Pages

Welcome, 77 artists, 40 different points of Attica welcomes you by singing Erotokritos an epic romance written at 1713 by Vitsentzos Kornaros

Saturday, April 12, 2014

New England’s Resounding Greek Parad under Sunny Skies

BOSTON, MA – Beneath a pure blue sky and covered with sunshine, thousands of marchers and spectators enjoyed the 20th Greek Parade presented by the Hellenes of New England on April 6. At the head of the Parade was Boston’s new Mayor, Marti J. Walsh, who praised the Greek-American community when he spoke to TNH. […]

The post New England’s Resounding Greek Parad under Sunny Skies appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Police Put Xeros, Mazios Behind Bank Blast

A car bomb that exploded outside a Bank of Greece office in downtown Athens on April 10 was likely the work of

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Papandreou Blames Karamanlis, EU For Crisis

Former Greek premier George Papandreou has again cast the blame on the country’s crushing economic crisis that occurred on watch from 2009-11

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

National Bank of Greece Said to Plan EU2.1 Bln Capital Increase

National Bank of Greece Said to Plan EU2.1 Bln Capital IncreaseBloombergThe National Bank of Greece, the country's biggest lender, is planning to increase its share capital by as much as 2.1 billion euros ($2.9 billion), to cover a shortfall identified in the national regulator's stress test, according to a person with ...UPDATE 1-Greece's NBG eyes tapping markets with equity offeringReutersGreece's National Bank eyes tapping markets with equity offeringFinancial TimesGreece's NBG eyeing tapping markets with share offeringInteractive Investorall 5 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bloomberg.com

CITI: Here's The Real 'Wile E. Coyote' Moment That Could Send Markets Much Lower (SPY, QQQQ)

So markets took it on the chin pretty good this past week, with a lot of pain focused on the NASDAQ.

But overall, markets are doing quite nicely, and remain quite close to their all-time highs. Unless you're very heavily invested in the hottest parts of the market, you're doing fine.

So what could trigger a real hard sell?

In a note to clients, Citi credit strategist Matt King describes what could spur a real "Wile E. Coyote" moment.

It goes like this:

But with credit investors likewise mostly long and uncomfortable, could what starts as a position correction turn into something much more serious? After all, it’s not just tech where valuations have become disconnected from fundamentals. As our US HY strategist put it after seeing numerous CLO investors this week, “Whatever the asset class, the pattern is the same. Investors are long risk, invested in assets that aren’t their usual holdings, and wondering who is buying their old paper.” Wherever we go, investors think their market is expensive – but are forced to buy it anyway.

This is not a new problem, either. Credit spreads stopped following corporate leverage almost two years ago. We don’t think it’s a coincidence that that’s almost exactly the same time equities stopped following analysts’ earnings revisions.. Even this week, Alcoa surprised positively – but only provided you looked at reported earnings, not GAAP ones, and ignored some extraordinary restructuring charges. That might seem reasonable enough until you consider our analyst’s remark that “in the ten years or so I have been following Alcoa results there has never been a quarter without ‘restructuring’ charges”. And of course we got a new Greek 5-year trading with a yield that € iBoxx had as recently as December 2011 – despite debt/GDP of 177%, higher than before its restructuring?

Try a bit harder, and you could paint a bleaker picture still, in which investors may be coming perilously close to realizing that market levels owe everything to central bank stimulus and nothing to an improvement in underlying fundamentals. What if the much heralded “improvement in earnings to match the rerating in the market” fails to be delivered in coming weeks? How long till investors realize that extra stimulus in Japan might stem the Nikkei’s decline, but is unlikely to generate the economic recovery everyone is hoping for, no matter how large its size? And that the problem afflicting China – that the growth rates to which investors have become accustomed are utterly reliant on an unsustainable expansion of credit – is in fact a problem worldwide?

King might be overstating things a bit, at least in terms of this idea that there's been no improvement in fundamentals. After all, just this week we got the best initial jobless claims reading since the U.S. economic crisis. And though it's true that Greek debt is still staggeringly high, the Eurozone as a whole now has an implicit ECB guarantee ("whatever it takes") that didn't exist before the crisis existed.

But King is right, that to some extent asset markets have always reacted to the whims of central banks, and if the perception is that things are turning, then it's anyone's guess where the floor is.

