...The Eurozone crisis (often referred to as the Euro crisis) is an ongoing crisis that has been affecting the countries of the Eurozone since late 2009. It is a combined sovereign debt crisis, a banking crisis and a growth and competitiveness crisis.[8] The crisis made it difficult or impossible for some countries in the euro area to repay or re-finance their government debt without the assistance of third parties. Moreover, banks in the Eurozone are undercapitalized and have faced liquidity problems. Additionally, economic growth is slow in the whole of the Eurozone and is unequally distributed across the member states.[8] In 1992, members of the European Union signed the Maastricht Treaty, under which they pledged to limit their deficit spending and debt levels. However, in the early 2000s, a number of EU member states were failing to stay within the confines of the Maastricht criteria and turned to securitising future government revenues to reduce their debts and/or deficits. Sovereigns sold rights to receive future cash flows, allowing governments to raise funds without violating debt and deficit targets, but sidestepping best practice and ignoring internationally agreed standards.[9] This allowed the sovereigns to mask (or "Enronize") their deficit and debt levels through a combination of techniques, including inconsistent accounting, off-balance-sheet transactions as well as the use of complex currency and credit derivatives structures.[9] From late 2009, fears of...
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...Introduction Since the 1980s, Greek political battles forced Greece to endure constant transformation of their economic structures. These fluctuations created economic instability due to rapid changes in devaluation and inflation cycles. After successfully joining the Eurozone in 2001, Greece’s economy progressed enormously. However, the Greek government acted irresponsibly with its fiscal policy and debt accumulation. Consequently, the created economic weaknesses became apparent during the 2008 global financial crisis. The Greek sovereign debt crisis has required multiple controversial bailouts. The bailouts that prevented Greece from defaulting, led to two opposing opinions from leaders of the members of the European Union (EU), (1) to support Greece to remain member of the Eurozone and, (2) to pressure Greece to exit the Eurozone. Greek constant economic restructuring Introducing the “populist policies” during election seasons were the core of Greek political parties strategy. Political parties were forced to craft and innovate new economic structures to gain support from the voters. In 1980s, for example, the notion of public protection and equal income redistribution strengthened confidence in Greek’s voters. The massive increase of the public spending (10% increase of the GDP from 1980 to 1990) caused turmoil in Greek economic structures. The newly elected government’s acquisition of Bank of Greece resulted in the Greek government having direct control of the country’s...
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...THE FACULTY OF ECONOMICS LJUBLJANA THE CRISIS IN GREECE subject: TAXES MAY 2013 TAXES THE CRISIS IN GREECE author: P.Fux Contents INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 3 GENESIS OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS (USA) ................................................................. 3 THE TIPPING POINT ........................................................................................................... 3 IMPACT OF BANKING CRISIS ON EU - DEVELOPMENT OF FISCAL CRISIS .............. 4 WHAT HAPPENED IN GREECE............................................................................................. 4 DEBT IS HER OLDEST COMPANION ............................................................................... 5 CRISIS HAS SHOWN FIRST EFFECTS.............................................................................. 5 HOW MARKETS SAW GREECE ........................................................................................ 6 GREECE'S PROBLEMS SINCE THE CRISIS HAS ARISEN and BAILOUTS ..................... 7 The huge numbers of Greece's debt in pictures (2012) ...................................................... 9 A FEW WORDS ABOUT GREECE'S RATIOS ..................................................................... 10 THE GOVERNMENT SPENDINGS ..............................................................
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...Name: Course: Institution: Instructor: Date: The European sovereign debt crisis Introduction At the beginning of 2010, its emerged that the sovereign debt crisis would drastically spread through the entire European Union since Portugal, Greece, Spain, Italy and Ireland, which are jointly known as the PIIGS were in facing the significant increase in their deficit as well as public debt. The events about the crisis were closely tied to Greece since there were doubts about its ability to offset the huge sovereign debt it owed as well as government deficits. This crisis of confidence in Greece resulted in the significant downgrade of the Greek bonds into a junk status as well as the Greek bond yield spreads notably rose (Brutti and Sauré, 2016). The financial unrest gradually spread to the entire European Union zone and the European stocks tumbled, and the euro currency reached 2-year lows. Nonetheless, Greece was not the only stressed economy in The Euro Zone, in fact, it turned out to be a tip of the iceberg since other nations in the European Union were trailing on the Same road. Spain, Italy, Portugal and Ireland had accumulated huge budget deficits as well as increased public debt to the Gross Domestic product ratios. Portugal had an economic boom that was being sustained by the significantly lower borrowing rates. Nevertheless, it was hit by expeditious wage inflation which adversely affected the local companies’ competition with other foreign firms (CAI and LI, 2012). The sovereign...
