Nazi salute as he holds a placard depicting a EU flag with a swatiska in his centre as he takes part in a protest against government's austerity reforms and the public payment of bank's debts on October 23, 2012 in Madrid. (AFP Photo/Dominique Faget

 

Reuters/Susana Vera

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EU citizens and private banks in a power struggle for survival

Source: Press TV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATi0OEptaFk

There is a power struggle between the EU citizens and the private banks. The EU is also struggling to use the crisis to destroy the sovereignty of individual member states. There is also a struggle between Germany and the EU member states.

The European Union needs to do something more dramatic than just saying that they'll have one super-bank which will regulate all the banks. This is not looking at the problem fundamentally. The UK has one of the worst banking systems.

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Riot rage: Athens protesters throw firebombs, police shoot tear gas (VIDEO)

 

Source: Russia Today
http://rt.com/news/greece-strike-demonstration-athens-011/

A rally in the Greek capital turned violent when protesters in Syntagma Square lobbed Molotov cocktails at police, who retaliated by firing tear gas at the demonstrators.

It's as thousands gathered in front of parliament for the country’s biggest anti-austerity protest since the new government came to power.

Clashes erupted in different parts of Athens Syntagma Square, with demonstrators throwing fire bombs at police.

Witnesses reported smoke rising over the square as security forces dispersed most of the protesters. Some remained, and continued the demonstration.

The general strike halted transit and other industries nationwide.

Thousands of demonstrators also marched through the city of Thessaloniki. Greeks wrote on Twitter that large numbers of protesters are rallying peacefully in the streets.

Watch our live feed of the protest here.

The protest came after calls by the country’s two largest trade unions, representing half of Greece’s workers, for a 24-hour general strike. In Athens, over 50,000 people took to streets chanting: "EU, IMF Out!". Flights and trains were suspended, shops were shuttered and the hospitals were forced to rely on emergency staffing.

Some 3,000 police officers – double the usual number – were deployed in the capital of Athens to counter the protesters.

Greece recently enacted a new round of spending cuts, totaling €11.5 billion ($15 billion). The austerity measures are a precondition for another rescue loan from the European Central Bank; without the bailout, Greece could face bankruptcy in a matter of weeks.

"The new measures are unbearable, unfair and only worsen the crisis. We are determined to fight until we win," Costas Tsikrikas, head of the ADEDY public sector union told Reuters. "We call on all workers to join us in the march against the policies that the troika is imposing."

Greece is currently grappling with record unemployment levels, with over 30 percent of the country living below the poverty line.

The Greek government is planning to reduce pensions and increase the retirement age to 67 to cope with the country’s budget crisis.

Two weeks ago, anger over Greece’s new austerity measures spilled into the streets, with thousands protesting the drastic proposed budget cuts.

In Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, youths set fire to debris and burned an EU flag, and then clashed with riot police. Some 2,000 pensioners also marched through Athens to protest the newly introduced pension cuts.

Last February, the country witnessed days of violent clashes in several cities, with police using tear gas and protesters throwing petrol bombs and stones.

 

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