Spain.......
http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/07/17/inenglish/1374087643_480971.html
Greece Bans Protests During Schäuble Visit
The AP reports Greece Bans Protests During Schäuble Visit
How successful was the ban?
The Guardian provides pictures and a list of various Greek protests of the day
How long before major violence erupts again?
Mike "Mish" Shedlock
Troika members with Finance Minister Harris Georgiades and CBC Governor Panicos Demetriades
http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/07/17/inenglish/1374087643_480971.html
Rubalcaba seeks united opposition front in Rajoy censure motion
PP expected to limit extent of Rajoy’s appearance
“I want to be able to explain to my wife and my nephews what it is I do for a living,” said Socialist leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba Wednesday to explain his decision to present a censure motion against the prime minister over the Bárcenas affair.
Rubalcaba has been drumming up support among the opposition in order to coordinate the motion in the case that, as is expected, the Popular Party again blocks Mariano Rajoy’s appearance before Congress.
The Basque Nationalist Party, the Catalan CiU nationalist bloc, the United Left (IU), and Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) have all agreed that the move will not seek to oust Rajoy but serve as a parliamentary tool to register their discontent.
CiU spokesman Josep Antoni Duran Lleida told Rubalcaba he was concerned about the image the move would present of Spain in the international media, while CiU leader Artur Mas said he had received several calls from other EU nations asking about Rajoy’s refusal to answer to Congress.
Opposition spokespeople believe the PP will seek a formula for Rajoy’s appearance that will limit his grilling to three questions lasting two minutes. The Socialists, meanwhile, fear the ongoing ERE case involving them in Andalusia will in the interim provide ammunition for the PP and weaken Rubalcaba’s position.
http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/07/17/inenglish/1374086257_857802.html
Reconstructing PP ex-treasurer’s five hours of revelations to judge
Bárcenas provides names, dates and figures relating to alleged illegal party financing
Luis Bárcenas wanted to tell his version of events, and he wanted to do it in one go. That is why he did not take a single break during the five and a half hours that he spent inside the High Court, testifying before Judge Pablo Ruz on the inner workings of the Popular Party (PP), whose finances he handled for years.
"I would rather be done as soon as possible and return to Soto del Real," he said, in reference to the penitentiary where he is now residing in preventive custody on charges of tax fraud, bribery of public officials, document forgery and money laundering.
His statements, according to sources who were there, were filled with compromising revelations about the individuals who have run Spain's center-right party for the last two decades. These same sources felt that Bárcenas did not speak out of contrition for his alleged crimes, nor out of any soul-searching he may have done during the two weeks he has spent in jail. Rather, he seemed to be motivated by a mixed desire for revenge and self-defense. There were major revelations that could easily top the political agenda for weeks to come, but also selective silences and fits of amnesia.
Aware of the potential damage that an angry Bárcenas could inflict on his former political allies, the government last week sought to convey a sense of confidence and stated that Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's honesty was beyond doubt. In the meantime, the PP used its absolute majority to stonewall the opposition's attempts to force Rajoy to enlighten Congress about these allegations of cash bonuses.
Before beginning his statement, Bárcenas asked for permission to wear a tie as he has in his nine previous court appearances. After having his request granted, the once-powerful PP official began by dropping a bombshell: "It is not true that there are no B accounts."
With these words, Bárcenas went back on what he had been claiming for the last five months: that the 14 pages published by EL PAÍS on January 31 showing handwritten notes that reflected illegal donations to the PP from construction firms, as well as cash outlays to top party officials between 1990 and 2008, were not his. Their publication led to the present court investigation — though there are other parallel proceedings against Bárcenas for his alleged involvement in the Gürtel kickbacks-for-contracts scheme, as well as tax fraud after he was found to have 47 million euros stashed away in foreign accounts.
"That is my handwriting [...] EL PAÍS' papers are authentic," he said. The secret ledgers reflect illegal payments to the party worth 7.5 million euros between 1990 and 2008 and the use of this money to pay campaign cost overruns and cash bonuses to top party leaders, including Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and María Dolores de Cospedal, the party secretary general.
Bárcenas arrived at court with reams of documents to support his claims, which he kept in nine folders and on a pen drive. But he added that there were still several important documents in his possession that he would give the court at a later date.
One of the elements of the "Bárcenas papers" that the PP has most hotly denied is the payment of nearly 3.6 million euros in cash bonuses to top leaders. According to these accounts, campaign strategy adviser Pedro Arriola took home the largest amount: a total of 778,012 euros from 1990 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2003. "Yes, there were bonuses," said Bárcenas. "The money was always handed out in the presence of [previous PP treasurer [Álvaro] Lapuerta." The money was always paid "in cash and on a monthly basis depending on liquidity," and its beneficiaries were the party president, secretary general and deputy secretaries.
"There are only notes to 2008 but there were payments up to 2010," he said, mentioning that Rajoy and De Cospedal received their bonuses in brown envelopes with their names on them and 500-euro bills inside.