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...and failed to undertake fiscal reforms, was one of the first to feel the pinch of weaker growth. When growth slows, so do tax revenues – making high budget deficits unsustainable. Greece's economy has struggled since the country joined the euro in 2001. In 2004, it admitted its budget deficit was higher than allowed under rules of entry. By 2008 the government had narrowly passed a belt-tightening budget, designed to trim its massive national debt burden, triggering massive protests. In 2009, Greece admitted its deficit would be more than 12% of gross domestic product -- far higher than previous estimates and more than four times the requirements of entry into the eurozone. The country was hit with ratings downgrades, pushing its sovereign bonds into so-called "junk" territory. At the same...
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...detrimental effects of flattening is easy to view in the recent crisis of the Greek economy and its effect on the global economy. Greece is one of the smallest economies in Europe, however between the technological ease of information of the Greek economies woes being broadcasted incessantly and the interdependency of the European and other world markets, what was once a regional concern about the amount of debt amassed by a small economy has rapidly turned into a worldwide economic contagion. “Worries that over indebted Greece could default sent investors scouring for the next ticking debt bomb. The euro zone has quite a selection to choose from: Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain, which, along with Greece, form the aptly nicknamed PIIGS. Yields on the sovereign bonds of Portugal and Spain have already risen, a sign that investors believe holding their debt is becoming riskier.” (Schuman, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1987598,00.html) Greece’s economic turmoil combined with other EU member states poised to default has caused a global unease that endangers the recovery of the United States market as well. The U.S. was finally seeing some signs of growth after a trying recession but now fear is back with a vengeance. On May 6th, 2010, amid simulcast images of rioting in Greece against the austerity actions, this fear bounced across the world as traders cast off bonds and blue chips with equal abandon and the U.S. stock market briefly plummeted...
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...[edit]EU emergency measures [edit]European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) Main article: European Financial Stability Facility On 9 May 2010, the 27 EU member states agreed to create the European Financial Stability Facility, a legal instrument[222] aiming at preserving financial stability in Europe by providing financial assistance to eurozone states in difficulty. The EFSF can issue bonds or other debt instruments on the market with the support of the German Debt Management Office to raise the funds needed to provide loans to eurozone countries in financial troubles, recapitalize banks or buy sovereign debt.[223] Emissions of bonds are backed by guarantees given by the euro area member states in proportion to their share in the paid-up capital of the European Central Bank. The €440 billion lending capacity of the facility is jointly and severally guaranteed by the eurozone countries' governments and may be combined with loans up to €60 billion from the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (reliant on funds raised by the European Commission using the EU budget as collateral) and up to €250 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to obtain a financial safety net up to €750 billion.[224] The EFSF issued €5 billion of five-year bonds in its inaugural benchmark issue 25 January 2011, attracting an order book of €44.5 billion. This amount is a record for any sovereign bond in Europe, and €24.5 billion more than the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism...
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...Paper, spring 2012 ------------------------------------------------- Is a Greek exit from the European Union inevitable? 0909512 Table of Contents Pg. List of Illustrations 3 Executive Summary 4 1.0 Introduction 5 2.0 The Economic Cost and Benefit for State Membership of the EMU 5 2.1 Benefits of EMU Membership & Mechanisms 5 2.2 Costs of EMU Membership 7 3.0 Contextual Factors: The Profusion of Dept 10 3.1 The Eurozone Crisis 10 3.3 Greece- The Forefront of the Euro Area Crisis 13 4.0 Alternate Policies and the Effective Consequences 15 4.1 Predicament 15 4.2 Abetting Dependent on Austerity 16 4.3 Creditor-Led Default 17 4.4 Debtor-led Default and Greek Haircuts 19 4.5 Greek Exit 20 5.0 Recommendation 21 Appendices: Appendix 1: Preferential liberalization References List of Illustrations Pg. Illustration 1: The cost of EMU- Diminishing Domestic Flexibility to Asymmetric Macro Shocks 7 Illustration 2: Cost and benefit of Monetary Unions 9 Illustration 3: Evolution of Nominal Unit Labor Costs in the Eurozone Pre to the US Credit Crunch 9 Illustration 4: Current Account Balances in Percentage GDP 10 Illustration 5: Core Bank Exposure to the Weaker Eurozone Member States 12 Illustration 5: Holders of Greek Government Bonds and Dept (in billion Euro) 16 Executive Summary The standing Economic...