That being said, King doesn't think the music will stop any time soon. The BOJ isn't done, the ECB likely has more to do, and the Fed continues to sound quite dovish. So, he says, we might be on borrowed time, but there's likely more of that borrowed time to come. Yay.

SEE ALSO: ZERVOS: The markets are beginning to worry about a Fed mistake

Join the conversation about this story »


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.businessinsider.com

Greek Bond Offering Flies Despite Future Challenges

Greek Bond Offering Flies Despite Future ChallengesBarron'sThe successful bond offering is a moral victory for the Greek government, which has advanced unpopular austerity measures and structural reforms in accordance with a multilateral €240 billion aid package to shore up Greece's busted economy.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT online.barrons.com

Angela Merkel's Athens visit seen as sign of support for Greece's austerity ...

euronewsAngela Merkel's Athens visit seen as sign of support for Greece's austerity ...euronews... Friday which is seen as sign of support for the Greek government's austerity measures. It is understood the German leader will give a formal pat on the back to the government now that Greece has returned to the bond markets after an absence of four ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.euronews.com

So Many Greek Cruises, So Little Time

There is a famous tale told by Jean Buridan, a medieval logician and philosopher, about a donkey who starved to death even though he had three full bales of hay before him. The philosopher gives many lessons in logic as he tells the tale, but the story’s moral is that, because the poor beast could […]

The post So Many Greek Cruises, So Little Time appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Greece to use Drones for Immigration Control

The Greek government in a pilot project is expected to use a drone in order to be able to oversee the country’s sea border in the Aegean sea — which is considered one of the main avenues for immigration into Europe. Greece’ s Ministry of Marine and ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

5 Ways to Eat More Vegetables, the Greek Way

A recent study published in the British Medical Journal showed that individuals who consumed seven or more servings of fruit and vegetables a day had a reduced risk of dying from cancer and heart disease. While we know that the traditional Greek diet ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.huffingtonpost.com

Ancient Greek Hot Springs: A Medicinal Resource Used for Centuries

(THERMOPYLAE, Greece-AFP) - Hercules used them to regain his strength after his legendary labours, Hippocrates lauded their beneficial properties and even a famous Roman general, Sulla, said he owed his health to them. Their praise was for hot springs, a ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ntd.tv

Greece's NBG eyes tapping markets with equity offering

Greece's largest lender, National Bank (NBG) (ATH:ETE), is considering tapping international markets with a share offering as part of plans to plug a capital shortfall, a senior executive at the bank told Reuters on Saturday. NBG's peers Alpha Bank (ATH:ALPHA) and Piraeus (ATH:TPEIR) successfully tapped markets last month, as foreign investors begin to show appetite for battered Greek assets on ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT finance.yahoo.com

Former Greek PM says EU was too slow in responding to crisis

The European Union was slow in its efforts to aid Greece in the wake of the country’s debt crisis, according to former Prime Minister George Papandreou. Speaking to Italy’s Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Saturday, the former PASOK chief ... ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Spike in surrogate motherhood is exploited by some

An increasing number of Greek couples who are unable to have children naturally are seeking surrogate mothers to bear their offspring, experts say. Although there are no concrete figures, dozens of Greek couples are exploring the option of surrogacy, acco... ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Six more guards called on Nigrita prison torture

Six employees of Nigrita Prison in northern Greece – where a 42-year-old Albanian inmate was found dead in his cell on March 27, apparently after a severe beating – are to face a magistrate in Serres on Monday and Tuesday on charges of torture. Another si... ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Samaras sees no need for third bailout

After a week that saw Athens successfully tap international bond markets for the first time in four years, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras essentially ruled out the need for a third loan program for Greece, insisting that the markets’ positive response to ... ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Police think two fugitives are behind bank blast

Police believe a car bomb explosion outside the Bank of Greece on Thursday might have been planned by two wanted terrorists – the leader of Revolutionary Struggle Nikos Maziotis and November 17 convict Christodoulos Xeros, Kathimerini has learned. Mazioti... ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Greek Real Estate Market Still on Downward Slope

The Greek real estate market is still on a downward slope due to the lack of demand, the decline in people’s revenues and the overbearing tax burdens. In particular, Eurostat reveals that the Greek real estate market experienced the second-biggest annual ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

5 Things to Know: The IOC and the crisis over delays for the 2016 Olympics in Rio

by  Associated Press Rio 2016 Olympic crisis: 5 things to know by STEPHEN WILSON, Associated Press - 12 April 2014 08:25-04:00

BELEK, Turkey (AP) — Blame it on Rio.

