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Friday, January 18, 2013

IMF sees up to 9.5 billion euro Greek funding gap in 2015-2016


euronews

IMF sees up to 9.5 billion euro Greek funding gap in 2015-2016
Reuters
Thomsen said the Greek program was fully financed "well into 2014" although it was too early to say whether the additional funding for Athens would be needed at the start of 2015 or towards the end of 2014. "The undertaking of the European partners to ...
IMF: Deep cuts restored Greek recovery programCBS News
Greek debt not viable without more EU help: IMF officialEconomic Times
IMF OKs Greek next aid tranche; Lagarde sees progressIBTimes.co.uk
GlobalPost -Action Forex -China Post
all 967 news articles »

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IMF warns Greece could need €10bn more


IMF warns Greece could need €10bn more
Financial Times
EU bailout lenders will need as much as €9.6bn in additional funds for Greece by the end of its current rescue even if the programme stays on track, but they could face huge losses on their existing loans if Athens' bailout wobbles as in the past, the ...
And they didn't fall downIndian Express

all 3 news articles »

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Greece Probes Papaconstantinou Over 'Tax List'


Greece Probes Papaconstantinou Over 'Tax List'
Sky News
Socialist PASOK party Evangelos Venizelos A proposal to investigate ex finance minister Evangelos Venizelos failed. French authorities gave the list of names to Athens in 2010 as Greece's economy was imploding. But Greek authorities failed to ...


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IMF: Greece recovering, needs more EU cash


Telegraph.co.uk

IMF: Greece recovering, needs more EU cash
Seattle Post Intelligencer
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece has salvaged its economic recovery program following months of political uncertainty but still faces "enormous" challenges and will need new financial support from fellow eurozone states, the International Monetary Fund ...
IMF Says Greece Will Need More Money, Has Elevated RisksBloomberg
IMF: Greece Needs Further Help from Euro Partners to Tackle DebtWall Street Journal
Greece needs more European money to help with debts, says IMFTelegraph.co.uk
Quartz -International Monetary Fund -Washington Post
all 961 news articles »

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IMF presses forward in Greece

The International Monetary Fund has pushed ahead in its rescue program for Greece despite a $12 billion hole in the country’s finances, an unusual concession that could put the fund’s own finances at risk.

Read full article >>


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Greek politicians launch inquiry into former finance minister

George Papaconstantinou faces investigation over claims he failed to crack down on tax evasion and protected relatives

A dramatic few weeks lie ahead for Greece after politicians moved on Friday to launch an official inquiry into allegations of misconduct by George Papaconstantinou, the former finance minister universally identified as the architect of the debt-stricken country's first austerity programme.

After a marathon 16-hour debate, Greek MPs voted overwhelmingly to investigate Papaconstantinou following accusations that he not only failed to crack down on tax evasion – widely blamed for the nation's financial woes – but deliberately erased the names of relatives from a list of possible culprits with holdings in the Geneva branch of HSBC.

The LSE-trained economist faces prosecution – and jail – if on the basis of their findings investigators decide by the end of February to try him before a special court.

In an atmosphere made shriller by public fury over belt-tightening, the beleaguered politician vehemently denied the charges, telling the 300-seat house that he had fallen victim to a vicious "smear campaign" and was clearly being made a "scapegoat".

"I did not tamper with the data. It is inconceivable that I would have acted in such a way that would so blatantly involve me," he said in a speech that was by turns poignant, angry and matter-of-fact.

On Friday he issued a statement saying: "The only thing that I want is to be given the opportunity to clear my name from the gross fabrication against me and for accountability to be attributed where it should be."

Highlighting the tensions the affair has unleashed, the debate preceding the 2am ballot was unusually intense, with the socialist Pasok leader, Evangelos Venizelos, who succeeded Papaconstantinou in the job, exchanging heated barbs with the main opposition Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras.

