Greek PM Calls Emergency Meeting For Bank Liquidity: MNI

Greece-Alexis-Tsipras

Greek PM Calls Emergency Meeting For Bank Liquidity: MNI (ZeroHedge, July 5, 2015):

Congratulations Greece: for the first time you had the chance to tell the Troika, the unelected eurocrats, and the entire status quo establishment, not to mention all the banks, how you really felt and based on the most recent results, some 61% of you told it to go fuck itself.

Now comes the hard part.

Read moreGreek PM Calls Emergency Meeting For Bank Liquidity: MNI

Greek referendum no vote signals huge challenge to eurozone leaders

Greece Votes In Bailout Referendum – LIVE UPDATES

Tsipras-referendum
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras votes at a polling station in Athens, Greece July 5, 2015.(Reuters / John Liakos)

Greece votes in bailout referendum LIVE UPDATES (RT, July 5, 2015):

Polling stations have opened across Greece as millions of people are expected to cast ballots on whether to accept more austerity in exchange for international aid. Recent polls have predicted a knife-edge result, with ‘Yes’ having a slight advantage.

Sunday, July 5

11:11 GMT:

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has reiterated in an interview with Germany’s Bild newspaper that he will resign if Greeks vote “Yes” in Sunday’s referendum.

But he added: “There will not be a majority for ‘Yes’,” Reuters reported.

Read moreGreece Votes In Bailout Referendum – LIVE UPDATES

Varoufakis Confirms Greece Will Default To IMF Today

Varoufakis Confirms Greece Will Default To IMF Today (ZeroHedge, June 30, 2015):

May as well spoil the ending of what happens at midnight local time today. Nothing (as previously reported). From Reuters:

  • GREEK FINANCE MINISTER SAYS GREECE WILL NOT PAY IMF ON TUESDAY.

Visually:

varoufakis finger

AP has the well-known by now details:

Read moreVaroufakis Confirms Greece Will Default To IMF Today

Greece Threatens ‘Unprecedented’ Injunction Against EU To Block Grexit

Alexis-Tsipras

Greece Threatens ‘Unprecedented’ Injunction Against EU To Block Grexit (ZeroHedge, June 29, 2015):

Having told the citizens of Greece that the European leaders will not kick them out of Europe because “the cost of throwing them out is too high, enormous,” it appears Greek PM Tspiras has another plan to ensure – no matter what the outcome of the forthcoming referendum – that there is no actual Grexit. As The Telegraph reports, Greece has threatened to seek a court injunction against the EU institutions, saying “we are taking advice and will certainly consider an injunction at the European Court of Justice. The EU treaties make no provision for euro exit and we refuse to accept it. Our membership is not negotiable.

Speaking earlier Tsipras stated:

Read moreGreece Threatens ‘Unprecedented’ Injunction Against EU To Block Grexit

Ignoring Tsipras Plea For Calm, Greeks Storm ATMs, Stores, Gas Stations

Ignoring Tsipras Plea For Calm, Greeks Storm ATMs, Stores, Gas Stations (ZeroHedge, June 28, 2015): 

Just a few hours ago Greek PM Tsipras addressed his nation imploring then to “remain calm” and reassuring them that their “deposits were safe.” It appears the Greeks did not believe him. Many were wondering where the Greek bank lines were for the past several months. Turns out the local depositors were merely waiting until just after the last minute to withdraw their funds… horde gas… and stack food. Greece, it appears is Venezuela – the new socialist paradise.

Tsipras implored: “Keep Calm….”

Greece Invokes Nuclear Option: Tsipras Calls For Referendum

Greece-Alexis-Tsipras

Greece Invokes Nuclear Option: Tsipras Calls For Referendum (ZeroHedge, June 26, 2015):

Update: Greek PM Alexis Tsipras has announced a referendum in a televised speech to the nation after another day of fractious negotiations with creditors closed without a deal.

The dramatic move comes after Athens rejected a proposal from the troika aimed at delivering some €16 billion in aid to Greece as part of an extension of the country’s second bailout program.