That might as well have been the official slogan of this week's Olympic gathering in southern Turkey.

This turned out to be the occasion when the long-simmering angst over Rio de Janeiro's troubled preparations for the 2016 Olympics blew up into full crisis mode.

On the sidelines of the SportAccord convention in the Mediterranean resort of Belek, the International Olympic Committee executive board and summer sports federations raised the stakes over the critical delays threatening the first games in South America.

Here's five things we learned about the turmoil in Rio:

___

ALARM BELLS RINGING

Everyone has known for some time that Brazil was lagging behind schedule. Until now, however, the IOC had kept relatively restrained with its no-time-to-lose warnings. But Turkey marked a tipping point when the IOC and sports leaders made their complaints loud and clear and exposed just how deep the crisis is, even deeper than it was for the 2004 Athens Games, previously considered the benchmark for organizational disorder. Venue construction delays are not the only concern. Worries are also mounting over accommodations, transport and water pollution. Some officials openly wondered about "Plan B" contingencies. The IOC even refused to rule out moving the games — considered highly improbable at such a late stage. The message: With two years to go, the games need salvaging.

___

FELLI TO THE RESCUE

The man with the task of whipping Rio into shape is Gilbert Felli, the veteran IOC executive director of the Olympic Games. Already having been assigned to work on Rio once he steps down from his IOC role in August, the Swiss administrator is being dispatched to Rio next week to kick-start the process. No one knows the ins and outs of the management operations and deadlines for an Olympics better than Felli. But he'll have his hands full. Three task forces are also being created and a local construction manager hired. Another key figure working behind the scenes with Felli will be American Olympic operations expert Doug Arnot.

___

PLEASE MR. MAYOR

The IOC went out of its way to single out Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes as a crucial player in the efforts to get the games on track. There has been deep frustration over the lack of cooperation on the Olympic project among the three level of government in Brazil. Local Olympic organizing chief Carlos Nuzman, the man credited with winning the games for Brazil, lacks the skills and political leverage that Sebastian Coe had in London. IOC President Thomas Bach and Felli both talked about the importance of Paes in facilitating funding for some of the construction, particularly for Deodoro, a complex for eight sports venues where work has yet to begin. "The mayor is the one really acting to solve the problem," Felli said. "Be careful not to shoot at him."

___

NO GRASS FOR GOLF

Perhaps the single sport most at risk is golf, due to return to the Olympic program for the first time in more than a century. Trouble is, the course at Venue Reserva de Marapendi, designed by American architect Gil Hanse, doesn't even have any grass yet. Organizers say the grass installation will begin later this month, but can a world-class golf course be fully tested and ready within two years? Golf needs conditions that will attract the game's top players. Officials may begin looking for an existing course — inside or outside Brazil — if progress isn't made in a hurry.

___

BLAME GAME

Bach and Felli said they wouldn't point fingers or blame anyone for the mess in Brazil. Critics could also take aim at the IOC for two things — giving the games to Rio in the first place, and waiting until now to raise the emergency alarm. (Juan Antonio Samaranch issued his famous "yellow light" warning to Athens organizers four years before the games). Was it prudent to give Brazil the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics back-to-back? It's hard enough for rich, developed nations to host both mega events. Five years ago, the IOC embraced the emotional and sentimental factors of taking the Olympics to a new continent. Today, the prevailing feelings are ones of dismay and anxiety.

___

Follow Stephen Wilson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stevewilsonap

News Topics: Sports, 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, Summer Olympic games, Olympic games, Events

People, Places and Companies: Eduardo Paes, Sebastian Coe, Juan Antonio Samaranch, Brazil, Athens, South America, Latin America and Caribbean, Greece, Western Europe, Europe

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.neurope.eu

US, EU Investors Snap Up Greek Bonds

The first Greek sovereign bond in four years proved especially popular with investors from Europe and the US.