The party had proposed that Venizelos also be investigated for failing to act on the list, a dossier of more than 2,000 well-heeled Greeks with offshore accounts in Geneva that was first handed to Papaconstantinou in late 2010 by the then French finance minister, Christine Lagarde. Parliament rejected the motion along with the proposal of two other opposition parties that the former prime ministers George Papandreou and Lucas Papademos be similarly investigated.

"The Lagarde list is not an isolated incident, but the tip of the iceberg," Tsipras railed. "An iceberg that if revealed will show a lot that until now has been hidden under the surface of the waters." The leftist leader insisted the "kleptocratic" political establishment that had brought Greece to the precipice of economic collapse was in cahoots with wealthy tax dodgers whose interests it was determined to protect.

The catalogue of names was first handed to French authorities after a renegade HSBC employee allegedly stole the details of some 24,000 customers with offshore accounts in Switzerland. But while other countries, including crisis-hit Italy and Spain, acted on the list, Greece resisted the urge to rein in much-needed revenue with Papaconstantinou, who has since been expelled from the socialist Pasok party, admitting that he did not know what happened to the original list after his associates copied it on to a USB stick for "security reasons".

Wading into the furore, Lagarde, who now heads the IMF, said this week that she had handed over the data at Papaconstantinou's request because the moderniser seemed determined "to pursue every avenue" in the battle against tax evasion. "Not enough has been done," she told Greek reporters, addressing the issue of tax avoidance. "When we look at revenue it is not on target," she added, exhorting Athens's coalition government to get serious about rooting out tax dodgers if it wanted to receive further financial assistance from the IMF.

As Greeks endure their hardest winter yet, amid record levels of unemployment and poverty, the scandal the Lagarde list has unleashed looks set to deepen as demands mount for a political elite held responsible for the country's economic mess to be punished.

For many the list's mishandling has amplified, in the most egregious way, an indisputable fact: that while low-income Greeks and pensioners have paid a heavy price, enduring relentless cuts and tax increases since the debt crisis erupted, the rich have got off scot free.


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2 Greeks charged with fatal stabbing of Pakistani migrant worker in Athens

ATHENS, Greece - Two Greeks have been charged with the stabbing murder of a Pakistani immigrant, which rights groups and Greece's main opposition party have denounced as a racist attack.

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IMF: Deep cuts restored Greek recovery program


euronews

IMF: Deep cuts restored Greek recovery program
U.S. News & World Report
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The head of an IMF mission to Greece says a major new round of austerity measures imposed by the country's coalition government has put its financial recovery program back on target, following months of stagnation and political ...
IMF OKs Greek next aid tranche; Lagarde sees progressReuters
IMF's Lagarde says Greek program moving in "right direction"Reuters UK

all 870 news articles »

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IMF Says Greece Will Need More Money, Has Elevated Risks


The Australian Financial Review

IMF Says Greece Will Need More Money, Has Elevated Risks
Bloomberg
The International Monetary Fund warned that risks to Greece's economic reform plan remain high and said European nations will need to provide more funds and debt relief to the country. “The program is moving in the right direction, but the challenges ...
IMF: Deep cuts restored Greek recovery programMiamiHerald.com
IMF releases aid to Greece after long delayTengrinews
IMF releases aid to recession-mired Greece after delayTaipei Times
Huffington Post -The Australian Financial Review -Wall Street Journal
all 886 news articles »

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2 Greeks charged with Pakistani immigrant's murder


2 Greeks charged with Pakistani immigrant's murder
MiamiHerald.com
ATHENS, Greece -- Two Greeks have been charged with the stabbing murder of a Pakistani immigrant, which rights groups and Greece's main opposition party have denounced as a racist attack. The suspects, both in their twenties, appeared before a ...


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Yogurt Recipe: How To Make Greek Yogurt 'Cookie Dough'


Yogurt Recipe: How To Make Greek Yogurt 'Cookie Dough'
Huffington Post
Spoonfuls of peanut butter or ice cream are a tempting solution to a sweet tooth or a stressful mood. A particularly stressful mood might call for spoonfuls of something even sweeter -- cookie dough. While such indulgences can leave you feeling ...


