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

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Sufjan Stevens talks to Dave Eggers: ‘I was recording songs as a means of grieving’

On his emotionally devastating new album Carrie & Lowell, Sufjan Stevens explores the terrible loss he felt at the death of his mother. He talks to Dave Eggers about how difficult it was to make, his dysfunctional childhood and how playing the songs live will be a joyful reliefAs the slow grey East River passes in the distance, as the white smoke from some faraway factory rises into the white winter sky, as a lone man in a grey jacket wanders through the power plant across the street below us, Sufjan Stevens, inside his studio four floors up, shows Technicolor home movies of his family from decades before. A collection of ghosts moves jauntily to unheard music.There’s a grandfather, there’s an aunt, an uncle, a cousin. “That’s Carrie,” he says, pointing to his mother. In the short Super-8 clips, she’s a pretty young woman with dark hair and big, wary eyes. In one film she’s standing with siblings behind a birthday cake, grimacing at the camera, uncomfortable being seen. In another, she’s on the beach, again wary, occasionally smiling. Finally, in the last film, she’s dancing slowly with a tall man, almost a head taller and far lighter of spirit, a bright-eyed man with a newly shaven head. This is Stevens’s father Rasjid, and the film, as far as Stevens can tell, is of their wedding night. Carrie and Rasjid dance slowly, her head on his chest, and face aglow, while he looks around, grinning at the camera, at Carrie’s Greek relatives, who dance merrily around them. His eyes wide and his head recently shaved, he seems eager to please. Carrie, though, has her eyes closed, her ear to her new husband’s heart, content to escape to some inner place. Related: Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell: album stream Continue reading...


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8,500 Greek Businesses to Shut Down Over Next Semester

Despite the positive assessment formed in February, people are now worried about the Greek economy’s future, as 3% of all Greek businesses are facing the possibility of shutting down over the next quarter. As a result, around 8,500 Greek businesses will shut down in the next semester, leading to the loss of 20,000 jobs. This is the main conclusion of the economic research conducted by the Small Enterprises’ Institute of the Hellenic Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen and Merchants (IME GSEVEE) regarding the second half of 2014 and expectations for the first half of 2015. However, the research also referred to SME estimates from the end of February and the country’s economic state that have led to market skepticism. According to GSEVEE president Giorgos Kavathas, while the negative dynamics of expectations that had developed over previous years appear to be diminishing, the duration of this dire situation mainly depends on the new government’s willingness and ability to implement policies and introduce measures to boost the Greek economy, as well as entrepreneurship, investment, liquidity and employment. The government is called to design and implement realistic solutions that will rapidly respond to current challenges small businesses are facing.


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New Democracy Leader: ‘The Government is Lying to Greek People’

New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras lashed out at the government on Thursday, urging it to stop lying to the Greek people and delaying the implementation of the February 20 agreement. Samaras released the agreement document, which has the signature of Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis. “The government for one and a half month has not dared bring the extension of the loan agreement it signed to the Parliament, as it is afraid of the voting in Parliament, of SYRIZA and Independent Greeks parliamentary groups, and mainly because it does not want the Greek people to find out the truth. However, a lie has no legs. We publish the document so that each Greek citizen can look it up and draw his own conclusions. The contract is the modification of the Master Financial Assistance Facility Agreement so as to get a four-month extension, just like our government did in December to get a two-month extension. Both are inextricably linked to the Memorandum. Therefore, the government did not tear the Memorandum apart but co-signed it. However, our government was terminating it, along with the Memorandum. The new extension of the contract equals an extension of the Memorandum as well. The fact that the Memorandum is extended is also confirmed by the rest of the Troika, by the ECB and IMF announcements; and they shouldn’t tell us that they cannot read the texts. The two texts are identical, apart from one point that includes the return of 10.2 billion euros. The 1.2 billion euros, which the government should not have returned and is now asking back to cover cash needs, are part of this amount. Up until last month, the government assured it did not need the 7.2-billion-euro tranche, while it is now anxious to disburse any amount to limit the domestic default in payments.” “All that is part of the supposedly tough negotiation that the government had” and called on it to put any communication tricks aside. “Creative ambiguity equals lies within the country. Let the government stop any procrastination and delays, and implement what it signed on February 20 because each day that goes by, the economy collapses and the cost on society increases,” Samaras concluded. New Democracy Deputy Christos Staikouras released the agreement document, claiming the texts of the two updated contracts are identical. (Source: ANA-MPA)


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IMF Chief Lagarde Contacts Greek PM Tsipras

  Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had a phone call with International Monetary Fund (IMF) head Christine Lagarde on Thursday regarding the implementation course of the February 20 agreement as well as on the so-called Lagarde list (which includes the names of Greece’s large-scale offshore depositors). According to government sources, Tsipras briefed Lagarde on the progress of negotiations as well as the implementation course of the February 20 Eurogroup agreement, while the IMF head told the Greek Premier that “the ‘Lagarde list’ has made me famous in your country” and Tsipras responded “Yes, but in a positive way.” Lagarde noted to Tsipras that Greece has done nothing so far to make use of the list and the wealthy still do not pay their taxes. Tsipras agreed with her and stressed that the new government aims for a socially fair tax system, government sources said. (Source: ANA-MPA)


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Cal Poly considers building on-campus village for Greek students

Cal Poly is considering building a village on campus that would house students from the Greek system, university president Jeff Armstrong told about ...