The post US, EU Investors Snap Up Greek Bonds appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Greeks Pay 41.6% Income Tax

An OECD report shows Greece's economic crisis has been costly to workers whose total tax amounts to 41.6% of the labor cost.

The post Greeks Pay 41.6% Income Tax appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Greece May Need Further Bailout Says IMF's Reza Moghadam

Greece may need additional financial help from the Eurozone over the next two years, despite its successful return to bond markets this week, the International Monetary Fund's director for Europe, Reza Moghadam, said on 11 April. "The financing needs for ...

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

Onus rests on Berlin

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Athens came at an significant time for Greece. Her presence in the Greek capital’s confirms the spectacular rebound of the country’s international credibility and represents a vote of support. Germany has made nu... ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com

Greece's Eurobank gets green light for 2.9 billion euro share issue

Greece's third-largest lender Eurobank (EURBr.AT) got approval on Saturday from the country's bank rescue fund, its main shareholder, for a 2.86 billion euro (2.37 billion pounds) share offering to plug a capital shortfall. Eurobank expects the share offering to be completed by May, its board told shareholders on Saturday. Eurobank will be the third Greek lender after Alpha Bank (ATH:ALPHA) and ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT finance.yahoo.com

Trial Seaplane Flights at Lake Vegoritida on Monday

Trial seaplane flights have been scheduled for Monday on lake Vegoritida in northern Greece, amid local interest in creating a water aerodrome

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Greece ends four-year exile from international markets

Greece ends four-year exile from international marketsIrish TimesStock Exchange displays show stock price movements in Athens, Greece. Greece returned to international bond markets for the first time in four years amid growing signs of confidence in the country that triggered the European debt crisis. Photograph ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.irishtimes.com

Dijsselbloem: Greece May Need Third Program After Summer

Greece may need another round of international aid depending on how conditions look in a few months, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Provopoulos Repeats Greek Recovery Coming

Bank of Greece chief George Provopoulos, who has predicted an economic recovery for the past few years, now says it looks like

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Greek Week sets record, raises $30075 for Special Olympics

Greek Week sets record, raises 075 for Special OlympicsCentral Michigan LifeCentral Michigan University's Greek community surpassed its own expectations, raising $30,075 for Special Olympics during Greek Week 2014. As soon as the doors opened, a flood of cheering students, both Greeks and non-Greeks, stormed McGuirk Arena, ...Greek Week Events DayBowling Green Daily NewsTime for Greeks to grow upMurray State Newsall 3 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.cm-life.com

Here comes the sun: Britons to bask in sunny weather this Easter with highs of up to 19C... warmer than holiday hotspots in Greece

Forecasters at the Met Office say the south east will see dry and settled conditions throughout the week with temperatures hitting highs of 19C on Easter Sunday.

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

Greece has made an impressive comeback but it still faces huge challenges

Telegraph.co.uk (blog)Greece has made an impressive comeback but it still faces huge challengesTelegraph.co.uk (blog)In July 2012, Citi – the American bank – assigned a 90 per cent probability to Greece leaving the euro, having earlier coined the term "Grexit". Around the same time, together with my colleague Raoul Ruparel, I published a briefing which argued that ...5 Explanations For Greece's Bond YieldSeeking AlphaGreece May Need Third Program After Summer, Dijsselbloem SaysBusinessweekGerman Bonds Rise With Yield Below 1.5% as Greece FallsBloombergBloomberg View -MercoPressall 14 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT blogs.telegraph.co.uk

Four out of five Greek voters still committed to the euro: will the Greek anti-austerity parties blink first?

There’s a paradox at the heart of the Greek euro debate: voters have comprehensively rejected EU-mandated austerity – parties that are (more or less) in favour of ripping up the bailout conditions mustered 68pc of the votes. And yet, according to a new ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT blogs.telegraph.co.uk

Photography buoys Greece man after layoff

Photography buoys Greece man after layoffRochester Democrat and ChronicleSHARE 24 CONNECTTWEET 2 COMMENTEMAILMORE. Photos of dramatic ice formations, lake effect snowstorm clouds and sunsets over Lake Ontario cover the walls of James Montanus' condominium in Greece. Looking at the stunning prints, it's hard to ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.democratandchronicle.com