Luis Bárcenas had prepared his statements carefully, and despite his volubility on most points, took care not to admit too much guilt. "The donations did not have any compensation," he said about the money that developers paid the PP. To say the contrary would have made him an accessory to the crime of accepting money in exchange for public contracts. At one point, however, Bárcenas did state that "we were violating party financing legislation." A police report found that the larger donations were broken down so as not to surpass the legal limit of 60,000 euros.
Additionally, Bárcenas stated that both the party president and the secretaries general were aware of these illegal donations. "Lapuerta would inform them periodically about it," he said. When donors showed up with a wad of bills, the money was never counted in front of them "because that would have been tactless. What donors really wanted was to be seen."
The man who handled the party's finances in one capacity or another for two decades also talked about transactions that nobody had heard of until now. One was an alleged cash payment in 1993 to Severo Moto, the main opposition figure in Equatorial Guinea, "to help with his campaign run." Another was a call the PP received from Alberto Recarte, CEO of the online right-wing newspaper Libertad Digital, asking for help raising new capital. "Lapuerta made certain people in the party subscribe for shares bought with party money."
Bárcenas also mentioned payments to Elvira Rodríguez, the PP's environment minister between 2003 and 2004 and now president of the market watchdog Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores, and to Ana Palacio, foreign minister between 2002 and 2004, who has denied accepting any money.
Greece.....
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/07/greece-bans-protests-during-schauble.html
Wednesday, July 17, 2013 12:42 PM
Greece Bans Protests During Schäuble Visit; Country Needs Another €10 Billion; Expect More Haircuts
The Greek economy is in total shambles. Unemployment is 26.9% and youth unemployment is 57.5%. Round after round of bond haircuts have not done a thing for the economy.
Der Spiegel now reports Greece on the Brink: Athens May Need 10 Billion More
Der Spiegel now reports Greece on the Brink: Athens May Need 10 Billion More
According to a report by German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, the beleaguered country needs another massive influx of money if it is to avoid insolvency. The paper cites an unnamed official at the European Commission as saying that the "financial gap" could be as large as €10 billion.
€10 Billion is an enormous sum of money for Greece, and Schäuble is hardly going to deliver any good news. During the visit, Greece elected to put up a facade.
The news comes at a difficult time for Greece and its relations with Germany. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble is set to visit Athens this Thursday for consultations with his Greek counterpart Yannis Stournaras and with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. Schäuble is highly unpopular in Greece for his consistent insistence on austerity. And with German elections looming in September, it seems unlikely that additional aid money for Athens will be forthcoming anytime soon.
Concerns that Greece could be in need of additional assistance are not new. France, for example, recently called for direct EU assistance for wobbly Greek banks. In addition, Greek Economy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis told German daily Die Welt earlier this month that he expects Europe to agree to another debt haircut for the country, a conjecture with which he is not alone. Indeed, senior economists in Schäuble's own ministry told the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Tuesday that a further reduction in the country's debt load is necessary.
"There will be a significant cut," Jörg Rocholl, president of the European School of Management and Technology and a member of an advisory council for the Finance Ministry, told the paper. "Greece's ability to shoulder its debts has not been guaranteed."
When EU leaders approved the latest tranche of aid money for Greece earlier this month, they elected to spread it out over several months so as to increase the reform pressure on Greece.
The results of that pressure are coming to a head on Wednesday, with parliament set to address the slashing of thousands of public sector jobs by the end of this year. To protest the measure, labor unions on Tuesday staged their fourth general strike of the year, paralyzing the capital with peaceful marches.
Greece Bans Protests During Schäuble Visit
The AP reports Greece Bans Protests During Schäuble Visit
The Greek police has banned public protests in central Athens for 11 hours on Thursday, when German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble will visit, a decision the left-wing opposition party described as "fascist and undemocratic."Various Protests in Spite of Ban
A police statement Wednesday said a cordon would be set up around the city center in which "public gatherings and rallies" would be banned between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (0600-1700GMT).
The cordon includes parliament and the city’s main Syntagma Square, focal points of scores of anti-austerity demonstrations.
Panos Skourletis, a spokesman for the left-wing main opposition party, Syriza, strongly criticized the decision. He said it was "inconceivable in a European city."
How successful was the ban?
The Guardian provides pictures and a list of various Greek protests of the day
On Monday night, teachers and education workers protested against layoffs and school closures, ahead of today's general strike.
Today's protests
Several protests are planned for Athens today, with the first starting shortly, and an all-night sit-in planned outside the Greek parliament
• 10:30 local time (8.30am BST): Communist workers group PAME will gather in Omonia Square in Athens, then coverge with union protest in Syntagma. A seperate march will take place in the city of Thessaloniki.
•11:00 local time (9am BST): Employees from the ADEDY, GSEE and POE-OTA (municipal employees) unions will start a protest in Klafthmonos Square and move to Syntagma, outside Parliament
• 20:00 local time (6pm BST): Municipal workers will begin a sit-in and overnight protest in Syntagma Square, as MPs debate the latest austerity bill required to secure bailout funds.