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Ukraine: What's the Role of Religion in Post-Maidan Milieu?

During a recent trip to Kiev, I was struck by mementoes placed in and around Kiev's Maidan square. The plaques featured individual photo portraits of fallen martyrs --- the so-called "Heavenly Hundred" who had sacrificed their lives during violent protests against the unpopular government of Viktor Yanukovych. What particularly got my attention about these mementoes was the overt display of religious iconography. Lying alongside the photos, Ukrainians had laid rosary beads, framed religious images of Christ and other memorabilia. Taken together, the photos and other donated items took on the look of a shrine. While many have sought to interpret the overall political meaning of Maidan square, few have dwelled upon underlying religious connotations. To be sure, Ukraine isn't as religious as Russia but nevertheless the Church plays a significant role in society. No one church dominates in Ukraine, with various branches including the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (linked to the Patriarchate of Moscow), the Patriarchate of Kiev and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church all holding sway. Though the Orthodox Church is the largest faith, other groups include the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Backward Social Beliefs Recently, I conducted a research trip to Ukraine and caught up with some local political activists who had their own unique take on religion. Denis Gorbach of the Autonomous Workers' Union says that historically the larger Ukrainian Orthodox Church has displayed backward and retrograde ideas. "They have their own agenda," he remarks, "which is socially conservative, racist against blacks and all non-Slavic peoples [though they wouldn't have any big problems with Germans or British], anti-Semitic and homophobic." Gorbach adds for good measure that the hardcore Orthodox Church views itself in opposition to "rotten western values and multiculturalism." For a more complete view, I head over to Kiev's old Jewish quarter of Podil. There, I speak to Josef Zissels, General Council Chairman of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress. Zissels confirms that the Ukrainian Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is "the most anti-Semitic amongst the churches." Zissels says he's actually been aware of this reality for a full twenty years, and anti-Semitic literature was even sold at such churches [Zissels adds however that he sees little evidence of such virulent anti-Semitism at other Orthodox branches of the church]. Celebrating Orthodox Kievan Rus Larissa Babij works as an arts curator in Kiev. An American of Ukrainian descent, she moved to Kiev in 2005. Babij never really saw herself as a political activist, but when she observed that Ukrainians had little sway over their own cultural institutions she helped to found a group called Art Workers' Self Defense Initiative. Since the breakup of the old Soviet Union, Babij declares, there's been a kind of ideological vacuum in Ukraine and a counter-reaction to earlier forced atheism under Communism. In the absence of a strong state infrastructure within newly independent Ukraine, people don't even know whether they'll receive hot water tomorrow. As a result, some have turned to religion as a source of solace. During the Yanukovych era, Babij says there was a rather corrupt church-state relationship at the very public and visible level. In July, 2013 Kiev's Mystetskyi Arsenal art museum put on a show titled "The Great and the Grand." The exhibit was designed to celebrate the 1025th anniversary of the baptism of Kievan Rus, which is the original medieval state considered to be the Orthodox foundation of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. In a very symbolic sense, then, the show was designed to foster closer cultural ties between Ukraine and Russia, and indeed Putin himself was invited to the show. What is more, Yanukovych exercised great influence over Arsenal, a museum which lacked its own political autonomy even though the institution is state-funded and receives taxpayer money. Museum Controversy As if the political dimensions weren't questionable enough, further questions soon arose about the relationship between church and state. When it became clear that the show was to be partially funded by top-ranking clergy belonging to none other than the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Babij grew concerned. Could the president be seeking to perpetuate his own state ideology favoring closer ties to the Church? As suspicions grew, a controversy erupted at the museum which eroded Arsenal's already fast deteriorating reputation. On the night prior to Yanukovych's personal visit to the museum, Arsenal's director literally took a can of black paint and doused one of the exhibit's art works which she deemed immoral. The work in question, a mural depicting a flaming nuclear reactor with priests and judges partially immersed in a vat of red liquid, soon became a cause célèbre as Kiev's arts community rushed to the defense of creative self-expression. Prior to the opening, eight activists were arrested outside the museum protesting the creeping consolidation of church and state. In defending her controversial decision, Arsenal's director claimed that the exhibit "should inspire pride in the state." She added, "If you participate in [an] exhibition dedicated to the 1025th anniversary of the baptism of Kievan Rus, you don't have to do your best to offend the faithful, to lower the reputation of all clergy." In the wake of the controversy, Arsenal's deputy director resigned in protest, while some suggested the director had come under pressure to eliminate controversial work in advance of Yanukovych's visit. Befuddled Church Though certainly ominous, the Arsenal controversy did not lead to a consolidation of church and state in Ukraine though perhaps, if he had not been toppled from power, Yanukovych would have sought greater ties along these lines. But as Ukraine veered into Maidan political turbulence, the fractured church with its many denominations was forced to take sides. Historically, the Orthodox faith has placed greater emphasis on backing up state power, rather than supporting the aspirations of civil society. But with pro-Moscow Yanukovych clinging to power, top clergy was placed in an uncomfortable position. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, with its ties to the Moscow Patriarchate and upper echelons of Russian political and ecclesiastical leadership, was placed in a particularly difficult situation. Initially, Maidan was sparked by pro-European elements unhappy with Kiev's tilt toward the Kremlin. As events unfolded, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church sought to remain neutral in the midst of political crisis. Maintaining such neutrality proved difficult, however, since many members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church were themselves pro-Western. Though the church was eventually obliged to back Maidan protesters and the subsequent government of Petro Poroshenko, it did so somewhat reluctantly and belatedly. Other denominations got out in front of Maidan protests much earlier, however. Take, for example, the Greek Catholic Church. According to Zissels of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, Greek Catholics were the most influential religious grouping represented on the Maidan. Furthermore, Zissels reports, his own organization enjoyed a "very good and strong relationship" with the Greek Catholic Church. However, Maidan served to unite diverse religious constituencies, ranging from Orthodox to Catholics to even Jews and Muslims. Religion at the Maidan Gradually, religious leaders began to assume more importance on the Maidan. When riot police attacked protesters, scattering a whopping 10,000 people, many sought refuge in the nearby historic St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery. There, demonstrators were protected by local monks belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's Patriarchate of Kiev. Several days later, when riot police attacked again, a graduate student at a nearby theology school began to ring sacred bells next to a local cathedral. The noise and commotion could be heard for miles. In response to the call, priests dressed in cassocks and holding crosses stood between riot police and protesters as a gesture of peace. Later, the police withdrew without resorting to further violence. Meanwhile, priests led daily prayers at the barricades. In the middle of the square, a chapel belonging to the Greek Catholic Church provided daily Mass, confession and even counseling. At night, priests from all faiths led a prayer after crowds recited the national anthem. Such developments began to raise eyebrows amongst Ukrainian progressives, however. At a certain point, Babij tells me, prayers were literally getting recited on the hour at Maidan. "It was definitely uncomfortable for those of us who are not really religious in that way," she says. All of a sudden, she adds, religion became very dominant and "Maidan took on a homogeneity which might have been representative of the majority, or maybe representative of what some people thought the majority should be. But it definitely was not all-inclusive. It definitely had those patriotic, religious and nationalistic overtones." Religion in Post-Maidan Era Despite such pronounced religious nationalism at Maidan, some believe there is little danger that Ukraine will somehow merge church and state. Though there was a rather corrupt church-state dynamic at play under Yanukovych, Babij thinks this trend is no longer as pronounced or significant. For now then, Ukraine seemingly hasn't embraced the backward Russian model, where conservative religion has taken center political stage as of late. Cyril Danilchenko, who works as Zissels' personal assistant at the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, believes the Orthodox faith doesn't inform Ukrainian nationalism to the same degree as Russian nationalism. "In Ukraine," he tells me, "faith is more of a personal affair. You don't hear slogans like 'we are Ukraine, we are Orthodox!'" Danilchenko adds that many Ukrainians simply see themselves as European and prefer a strong separation between church and state. In Russia by contrast, "it doesn't work that way. Russia has a state religion like Saudi Arabia." Hopefully, Ukraine will maintain a critical separation between politics and religion in the wake of Maidan. "Ukraine is definitely more secular than Russia," Babij notes. After observing political controversies at the Arsenal museum, however, the curator isn't under any great illusions. In the long-term, she adds, Ukraine still "has all the potential to go in the direction of Russia." Nikolas Kozloff is a New York-based writer who recently conducted a research trip to Ukraine.


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Greece Mall hosting job fair Thursday

The Mall at Greece Ridge's Community Learning Center will host a job fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday. APRIL 2. The event is free and open to the ...