  • GREECE’S TSIPRAS SAYS CREDITORS POSED ULTIMATUM TO GOVT
  • GREECE’S TSIPRAS SAYS CREDITORS PROPOSALS ARE AGAINST EU RULES
  • TSIPRAS SAYS CREDITORS AIM TO HUMILIATE GREEK PEOPLE
  • TSIPRAS SAYS WILL CALL REFERENDUM ON GREEK DEAL WITH CREDITORS
  • TSIPRAS GREEK REFERENDUM WILL BE HELD ON JULY 5
  • TSIPRAS SAYS HE NOTIFIED MERKEL, DRAGHI ON REFERENDUM PLAN
  • TSIPRAS SAYS GREECE IS, AND WILL STAY PART OF EUROPE
  • TSIPRAS SAYS GREECE NEEDS TO SEND DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE TO EU

Protothema now says the Greek parliament will meet on Saturday and a referendum will be called as early as next week. Whether this is simply a last minute attempt to put pressure on EU finance ministers ahead of Saturday’s Eurogroup meeting remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: Tsipras is playing a dangerous game with the ECB ahead of a difficult week that could very well see the imposition of capital controls.

Read moreGreece Invokes Nuclear Option: Tsipras Calls For Referendum

Greece Rejects Bailout Extension: Tsipras “Won’t Be Blackmailed”, Threatens Snap Elections

Greece

Greece Rejects Bailout Extension: Tsipras “Won’t Be Blackmailed”, Threatens Snap Elections (ZeroHedge, June 26, 2015):

Update: Protothema is reporting that Tsipras has confided in a fellow EU official that if the country’s creditors insist on sticking to pension and VAT red lines and if Friday’s bailout extension proposal (which the Greek government apparently views as a patronizing stopgap) is the troika’s final offer, he is prepared to call for snap elections.

Update: GREECE SAID TO REJECT EU15.5B BAILOUT EXTENSION PROPOSAL: ANA 

“[I will defend] democracy, solidarity, equality, mutual respect. These principles were not based on blackmails and ultimatum, and especially in these crucial times no one has the right to put in danger these principles. The Greek government will continue decisively to give the fight in favor of these principles, to continue to give the fight on behalf of the European people and of course on behalf of the Greek people.”

Greece Capitulates: Tsipras Crosses “Red Line”, Will Accept Bailout Extension

“Under pressure from all sides (and most importantly from Mario Draghi who holds the fate of the Greek banking sector in his hands) Greece looks to have folded and is now set to accept an extension of its current bailout program. PM Alexis Tsipras now faces an uphill battle to unite Syriza around what is likely to be an unpopular agreement. If he fails, the country could plunge into political and social turmoil. “

We’ll close with what we said last week about the tough choice the PM faces: “Tsipras must decide how he wants history to remember his tenure as Prime Minister. Either he will be the leader who allowed Greece to crash out of the euro on its way to a redomination-driven economic collapse, or he will go down as the fiery advocate for change who caved under pressure and allowed the troika to stamp out democracy in the place where it was born.”


Tsipras-Hopeobama hope

Greece Capitulates: Tsipras Crosses “Red Line”, Will Accept Bailout Extension (ZeroHedge, June 22, 2015):

We’ve long said that negotiations between Greece and its creditors are more a matter of politics than they are a matter of economics or finance.

From the troika’s perspective, breaking Greece and forcing PM Alexis Tsipras to concede to pension cuts and a VAT hike is paramount, and not necessarily because anyone believes these measures will put the perpetually indebted periphery country on a sustainable fiscal path, but because of the message such concessions would send to Syriza sympathizers in Spain and Portugal. In short, the troika cannot set a precedent of allowing debtor nations to obtain austerity concessions by threatening to expose the euro as dissoluble.

Read moreGreece Capitulates: Tsipras Crosses “Red Line”, Will Accept Bailout Extension

Greece Told To Have A Deal Ready Before Monday Meeting; Tsipras Submits Revised Plan With No Pension Cuts

Merkel Tsipras

Greece Told To Have A Deal Ready Before Monday Meeting; Tsipras Submits Revised Plan With No Pension Cuts (ZeroHedge, June 21, 2015):

Update: the farce must go on because according to Bloomberg the “final final” Greek proposal never made it, and was, ahem, lost in tranmission: EU HAS RECEIVED NO NEW PROPOSAL FROM GREECE YET: EU DIPLOMAT – BLOOMBERG

* * *

With just under 24 hours until Monday’s final summit after which even JPMorgan now agrees the ECB will be forced to use a nuclear option and limit or cut Greek ELA thus imposing capital controls as a “negotiating tactic”, earlier today both France and Germany told Greece it must have a reform deal agreement with the Troika finalized and delivered before a crucial leaders’ summit between Athens and its creditors on Monday; in other words before trading opens on Monday.