Living History: Greek immigrant found her calling as a midwife

Living History: Greek immigrant found her calling as a midwifeSalt Lake TribuneIn early 20th century, streams of Greek men as young as 14 poured into Utah to work the mines, smelters, mills, rail yards and road beds. Hoping to earn steady wages and return to their homeland, these immigrants lived in tents, powder-box shacks ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.sltrib.com

Greece still has large financial needs: IMF Europe head

The International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s director for Europe refused to rule out Greece needing a further bailout in the future — despite the success of its bond issue earlier during the week. Read MoreGreece offers first long-term bond since 2010 ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.cnbc.com

Prosecutor Delays Deposition of Nigrita Prison Guard

State prosecutor in Serres, northern Greece, Georgia Toutoumtzi, on Friday postponed the deposition of a Nigrita prison guard linked with the death of Albanian

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

IMF Says Greece Needs Help For Next Two Years

It is likely that Greece may need further help from the eurozone over the next two years despite the yesterday’s successful return

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com

Greek Goddess visits Belle-Valley students to help teach

Greek Goddess visits Belle-Valley students to help teachBelleville News DemocratErika Hankins is an expert in ancient Greek and Roman mythologies, and is fluent in both languages. She visited Belle-Valley School on Friday in the role of Gaia, the mother of all Greek gods and goddesses. She told stories about the various mythical ...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bnd.com

UConn Suspends 2 Additional Greek Organizations

New York Daily NewsUConn Suspends 2 Additional Greek OrganizationsNBC ConnecticutUConn has placed two Greek organizations on interim suspension under suspicion of hazing students in a fraternity off-campus in February, days after suspending a sorority accused of hazing. On Wednesday night, UConn placed the Sigma Chi fraternity and ...UConn suspends sorority, fraternity - WFSB 3 ConnecticutWFSBall 85 news articles »

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.nbcconnecticut.com

Obama Taps Greek-American to be New Secretary of HSS

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has nominated his budget chief, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, to replace outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Obama calling Burwell, A Greek-American from Hinton, WV, “a proven manager” who knows how to get results. The nomination of Burwell, who was confirmed by the Senate 96-0 for her current post last year, […]

The post Obama Taps Greek-American to be New Secretary of HSS appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

Europe’s Oldest City: Knossos

Considered Europe’s oldest city, Knossos served as the center of the great Bronze Age Minoan civilization that inhabited the island of Crete since 7000 B.C. Among striking ancient findings in the area is the palace of King Minos, which with its 1,300 rooms and living spaces, resembles the legendary Minoan Labyrinth. In mythology, it is […]

The post Europe’s Oldest City: Knossos appeared first on The National Herald.


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com

8 Hoxton Square, London N1 restaurant review

'It's the very definition of a good time: unrushed, informal, menu stuffed with things you didn't know you were pining for'

Now here's a ridiculous idea for a restaurant: sell good food at reasonable prices, employ engaging staff who look happy to be there, don't mark up wine greedily, take reservations. How ludicrous. It'd never stand a chance. Absurdly, this second restaurant from chef Cameron Emirali and his front of house partner Luke Wilson doesn't have a burger on its menu, nor, as far as I know, employ PRs or host dinners for people with "meaningful internet presences". In terms of "design", they have done little more than titivate the fixtures and fittings left behind by the site's previous, short-lived incumbent, painted a few bricks white and installed their trademark tables with a handy inbuilt cutlery-and-menu section. They've not even got creative with the name: their first was 10 Greek Street and this is 8 Hoxton Square. Tuh. It's got hubris written all over it, and not even in Futura Bold.

Only, it hasn't. It's a smash, rammed to the rafters on a school night, with people talking and laughing and ordering another bottle from a wine list created with wit and without avarice. It's the very definition of a good time: unrushed, informal, menu stuffed with things you didn't know you were pining for. Savoury zeppole, for instance, a play on sweet Italian doughnuts, with a different filling each day: we land on 'nduja day, the pungent, scarlet sausage oozing through grease-free buns.

Continue reading...

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com

Greek Counterterrorism Analysts Fear for New Attacks

After the initial investigation on yesterday’s hit in the heart of Athens, Greek Counterterrorism analysts consider the possibility of new car-bomb attacks

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com