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Greece PD unveils new online crime report system

The Greece Police Department says that they have a new way for residents to report crimes. It will allow people to report some crimes online without ...


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Greece is back at the cliff edge

Greece's prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the anti-austerity Syriza party, met European Union (EU) leaders this week in an effort to unlock ...


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Bank of England Warns of Risks From Greece and Market Liquidity

LONDON — The Bank of England said Thursday that Britain's stability continued to be threatened by international risks, including Greece's financing ...


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Greek defense minister heads to USA after controversy

Defense Minister Panos Kammenos heads to New York this weekend for Greek Independence Day celebrations after finding himself at the center of a controversy that led to the US Congress failing to pass a resolution commemorating the start of Greece’s revolt against Ottoman rulers for the first time in 30 years.


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Cash concerns keep Athens bourse action tight

Cash is drying up in the Greek market and this is being felt increasingly at the local bourse as well,


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Turkish defense minister rejects Greek territorial claims on Aegean islands

Turkey's defense minister has rejected Greek territorial claims over a number of contested islands close to the Turkish coast in the Aegean Sea as ...


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Greek Government Seize Pension Funds and Subsidies to Avoid Default

The Greek government is resorting to increasingly desperate measures to keep afloat amid dire warnings the debt-stricken country could go bust ...


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Greek, Chinese FMs discuss deepening countries’ ties

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi discussed deepening the two countries’ economic ties when they met in Beijing on Wednesday.


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High prices weigh on local organic market

The penetration rate of organic products in the Greek market remains relatively low, according to an industry survey conducted by Infobank Hellastat (IBHS), which underscores the sector’s turn toward exports for survival.


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Judges send 32 to trial for kickbacks in submarine deal

A council of appeals court judges decided on Thursday that 32 people, including former politicians, businessmen, soldiers, bankers and arms traders, should stand trial in connection to bribes allegedly paid to secure the sale of four submarines from Germany to the Greek Navy.


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Greek-American Playwright Marched Talented Friends West to East

NEW YORK – Surveying the fate of individuals and nations who love flirting with disaster, even skeptics might come to believe that there really are higher powers looking out for us. In “The Fox and Boulder,” a new original play by Greek-American Sarah Bennett, who was also its executive director, deep humanitarian concerns and the […]


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Oil prices rise after fears of more violence in Gulf

Bombing of Yemen spooks investors into believing supply lines could be affected and causing crude to jump 4% on global marketsOil prices surged on global markets as jumpy investors weighed the risk that tensions in Yemen could spiral into a wider Middle East conflict, choking off crude supplies.The cost of a barrel of benchmark Brent crude rose more than 4% on Thursday, to $58.93, after reports emerged about Saudi-led air strikes on the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, and the southern port city of Aden – close to the key oil supply route through the Gulf of Aden and the Suez canal. A barrel of US West Texas intermediate jumped $2.17, to $51.37. Related: FTSE 100 falls nearly 1.5% as oil rises amid Middle East tensions Related: Bank of England warns of danger to markets from Greece and China Continue reading...


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Warren Buffett's right hand man Charlie Munger thinks a derivatives trading desk is like a 'casino in drag' (BRKB, BRKA)

Charlie Munger, the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett's right hand man, is not a fan of derivatives.  Speaking at the annual meeting of Daily Journal Corporation, a newspaper publisher at which Munger serves as chairman, Munger said, "What do you think a derivatives trading desk is? It’s a casino in drag. They make the witch doctors look good." Derivatives are securities whose value is tied to the value of another asset or index, like a futures or options contract.  Munger and Buffett famously preach the idea that investors are best served buying businesses, not stocks, with Buffett writing 30 years ago that the key to investing is searching for discrepancies between the value of a business and the price of small pieces of that business in the market.  In Berkshire's latest letter to shareholders, Munger outlined four things he think made Berkshire so successful over the last 50 years: The constructive peculiarities of Buffett. The constructive peculiarities of the Berkshire system. Good luck. The weirdly intense, contagious devotion of some shareholders and other admirers, including some in the press. Munger also spoke at the Daily Journal meeting about the situation in Greece and the deal announced earlier on Wednesday for Heinz — which Berkshire owns along with 3G Capital — to merge with Kraft Foods.  Read the full report of Munger's comments at Bloomberg »SEE ALSO: 30 years ago, Warren Buffett gave away the secret to good investing and correctly predicted no one would listen Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: 7 amazing maps that show how important Canada is


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Monsieur Doumani: Sikoses review – Greek folk styles updated with a slice of fun

Monsieur Doumani are a young trio from Nicosia whose updating of Greek Cypriot folk styles has brought them an international following. They will be ...


