Greek Debt Crisis

The Goddess Forsakes Greece

Anthony Strano | Posted 05.30.2012

Anthony Strano

Plato knew his people very well and said over two thousand years ago that mishandled democracy leads to despotism. The bridge between the two is nepotism.

IMF Chief, Who Doesn't Pay Taxes, Slams Greeks For Not Paying Taxes

The Huffington Post | Alexander Eichler | Posted 05.30.2012

IMF chief Christine Lagarde wants the people of Greece to pay their taxes. The problem? She doesn't really pay taxes herself. Last Friday, The Gua...

Austerity: 2011's Darling Becomes 2012's Pariah

Arianna Huffington | Posted 05.29.2012

Arianna Huffington

There's a new scarlet letter in town. Actually, it's the same letter -- "A" -- but it stands for a different word that's increasingly regarded as shameful: Austerity. The darling idea of 2010 and 2011 has become the pariah concept of 2012. And the evidence of profound change is all around, from France and Greece to Germany and -- gasp -- the Republican Party. The change, when it comes to the conventional wisdom on austerity, has come from a combination of public pressure and leadership: one pushing up from below, the other pressing down from above. None of this means that we should break out the Keynesian champagne any time soon. But it's clear the forces of austerity are in retreat. And that's a very good thing.

Greek Opinion Polls and the U.S. GDP Figure

Richard Driver | Posted 05.29.2012

Richard Driver

Figures from the German, French and eurozone-wide services and manufacturing sectors almost all disappointed, suggesting that the eurozone's avoidance of economic contraction in Q1 will prove temporary.

Report: Greeks Could Lose Half Their Income With Euro Exit

AP | DEREK GATOPOULOS and NICHOLAS PAPHITIS | Posted 05.30.2012

ATHENS, Greece — An exit from the euro would see Greeks lose more than half their annual income and prompt a dramatic rise in unemployment and i...

My Proud Bankrupt Greek Soul

Ioannis Pappos | Posted 05.29.2012

Ioannis Pappos

By 2010, I decided to spend some time writing in Greece. I had open accounts to settle there -- family, friends, closets. What I hadn't planned though was that it's hard to settle with the already bankrupt. I landed in a suicidal country itself deeply in the closet financially, morally, even sexually.

Greece Gives Banks Billions Amid Exit Panic

Reuters | Posted 05.29.2012

* HFSF disburses 18 bln euros of EFSF bonds * NBG, Eurobank, Alpha, Piraeus to regain access to ECB funding By Lefteris...

The End Of The Euro: A Survivor's Guide

Simon Johnson | Posted 05.27.2012

Simon Johnson

In every economic crisis there comes a moment of clarity. In Europe soon, millions of people will wake up to realize that the euro-as-we-know-it is gone. Economic chaos awaits them -- and the world.

Elderly Mother And Son Jump To Their Deaths In Athens

The Huffington Post | Daphne Lambadariou | Posted 05.24.2012

Tragedy struck Thursday morning in the center of Athens when a mother and son leapt to their deaths. Kathimerini newspaper reports that sixty-year-old...

Greece Euro Exit Looms, Europe Fiddles

The Huffington Post | Mark Gongloff | Posted 05.24.2012

Europe and Greece are at the stage in their stormy marriage where they are consulting with divorce lawyers. And we may all feel the pain of their brea...

Letter From a 'Nouveau Pauvre'

Elizabeth Boleman-Herring | Posted 05.24.2012

Elizabeth Boleman-Herring

Until very recently, I was one of the unemployed-no-longer-looking-for-work, but I have changed that status. I apply for positions here and there: positions that might earn me a little gas money, but certainly not pay my health insurance.

Euro Breakup Ahead

The Huffington Post | Mark Gongloff | Posted 05.24.2012

Thing One: Preparing For Divorce: Europe and Greece are at the stage in their stormy marriage where they are consulting with divorce lawyers. And we m...

Eurozone Preparing For Greece Exit Scenario

Reuters | Posted 05.23.2012

* Euro zone states urged to draft plans for Greek euro exit * Instruction given in euro working group call on Monday * G...

A Note of Caution

Irene Finel-Honigman | Posted 05.22.2012

Irene Finel-Honigman

There may be a momentary pride in the drachma as a symbol of Greece standing up to Europe and reasserting its independence, but sadly neither investors nor markets are likely to share the sentiment.

Who Needs a Greek Government?

Peter Alexander Meyers | Posted 05.20.2012

Peter Alexander Meyers

Greeks must decide to stay or go. Perhaps that is why it failed to come before the people. Perhaps that is why, when on May 6 the election was played out in a way that minimized the literal and more important question -- "Do you want to adopt the new agreement?" -- it failed again.

'I Am Ashamed To Be Here'

AP | DEREK GATOPOULOS | Posted 05.20.2012

ATHENS, Greece -- Like many Greeks left unemployed by their country's economic tailspin, Dimitris Spachos finds it easier to talk about his nation's p...

Let Greece Do Debt Cold Turkey

Eric Margolis | Posted 05.18.2012

Eric Margolis

What would happen to Greece if it quit the euro? Financial chaos, capital flight, riots and bank failures... maybe. But after the apocalypse, Greece would eventually revert to its 1960's status: a poor but proud nation living off tourism, shipping, agriculture and fishing.

Germany's Merkel Pushes Greece To Hold Vote On Staying In Eurozone

Reuters | Posted 05.19.2012

* Greece says Merkel, Papoulias discussed referendum * German spokesman denies Merkel proposed idea * Greek parties angr...

The Crisis In Greece Just Keeps Getting Worse

AP | NICHOLAS PAPHITIS | Posted 05.18.2012

ATHENS, Greece — Germany's chancellor apparently waded into Greece's choppy political waters on Friday, when Athens said Angela Merkel suggested...

Causes Of Greek Economic Crisis Not As Simple As You Might Think

Posted 05.17.2012

The causes of the economic crisis in Greece may not be as simple as you think. In a new video from the Harvard Kennedy School, lecturer Richard Par...

Sure, There's Greece... But What About Spain?

Yanis Varoufakis | Posted 05.17.2012

Yanis Varoufakis

I shall concede all you want me to concede about my fellow Greeks on condition that you give me a plausible answer to a simple question: What on earth is Europe doing to Spain as part of this Grand Plan?

Is a Modern Greek Tragedy Imminent?

Apostolos Doxiadis | Posted 05.17.2012

Apostolos Doxiadis

They sought, and won, political profit by playing on people's grievances: resentment, fear and a chauvinistic, xenophobic nationalism -- and it is not just the extreme right that built its campaign on the latter, but also the radical left. To balance these, they gave only unrealizable utopian promises.

Major Partner Cuts Off Operations With Some Greek Banks

Reuters | Posted 05.17.2012

FRANKFURT, May 16 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank has stopped monetary policy operations with some Greek banks as they have not been successfu...

Greeks Head For Exits

The Huffington Post | Mark Gongloff | Posted 05.16.2012

Thing One: Greeks Walk, Don't Run, From Banks: It's not exactly a panic or a full-blown bank run yet, but it looks like Greece is starting to speed-wa...

Negotiations To Form Greek Government Continue

AP | NICHOLAS PAPHITIS | Posted 05.15.2012

ATHENS, Greece — Marathon efforts to break Greece's post-electoral paralysis are lurching into a ninth day amid the country's worst crisis in de...