How long before major violence erupts again?
Mike "Mish" Shedlock
and.....
http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_18/07/2013_509972
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Cyprus.......
IMF, EU inspectors start quizzing Cyprus on bailout progress
Troika members with Finance Minister Harris Georgiades and CBC Governor Panicos Demetriades
By Michele Kambas
International lenders began reviewing how the island is meeting the conditions of it €10 billion bailout on Wednesday, looking to see whether it should get the next tranche of aid.
The appraisal is the first since Cyprus secured a deal with the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank in March.
Nicosia received a first tranche of aid in June worth €3 billion and euro zone finance ministers will decide on whether to issue the next tranche in mid-September, the size of which is yet to be determined.
President Nicos Anastasiades said last month that some provisions of the bailout deal needed tweaking to address problems in the banking sector.
Cyprus had to wind down one lender, Laiki Bank, and use customer deposits exceeding €100,000 to prop up another, Bank of Cyprus, as part of the bailout agreement.
One area of focus for the so-called troika of lenders during the two-week review will be why the central bank has yet to finalise how much equity Bank of Cyprus shareholders will receive in exchange for giving up their deposits, a process known as a bail-in.
Finance Ministry officials are keen to see the resolution settled, worried that the uncertainty it is causing is preventing an easing of capital controls, introduced to prevent a cash flight after the bailout was agreed in March.
“Swiftly exiting the resolution status would allow us to take new steps to further ease, and ultimately eliminate capital controls,” Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said on Tuesday.
An independent audit of Bank of Cyprus assets is under way, which would define precisely how much of depositors’ cash would be seized.
That audit will be completed on Monday, the Central Bank governor said.
“We are pressuring for the final bail-in rate to be set by the end of the month,” Panicos Demetriades said.
“We are pressuring for the final bail-in rate to be set by the end of the month,” Panicos Demetriades said.
Reports suggested the percentage will be around 50 per cent.
The island has promised its lenders that it would consider the option of selling some of its gold reserves to help pay down its debt but Georgiades said on Tuesday that that was only one option under consideration.
Under the bailout, Cyprus has agreed to cut its budget deficit to 2.4 per cent of GDP in 2016, from an estimated 5.9 per cent this year.
Although foreign banks on the island were exempt from most restrictions imposed under the bailout, customers at banks in Cyprus are limited to withdrawals of up to €300 a day, cheques cannot be cashed and bank transfers are vetted.
Those restrictions are adding to an acute credit crunch caused by financial institutions which are jittery about their balance sheets in a rapidly deteriorating economy and have put the brakes on lending, economists say.
“Banks aren’t lending,” said economist Yiannis Tirkides, who did not wish to disclose the name of his company. “A lot has to do with expectations, and that contributes to the uncertainty,” he said. (Reuters. Additional reporting by George Psyllides)
and...
http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article41448.html
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Cyprus is resisting pressure from the European Commission (EC) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to sell its gold reserves to finance its “bailout”.
Yesterday the Cypriot Finance Minister said that a sale of its gold reserves was not the only option under consideration to pay down its debt and that other alternatives were being considered.
Cyprus has 13.9 tonnes (c. 447,000 troy ounces) of gold reserves which are worth some 436 million euros at today’s market prices.
The international bailout imposed on Cyprus involved 10 billion euro ($13 billion) and therefore the Cypriot gold reserves are worth a mere 4.36% of the bailout.
"The possibility of selling gold is known, but only as an option," Finance Minister Harris Georgiades told reporters. He did not elaborate on what the alternatives were according to Reuters.
The government in Cyprus may realise that in the event of Cyprus leaving the euro and returning to the Cypriot pound, their gold reserves could provide support to the fragile newly launched national currency.
International lenders have imposed a 10 billion euro bailout on the country, which was forced to seize bank deposits in two major banks in radical new “bail-ins” to finance the sudden “bail out” in March.
Cyprus continues to see capital and currency controls today - meaning that a euro in Cyprus is no longer the same as a euro in France or Germany.
The International Monetary Fund and the European Commission stipulated that Cyprus should sell its gold reserves at the time of the bailout.
"It will be considered, when the time comes, with options, or rather, all other options," Georgiades told reporters. Asked if this meant there was a possibility of Cyprus not selling its gold, he answered: "When that time comes other options will be examined."
At the weekend, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said he hoped there would never be a need for the sovereign nation to sell its gold reserves. Anastasiades said responsibility for the issue rested with the country's central bank.
"I want to believe there will never be such a need," Anastasiades told a news conference in Nicosia at the weekend. "The issue is not being discussed by the government, it is a responsibility of the central bank," he told reporters.
An assessment of Cypriot financing needs prepared by the European Commission in March said that Cyprus has to sell its gold reserves. Officials have attempted to play the issue down, saying the matter is not a priority for the government.
There was much unfounded speculation that news of the potential sale helped drive the biggest fall in gold prices ever last April. However Cypriot gold reserves are miniscule at just 13.9 tonnes.
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