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Data show Greek bank run loomed before deal

Withdrawals picking up again over financial fears and risk of ‘Grexit’


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Growing number of African migrants risk trek to Europe

Each month, a tide of humanity pours through the hills of Greece, Macedonia and Serbia in hopes of entering the heart of the European Union.


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Deposits in Greek banks fell by $8.60 billion in February: ECB data

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The level of deposits in Greek banks fell by 7.8 billion euros ($8.60 billion) to 147.523 billion euros in February, data from the ...


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Greek PM, IMF's Lagarde discussed talks with lenders over the phone-govt official

ATHENS, March 26 (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras briefed International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde over the ...


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EU deal on reforms, loans next week: Greek minister

"I think at the beginning of next week we will have a deal, both over the reform package proposed by the Greek government, and over the flow of ...


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Greece Prime Minister and Christine Lagarde had a 'constructive' conversation, says IMF

WASHINGTON: IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde had a 'constructive' conversation with Greece's prime minister on Wednesday, IMF ...


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No, Greece isn't the most unhelpful country ever, IMF says

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The International Monetary Fund on Thursday denied a report that officials view Greece as the most unhelpful ...


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Manfull: In defense of Greeks

For full disclosure, I am personally involved in Greek life at the University of Iowa. In my years with a sorority, I have never once felt hazed, ...


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"Defining beauty: The body in ancient Greek art" exhibit in London

The British Museum's "Defining beauty: the body in ancient Greek art" runs from March 26 to July 5, 2015. The exhibition explores the Greek ...


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Emerging Market Headlines: Nigeria Vote, India Farms, Nazi Debt Owed To Greece?

Among country-specific exchange-traded funds, the Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF (GREK) is up 4% for the week, one of the best emerging market ...


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Pressure rises on Greece as savers drain bank deposits

Greece's prime minister Alexis Tsipras delivers a speech at Athens University, Wednesday March 25, 2015. Tsipras' speech took place during a ...


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Sen. Coats Asks Kammenos Jihadist Threat Clarification

Indiana Senator Dan Coats was upset Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos had warned Jihadists might be in illegal immigrants allowed to leave Greece.


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FTSE 100 falls nearly 1.5% as oil rises amid Middle East tensions

Investors unsettled by Saudi attacks, as well as Greek woes and US economy concernsLeading shares suffered their biggest one day fall for three weeks as a combination of concerns sent investors fleeing for the exits.The latest catalyst was a surge in crude prices as tensions grew in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia launching military action against rebels in Yemen, adding to fears of disruptions to supplies. Brent crude is off the day’s highs but is still currently 4% higher at $58.79 a barrel.Hikma [on Wednesday] announced their potential first bond issuance, which we believe could be partly to fund future M&A plans. At the full year results they commented on their $1.5bn M&A firepower, and we see a high probability that at least some of this is put to work in 2015, with the Non-Injectable generics division likely the most significant beneficiary. With M&A firepower at 25% of market-cap, we see Hikma as having the highest M&A optionality in the sector, and based on its strong track-record, we anticipate significant accretion.There is a strong value argument for Ophir Energy at this level....We upgrade to a buy rating due to relative balance sheet strength, discovered gas resource monetisation optionality and longer term exploration exposure. Continue reading...


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Risk-shy banks and companies keep euro zone credit on tight leash