Read moreGreece Told To Have A Deal Ready Before Monday Meeting; Tsipras Submits Revised Plan With No Pension Cuts

Greece and eurozone leaders in last-ditch scramble to reach deal

H/t reader M.G.:

“Unless all three creditors agree that Greece can borrow more money to make a payment………nothing will work? Reading this article tells me the entire plan is insane…………..


Greece

Greece and eurozone leaders in last-ditch scramble to reach deal (Guardian, June 21, 2015):

Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, is thought to have offered concessions on VAT and pensions in return for some form of eventual debt relief

The Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, and European leaders were attempting to stitch together a last-minute Greek bailout deal on Sunday following a frantic round of phone calls to discuss an outline agreement.

The high-level diplomacy comes as eurozone finance ministers and their government leaders prepare for a key summit in Brussels on Monday that could determine whether or not Greece remains a member of the group.

Read moreGreece and eurozone leaders in last-ditch scramble to reach deal

Greek PM Tsipras Reaches Out To Vladimir Putin For Help In Financial Crisis

H/t reader M.G.:

“An article on Russian-Greek financial agreements, in the mix and those completed. The gas pipeline is a done deal, but the Greek port is of great value to Russia…..Just look at a globe of the world to see why.

This story is being ignored by US media of course…….paragraph three where the Greek PM says the center of financial gravity has shifted east is far more truthful than acknowledged by western leaders………..

The only story addressing this subject I have found so far, again in the UK Guardian.”


Greek prime minister reaches out to Vladimir Putin for help in financial crisis (Guardian, June 19, 2015):

Alexis Tsipras in Russia dismisses criticism that he should be in Brussels solving debt standoff: ‘We are ready to go to new seas to reach new safe ports’

Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister, has made a broad overture to Russia as he seeks a way out of his country’s debt and currency impasse, telling Vladimir Putin that Greece wants new partners to help it out of the crisis.

In a speech delivered in front of Putin in Russia, Tsipras said Moscow was one of Greece’s most important partners, and dismissed critics who wondered why he was in St Petersburg and not in Brussels trying to secure an urgent deal with European creditors.

Read moreGreek PM Tsipras Reaches Out To Vladimir Putin For Help In Financial Crisis

“Horrified” Syriza Hardliners Back “Immediate” Greek Bank Nationalization, Euro Exit

Tsipras-Hope

“Horrified” Syriza Hardliners Back “Immediate” Greek Bank Nationalization, Euro Exit (ZeroHedge, June 16, 2015):

Caught between a recalcitrant Left Platform and exasperated creditors, Greek PM Alexis Tsipras must decide how he wants history to remember his tenure as Prime Minister. Either he will be the leader who allowed Greece to crash out of the euro on its way to a redomination-driven economic collapse, or he will go down as the fiery advocate for change who caved under pressure and allowed the troika to stamp out democracy in the place where it was born. 

 

Russian Pivot: Greek PM Schedules Putin Meeting Ahead Of “Lehman Weekend”

Russian Pivot: Greek PM Schedules Putin Meeting Ahead Of “Lehman Weekend” (ZeroHedge, June 16, 2015):

With his back against the wall, and with Syriza party hardliners apparently no closer to backing concessions, Alexis Tsipras looks set to once again play the ‘Russian pivot” card, as the Kremlin says a “working meeting” between the Greek PM and Russian President Vladimir Putin is now scheduled for Friday in St. Petersburg.

Tsipras Slams “Criminal” IMF In Defiant Speech

Tsipras Slams “Criminal” IMF In Defiant Speech (ZeroHedge, June 16, 2015):

In the wake of reports that Greece could be headed for a “Lehman Weekend” complete with capital controls and an “emergency” Sunday meeting, the headlines are coming fast and furious on Tuesday morning, with Tsipras calling the IMF’s stance “criminal” and Merkel digging in for the worst.