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...Some would say freemasonry is a religion, some would say it is a cult; other would say it is a secret society and it is they worship the devil. Strange isn’t it, I would say so that one organization would cause so much confusion and all the attention and especially with the church. The church is more of a religious thing, it is a place where you go to worship and give praise in what you believe your religion is a way of life and what you believe in and live by that belief by putting forth good actions or the deeds that you are required to do. For example in Christianity in order to be saved you first have to confess your sins, ask for forgiveness, and believe that Jesus died for your sins. Then you are saved so there is a criteria to become a Christian and get saved, so why is it when it is a criteria to become a freemason then all of a sudden the “church” has an issue; I think it is more of fear of the unknown and speculation. Hopefully this paper can give a little more understanding on what is going on between the church and freemasonry. I would also like for people to understand what freemasonry truly is. Freemasonry is not a cult of or a religion but a fraternal organization that requires you to believe in a higher being. So I will prove my point that freemasonry is not a religion, what is church main issue with freemasonry, and that freemasonry is just simply a fraternal organization. Freemasonry is a fraternal organization History of freemasonry The history of freemasonry...
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...Analyzing a Bloomberg article, about two economists, and their view of the Greece debt crisis, I found out that they tried to compare the “Greece crisis” with Argentina’s default in 2001. They argued about two lessons concerning how and what could Greece possibly go through. According to the article “the first lesson has to do with the timing and size of the debt exchange”. As I figured out it is about building up the solvency for the debt in way to get access to capital markets. First of all in the article it says that “Greece and its private creditors have been invited to implement a bond exchange with a nominal discount, or haircut, of 50 percent of face value”. This voluntary agreement they also call the default. So in order to do the right thing, the Greece attempt to extend the debt relief beyond the 50% haircut agreed upon, should be assessed by someone. Also it is argued that the faster Greece starts contributing solutions instead of delaying their problem they will be able to begin normalizing the relationship with capital markets. The second lesson as said in the article “relates to the role of liquidity in a solvency crisis -- or who takes care of the casualties the day after default?” Regarding to this statement what I have understood, is that Greece needs a central bank that will provide the solution for the bank solvency or liquidity. This central bank is called the European Central Bank. Instead of using the example, mentioned in the article, from...
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...MACROECONOMICS Greek debt crisis: causes Instructor: Mou Hui Student: Galina Bogdanova JX1208903 Contents Introduction 3 Timeline of the Greek Debt Crisis 4 Causes 8 Internal 8 1. GDP growth rates 8 2. Unrestrained spending 11 3. Greek public debt 12 4. Statistical credibility 14 External Causes of the Greek Crisis 14 Influence on the evaluation of the crisis 15 Impact of the crisis on the country's macroeconomic indicators 18 Conclusion 22 References 24 Introduction International crisis 2008 has not only exacerbated the Greek economic situation, but has also intensely brought forward the economy’s deeply rooted and chronic weaknesses. The main argument of the paper is that the main cause of the Greek economic crisis is not the recent global economic instability, neither the outcome of political management practices of the latest Center Right government (2004-2009). Rather, the situation in Greece is the obvious outcome of a series of incorrect government choices and omissions during the last three decades and not a recent phenomenon at all. Greek economy fulfills the main criteria of a “weak economy”. Economic and fiscal measures undertaken by the Socialist government under the guidance of the IMF will fail to succeed unless they are followed by clear, transparent development initiatives, which is not the case until now. The purpose of this paper is to approve that the current Greek crisis is the consequence of inappropriate domestic...