By Sarah White and Valentina ZaMADRID/MILAN (Reuters) - The euro zone credit cycle is a whisker away from turning positive but don’t expect a rapid recovery.Bank lending to the private sector fell 0.1 percent in February, data from the European Central Bank (ECB) showed on Thursday, dashing expectations for an increase but inching ever closer to positive growth after nearly three years of contraction.While ECB President Mario Draghi hailed a resurgent demand from companies for credit this week on the back of his cheap loans for banks, lenders and businesses are more circumspect about the prospects for a strong upswing."The scope of lending is not really widening, it's more credit for the same companies," said Camilo Pereira, chairman of one of Spain's biggest garden center businesses, Fronda, which has dealings with half a dozen banks.Banks' unwillingness to lend and businesses' reluctance to take on fresh debt have been at the heart of euro zone stagnation. A resumption of credit growth would signal a big hurdle to the bloc's recovery had been lifted.The ECB has been throwing money at the problem, keeping interest rates at record lows and offering banks hundreds of billions of euros in cheap loans to lend more to businesses.But funding is not a problem for the banks. Their funding costs have been down at pre-debt crisis levels for more than six months as yield-hungry investors snap up bank debt.The problem is capital.Making fresh loans requires lenders to set aside more capital to cover the risk of default, a tall order for some banks in the euro zone, where a new European banking regulator is taking a tougher stance on capital levels and capital quality.Unlike the United States, which moved quickly to close struggling lenders and recapitalize the healthy ones in the wake of the financial crisis, Europe, where many smaller lenders are politically connected, has failed to take a big bang approach.The International Monetary Fund has estimated that nearly three-quarters of the euro zone's 3,600 plus banks need to be overhauled before they can meet the demand for credit when the euro zone economy fully recovers.In Italy, bad debts are still climbing, making it even more difficult to make new loans, as bankers in some regions hope that a resumption of economic growth will resolve the issue.WINNERS AND LOSERSIn Spain, where the banking system has been overhauled in the wake of a disastrous property bubble, Bankia is making a big push into lending to small businesses as part of a restructuring agreement with the European Commission. The bank borrowed 2.7 billion euros from the ECB in September to finance its campaign.Bankia said it had lent out half of the 2.7 billion so far and that four out of five of the loans are to new customers. But after nearly collapsing under the weight of ill-advised property loans, the bank is cautious."There is growth, but it's not homogenous, there are winners and losers, and that is going to become more marked as some companies grow more," said Juan Luis Vidal, head of small business lending at Bankia.Spain reported a jump in demand for business loans in the latest ECB bank lending survey but Jose San Roman, the chief executive of Ilion, a Madrid-based animation studio, cannot get all of the funding he needs to expand.In a country with nearly 24 percent unemployment, his plan to double his workforce to at least 500 is significant but some of his projects are being stalled."Financial entities are looking for any excuse to withhold decision-making," he said. "They are using every excuse to say no, demanding more guarantees from the parent holding company, or cash to set aside in an account."A recent burst of demand among banks earlier this month for the ECB's cheap loans has raised expectations that it will push borrowing costs for businesses down further and translate into increased credit.The average cost of borrowing for corporations was 2.41 percent in January, the lowest since records began at the ECB in 2003.Expectations of improving growth in the euro zone, provided the crisis in Greece and the conflict in the Ukraine does not throw things off course, are also a positive.But with caution still very much the watchword, a return to the high single digit growth rates for bank lending in the euro zone seen before the global financial crisis is not expected anytime soon."We're still at the beginning of the process that would lead to raising new financing, we're are waiting to confirm our expectations," said Simona Campo, chief financial officer of Italian healthcare software group NoemaLife.(Writing by Carmel Crimmins; editing by Philippa Fletcher)Join the conversation about this story »


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In Germany’s shadow

THE timing was certainly awkward. Talks between Greece and the euro zone were on a knife-edge. Beset by rumours that Greece was running out of money, Alexis Tsipras, the prime minister, had agreed to propose reforms to unlock bail-out funds. Then, just before Mr Tsipras was to visit Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, a news magazine ran a cover of Mrs Merkel overlaid on an image of occupying Nazi forces at the Parthenon. “The German Übermacht (‘Dominance’)”, read the headline. Insinuations that Germany’s tough line on debtor countries carries a whiff of the Third Reich have been common throughout the euro crisis, usually in Greece. But this time it was Der Spiegel, a respected German weekly, that made the comparison (depicting European perceptions, it insists). At a press conference with Mrs Merkel, Mr Tsipras condemned the cover (before repeating his call for war reparations). But as Greece again throws the euro zone into turmoil, Germany is facing awkward questions. During the euro crisis, power shifted from European institutions to capitals, Berlin chief among them. On the urgent...


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The squeeze tightens

Making ends meet IN HARD and uncertain times, a tax amnesty can be a fillip to the popular mood. Stelios Alivizakis, an engineering consultant struggling to survive in Greece’s depressed property market, was overjoyed when the radical left-wing Syriza government announced a one-week “special offer” for tax debtors. Anyone willing to pay some or all of their overdue taxes by March 27th would have the accumulated interest written off. “I’ll have a breathing space to get my affairs in order,” says Mr Alivizakis, who owes thousands of euros in unpaid income, property and value-added tax. Many hard-pressed Greek businesspeople reacted in similar fashion. The finance ministry’s tax website attracted over 100,000 hits within minutes of the offer being posted. Nadia Valavani, the deputy finance minister charged with trying to fill Greece’s depleted coffers, said €50m ($55m) was raised within the first 24 hours. She hopes another €200m will flow in by the end of the week. That would cheer government officials fighting to pay pensions and civil servants’ salaries at the end of the month. It could also avert a possible...


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Swiss Taxation Secretary, Greek officials meet – PHOTOS

Swiss State Secretary for International Financial and Tax Matters minister Jacques de Watteville met Greek officials at the Prime Minister's office Thursday. The issue discussed in the meeting was the international tax evasion. State Minister Nikos Pappas and the State Minister for ...