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Greece is like Germany's Weimar Republic


Greece is like Germany's Weimar Republic
Social Europe Journal
German economists and the German government are adamant in demanding fiscal austerity in the crisis countries, the most extreme case being Greece. But they should know better: There are uncanny parallels between today's Greek depression and Weimar ...


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Greece's blowout sale


Kathimerini

Greece's blowout sale
GlobalPost
Striking Hellenic Postbank employees gather outside the offices of the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund in Athens, Greece, on Jan. 16, 2013, protesting against the bank's plans to split and privatize. The situation with Postbank shows the challenges ...
Greek doctors, Athens metro workers on strikeSunHerald.com

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Lagarde sees return to markets for Greece before 2016, no new measures if ...


Kathimerini

Lagarde sees return to markets for Greece before 2016, no new measures if ...
Kathimerini
International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde believes Greece will achieve growth next year and will be in a position to return to the international markets before 2016. In an interview with Kathinerini's editor-in-chief Alexis ...
IMF releases aid to recession-mired Greece after delayTaipei Times
IMF releases €3.2bn payment to GreeceThe Australian Financial Review
IMF releases aid to Greece after long delayThe News International
Huffington Post -Wall Street Journal
all 788 news articles »

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Popular cuts down in Greece


Popular cuts down in Greece
Cyprus Mail
CYPRUS Popular Bank's Greek unit will cut its branch network and staff numbers this year as part of efforts to reduce operating costs to cope with the country's deep recession, it said yesterday. Popular, Cyprus's second-largest bank, was nationalised ...


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Greece to launch tax probe into former finance minister





The Greek parliament agreed Friday to investigate former socialist finance minister George Papaconstantinou for allegedly interfering with a tax evasion probe. Papaconstantinou is suspected of tampering with a confidential document.





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Greek parliament votes to investigate ex-finance minister

Athens lawmakers have voted to investigate ex-finance minister George Papaconstantinou over allegations he hampered a tax probe. It is alleged the socialist politician removed relatives from a tax-evasion suspect list.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.dw.de

Greece to Investigate Ex-Finance Chief Over Lagarde List


Irish Independent

Greece to Investigate Ex-Finance Chief Over Lagarde List
Businessweek
Greek lawmakers voted to set up a parliamentary committee to investigate allegations former Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou removed relatives' names from a list of Greeks with bank deposits in Switzerland. A total of 265 lawmakers in the ...
Former Greek finance minister to face investigation over tax listLos Angeles Times
Greece: Ex-Official to Be InvestigatedNew York Times
Greek parliament votes to investigate ex-finance ministerDeutsche Welle
Financial Times -BBC News -CNN (blog)
all 360 news articles »

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Eurozone crisis live: Greece to probe ex-finance minister over tax scandal

Athens votes to investigate George Papaconstantinou for allegedly tampering with 'Lagarde list' of potential tax evaders



READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.guardian.co.uk

Greek Lawmakers Consider Tax Investigation of Officials


Greek Lawmakers Consider Tax Investigation of Officials
Reason
Greek MPs are set to vote on whether to investigate high-ranking former ministers over the alleged mishandling of evidence of tax evasion. The three parties in coalition government are expected to back an investigation into former Finance Minister ...


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Greece: Race motive suspected in migrant murder, 2 arrested


Greek Reporter

Greece: Race motive suspected in migrant murder, 2 arrested
Calgary Herald
ATHENS, Greece - Police arrested two Greek men accused of stabbing a Pakistani immigrant worker to death in Athens on Thursday, and are investigating whether the attack was racially motivated after finding pamphlets from a far-right political party at ...
Two Greeks Held For Pakistani Man's MurderGreek Reporter
Greece: Murder of Asian man shows Greek failure on racist violenceAmnesty International UK

all 21 news articles »

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Fraud is alleged in the handling of missing money.


Fraud is alleged in the handling of missing money.
Southeast European Times
Auditors have uncovered a series of improper transactions at the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO) in an investigation that has resulted in the arrest of five people on fraud charges involving 12 million euros. Allegations of improper ...


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