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...having piled up over 300 Billion Euros of debt, in 2010 the market mistrust in Greece dramatically increased, especially as the newly elected government revealed the incorrectness of the financial statistics of previous years. Finally, on the 23rd of April 2010, Greece was threatened by national bankruptcy and requested help of the other Eurozone members and the International Monetary Fund. Although Greece is one of the smaller economies of the Eurozone, its daring default has great effects on the whole community. Now then, what happen if Greece “Grexit”? The Pros are that a return to the old currency like the Drachma would have the effect of depreciate in value, it would become more competitively in price, what would boost up the Greek exports. The Greek government would also get back the power over its fiscal policy. On the other hand there are many reasons why Greece should not decide to leave the Eurozone. One is that Greece would lose its purchasing power. Today, Greece imports nearly 40 percent of its food, most of its medicine and almost all of its oil and natural gas, a situation...
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...MOHAMMED ALAIFAN MS.PIWARSH ENGLISH 110 February 10, 2014 Communities and contact zone The art of the contact zone is a book written by Mary Pratt. Mary Pratt is a Spanish and Portuguese languages professor. It actually contains a deep literal and psychological meaning in it and is intended to be used especially in a classroom set up to teach about our diverse nature; cultural behavior, colonialism, slavery and power plays. Its effects are wide and large as it has been able to affect various communities by its writing, art work and literacy. The contact zones, according to the book are quite important areas as they are areas where a community is able to see the world in a foreign community perceptive. Contact zones as defined in the book, are areas where various communities meet and have an uneven exchange in culture and beliefs. Mary Pratt tries to explain how our cultural knowledge is misguided due to the fact that we missed a crucial part of our heritage and the heritage of other communities too. This is mainly due to the fact that most of it is hidden from us by those who are supposed to preserve and pass it to us. Accepting us involves appreciating our past that is our history and upholding it by making sure that the future generations receive the information as it is. Those charged with the preservation of our culture choose the parts of history to pass down and deliberately omit others as a means of defending the community from the subsequent humiliation and shame that...
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...eurozone 7 2.2. Bond interest rate convergence after eurozone introduction, it increase raising capital of periphery countries. 10 2.3. Price and unit labor cost increase in periphery countries -> competitiveness loss 11 3. Lehman Brothers 14 3.1. Reasons for Bankruptcy 14 3.2. LEVERAGE 15 3.3. LIQUIDITY 15 3.4. LOSSES 15 3.5. Final words 16 4. Greece Financial Crisis 16 4.1. Current Greece Financial Crisis 16 4.2. Greece before Financial Crisis 18 4.3. Industry 19 4.4. Tax Evasion 20 4.5. Populism and Corruption 22 5. Conclusion 23 5.1. Fundamental defect in the euro area – The impossible of independent monetary policy worsen the Economic Crisis of Europe. 23 5.2 Fundamental defect in the euro area – The Eurozone, which was established without financial alliance makes the financial crisis to the banking crisis. 26 REFERNECES 28 Introduction In June, whole world paid attention to Greek economic crisis. Greece, had undergone crisis because of financial crisis from United States since 2008, has evaded a default with two times of relief loans from European Commission (EC), European Central Bank (ECB), and International Monetary Fund (IMF). But Greece announced that they couldn’t pay back the loan to IMF and then implemented a referendum; pros and cons to additional relief loans. After the referendum, a negotiation of debt redemption of Greek government had been proceeded between Greece and creditors and it was concluded that Greek government would...
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...Book Review of Hoplites: The Classical Greek Battle Experience Kyle Bonds History 3300, Dr. Kicklighter 09 October 2013 Kyle Bonds Dr. Joseph Kicklighter 9 October 2013 History 3300 Hoplites: The Classical Greek Battle Experience Review Collected and edited by Victor Davis Hanson, Hoplites: The Classical Greek Battle Experience is a collection of nine scholarly essays specifically about the Hoplite warrior: describing the weapons used, how the identification and retrieval of casualties was conducted, the style of phalanx battle from the perspective of the actual soldier fighting as well as sacrifices and battle rituals. He reveals a new experience to the reader using these works, one that sheds new light on the hoplite warrior. Born on September 5th, 1953, Victor Hanson is a military historian and columnist specializing in the study of the classics and ancient warfare. Most notably known for his contributions on modern warfare and contemporary politics for the National Review he has published a number of books on ancient warfare and the classics most on Greek warfare and the Peloponnesian Wars. Keeping his love for the classics intact he received his Ph.D in that field from Stanford University in 1980. Hanson recently relinquished his position and California State University where he began teaching in 1984 where his solely responsible for the creation of the classics program. He currently writes two articles per week for the National Review. Although...
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