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Facebook is building a fleet of giant solar-powered drones (FB)

Facebook is building a fleet of V-shaped unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, to help the company with its Internet.org project that aims to beam Internet access to the 5 billion people that don't have it yet. According to a report from The New York Times, Facebook has a codename for its drone: Aquila, which is also the name of the eagle in Greek mythology that carries Zeus's thunderbolts for him. Aquila can reportedly stay in the air for up to three months at a time, and beam high-speed internet from between 60,000 and 90,000 feet in the air. They'll be lighter than a small car, but as long as a Boeing 767. The first flights will reportedly begin this summer, although "commercial deployment may take years," the Times notes. Facebook executives are not sure how much the final version of Aquila will cost the company. Aquila was accomplished via Facebook's acquisition of the drone maker Ascenta in 2014, according to the Times. But now that this project is under Facebook's wing, the company is also looking for partners to help get the project off the ground, in return for allowing those companies to use their data and technology. The Internet.org initiative, which was created in August 2013, is one of the main ways Facebook looks to spread its influence. By partnering up with mobile companies like Samsung, Qualcomm, and Microsoft, Facebook hopes to eventually offer universal affordable internet access, similar to Google's Project Loon, where high flying balloons beam down WiFi to areas without internet. Check out the whole story over at The New York Times.Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: How drones are changing the way we see things


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Greece prepares reforms, eyes deal with euro zone next week

After talks with EU leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the past week, Athens said it would present a package of reforms to its euro zone partners by Monday in the hope of avoiding bankruptcy. "I believe that at the beginning of next week ...


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Greek FinMin Varoufakis among 10 World Thinkers 2015

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis is among the World Thinkers 2015. In a online voting poll conducted by the Prospect Magazine, Varoufakis comes second after French economist Thomas Picketty, whose book Capital in the Twenty-First Century had sold a remarkable 1.5m copies worldwide in several languages. Several of the other […]


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Fraternities, sororities serve community during MTSU's Greek Week

Public service that is performed year round by fraternities and sororities will be on display during MTSU's Greek Week March 30-April 3. The issues ...


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FTSE LIVE: Footsie slumps as oil price jumps on MidEast tensions, and US data, Greek debt

In Europe, France's CAC 40 index dropped 1.4 per cent and Germany's Dax 30 index shed 1.5 per cent, with worries over the Greek debt situation the ...


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Greek Government Committed to Clearing the Siemens Scandal

“The government is committed politically, morally and legally to fully clear out all aspects of the Siemens scandal,” Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Thursday in a statement referring to recent developments concerning this issue. “During the discussion two days ago in the Council of State on the extrajudicial settlement with Siemens, the Judge of the State Legal Council, who represented the Greek government, did not ask for the consultation of the political leadership on this issue. In any case, the aim of the Finance ministry is to fully restore the economic and moral damage the Greek government has suffered. The legal assistance of the German authorities for the activities of Siemens in Greece will help this effort. We are working in this direction,” concluded Varoufakis. (Source: ANA-MPA)


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Draghi reiterates that ECB cannot buy Greek bonds

"QE does not buy Greek bonds for three reasons. ... Draghi said the other reasons for not buying Greek bonds were that their credit rating was too low ...


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Sen. Coats Asks Kammenos Jihadist Threat Clarification

Indiana Senator Dan Coats was upset Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos had warned Jihadists might be in illegal immigrants allowed to leave Greece.


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In Greece Governments Change, But Impunity Remains

They say that justice should be blind, but in Greece it seems that justice has perfect vision and winks slyly when it wants to. Tuesday’s decision to essentially set free former finance minister Giorgos Papakonstinou for tampering with the infamous ...


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Bank deposits drain adds pressure on Greece

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek bank deposits dropped by more than 7.5 billion euros ($8.2 billion) in February, ramping up pressure on the country's teetering financial system as its government scrambles to reach a deal with creditors.


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Greece 'could go bankrupt by Easter', Mitsotakis says

Greece will not avoid bankruptcy if by Easter the Greek government does not send to Brussels the reforms agreed in Eurogroup, New Democracy MP, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, warned. Speaking for Mega TV, Mitsotakis said: «Greek government has to send the list of the ...


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Angela Merkel is the biggest threat to Europe's recovery

It may sound a little strange with Germany leading the way on positive economic data surprises in recent months but the biggest risk to Europe's nascent recovery remains Chancellor Angela Merkel's government. Why, you might well ask? Well while the pace of growth in Germany is to be welcomed, and particularly the fact that it is appears to be finally feeding into wage gains for German workers, the country's history of chronic inflation phobia could yet scupper hopes of a sustainable recovery in the region. The problem is as follows: Since the onset of the euro crisis the economies of member states have been diverging. This was initially reflected in bond spreads between the so-called core countries (think Germany, France, Austria, the Netherlands etc.) and peripheral states (Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland): However, it is currently best illustrated by comparing the spread between unemployment rates: The key point to note is that high unemployment is generally considered a good reason to think that an economy has room to grow at a relatively rapid pace without causing inflation to rise to worrying levels. Low unemployment suggests that an economy is operating close to its potential, meaning that an increase in the rate of growth would likely mean that prices would start being pushed up. And that's a problem for Europe. In Germany and Austria, unemployment is hovering around levels that economists tend to consider the "natural rate", where further drops would likely imply higher wage growth (as employers have to offer more money to entice workers) and rising prices. By stark contrast, unemployment in Spain and Greece remains above 20% — an extraordinarily high level that implies an uptick in growth would have very little impact on average wages. Such large differences between countries would normally result in very different central bank interest rates. Within the monetary union, however, they are all reliant on rates set by the European Central Bank, which means that during periods of economic divergence (as we have now) policy is likely to be too tight for the weakest economies and too loose for the strongest. So what does all that actually mean in practice? So far, economic theory seems to be playing out much as expected. Stronger growth in Germany has seen negotiated salaries are now rising at the fastest pace in two decades as workers appear to be shrugging off their reputation for wage restraint. These gains now also seem to be feeding through to expectations for the future as well with German consumer confidence hitting a 14-year high on Thursday. Higher wages are good news for German consumers, but they will be equally welcomed by struggling states in Europe's periphery as stronger German demand could provide a boost to exports and reduce the competitive advantage that lower labour costs have given to German products and services. Yet to realise these benefits, Merkel's government will have to allow inflation in the country to rise — potentially even above the ECB's target of "close to but below 2%". That still looks like an extremely unlikely scenario. For evidence of this, you need only look at the government's ultra-conservative response to the collapse in its borrowing costs over recent months. Last year the German government ran a budget surplus equivalent to 0.4% of GDP despite being able to borrow at interest rates below 1% for 30-year bonds. Last month the German government sold 5-year bonds with a negative nominal yield — meaning that in effect people are paying the government to borrow — for the first time in its history. Markets are practically begging Germany to issue debt but it seems that the need to appear prudent is getting in the way of sensible policy. Bringing on a housing bubble? And there are serious risks to this strategy. Between 1998 and 2001 the Clinton administration also decided to run a budget surplus in the face of very strong investor demand for safe government bonds. Some academics argue that by doing so and shrinking the outstanding stock of government debt the US government played a part in inflating a housing bubble as investors began channelling funds that would have gone to government bonds into mortgage securities. The bubble ultimately burst in 2008 with devastating consequences. While we are unlikely to see exactly the same scenario play out in Europe, extremely low yields on safe government debt could well start to channel investment into other higher-yielding (and at least notionally "safe") assets such as property in core countries. Already Germany’s central bank president Jens Weidmann has been warning that property prices in the country are showing signs of being overvalued, although he stopped short of calling it a bubble. He told an audience in Munich, according to The Wall Street Journal: "Bundesbank calculations suggest that by now in cities there are clear overvaluations [in residential real estate]. We reckon that prices are between 10% and 20% above the levels that are fundamentally justified. In the hip neighbourhoods of big cities, the overvaluation may be more.” Worrying times ahead... With the ECB undertaking asset purchase programmes, the cost of credit in large, growing economies like Germany is only likely to fall from here. That in turn suggests that, in the absence of direct government intervention, the prices of a range of assets (including property) could well continue to rise. This is clearly a concern for Weidmann. So what can the government do about it? In theory it could decide to increase taxes, for example on property transactions, in order to drain money from the economy and prevent it from overheating. However, it would have to manage the results very carefully. If the state chose to use the tax windfall to swell its coffers even more it might help to cool domestic demand somewhat. However, it would also be likely to exacerbate the contraction of government bond supply as demand for Bunds fails to drop at the same rate as the debt is being paid down. At least some of this money could be driven into the very asset classes that the state is trying to cool, worsening the problem rather than resolving it. Moreover, even if it were to succeed in cooling German economic growth and inflation it would mean that the gap between the core and the periphery would last for longer. If growth fails to pick up elsewhere in the region the ECB could be compelled to continue or even increase its QE programme to bring inflation back towards target causing the cycle to start all over again. A more positive alternative scenario is that the government could try to soak up the additional investment demand through issuing bonds. If it used even a portion of those funds to invest in struggling peripheral European economies (either directly or through increasing funding of supranational investment funds) it could help increase growth across the region, helping to bring those economies back into line with Germany and reducing the pressure on itself to take the burden of adjustment. Unfortunately, there is precious little evidence that German policymakers are even willing to consider such a strategy. Without it, however, Merkel and her government remain the biggest risk to the prospects of a European recovery.Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Putin's $51 billion Sochi plan blew up in his face


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