‘Last Chance’ Greek Bailout Talks End Without Deal

Tsipras

“Last Chance” Greek Bailout Talks End Without Deal (ZeroHedge, June 14, 2015):

The writing was already on the wall after several EU officials expressed reservations about the feasibility of striking any sort of compromise with Greece’s negotiating team in Brussels on Sunday, and now it’s official. Talks have once again ended with no deal as the Greeks are standing their ground on pension cuts and VAT hikes.

More color from Bloomberg:

Read more‘Last Chance’ Greek Bailout Talks End Without Deal

Europe Gives Greece 24 Hours To Comply; Germany Draws Up Capital Control Plans

“Greece was warned by a group of European Union officials in Brussels it had less than 24 hours to come up with a serious counter-proposal,” Bloomberg says. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Germany is “holding ‘concrete consultations’ on what to do in the case of a bankruptcy of the Greek state.”


Greece

Europe Gives Greece 24 Hours To Comply; Germany Draws Up Capital Control Plans (ZeroHedge, June 11, 2015):

EU officials turned up the heat on Athens Thursday after the IMF withdrew its team and sent its lead negotiators back to Washington.

In what can only be described as a half-hearted effort, Greek PM Alexis Tsipras submitted two three-page proposals earlier this week that were dismissed by creditors as “not serious.” We suggested that perhaps that was intentional as Tsipras, having bought Greece some time by opting for the “Zambian” IMF payment bundle, is simply keeping up appearances while the real negotiating is going on behind the scenes with Syriza party hardliners who Tsipras desperately needs to support any proposal before it goes to parliament in order to avoid what could quickly deteriorate into a political and social crisis. 

Read moreEurope Gives Greece 24 Hours To Comply; Germany Draws Up Capital Control Plans

EU’s Junker Snubs Greek Prime Minister, Declines Phone Call

EU’s Junker Snubs Greek Prime Minister, Declines Phone Call (ZeroHedge, June 6, 2015):

In a speech to parliament on Friday, Greek PM Alexis Tsipras called a proposal drafted by the country’s creditors “an unpleasant surprise”.

Tsipras, who submitted his own proposal to Angela Merkel, Francois Hollande, Jean-Claude Junker, and Mario Draghi on Monday just ahead of an emergency meeting between the four in Berlin, says the counterproposal he received on Wednesday from the troika was “unreasonable” and can’t possibly be the basis for a deal. He went on to say that Greece will not be “blackmailed” and even went so far as to suggest that the institutions’ draft was a negotiating “trick” and may ultimately be withdrawn. 

Read moreEU’s Junker Snubs Greek Prime Minister, Declines Phone Call

Greece Abandons “Red Lines” As Troika Meets In Berlin To Craft “Deal”

Tsipras

Greece Abandons “Red Lines” As Troika Meets In Berlin To Craft “Deal” (ZeroHedge, June 1, 2015):

We’ve been saying for months that the troika’s ultimate goal in negotiations with Greek PM Alexis Tsipras is to use financial leverage to force Syriza into abandoning its campaign mandate, thus sending a strong message to the EU periphery’s other ascendant socialists that threatening to disprove the idea of ‘euro indissolubility’ is not a viable bargaining strategy when it comes to extracting austerity concessions from creditors.

Over the past several days the political situation has come to a head with Tsipras expressing his extreme displeasure at the troika’s “coordinated leaks” and unwillingness to give even an inch on what the PM calls “absurd” demands.

Meanwhile, Syriza has splintered with the far-left faction demanding a return to the drachma and a default to the IMF. We’ve contended that Tsipras will not be willing to go that route and risk an economic meltdown that would likely see him lose power altogether. The more likely scenario, we have argued, is that Tsipras caves to the troika, compromises on the government’s ‘red lines’ (pension reform being the most critical) and risks a government reshuffle on the way to a third program, thus averting a euro exit and keeping Greece from descending into a drachma death spiral, even as the “solution” effectively strips the Greek people of their right to choose how they want to be governed — a tragically absurd outcome in what is the birthplace of democracy.

Sure enough, it appears as though this is precisely what will unfold over the coming weeks as Tsipras has now indicated he is willing to compromise on pension reform. Reuters has more:

Read moreGreece Abandons “Red Lines” As Troika Meets In Berlin To Craft “Deal”

Defiant Tsipras Warns European Leaders They Are “Making A Grave Mistake”

Defiant Tsipras Warns European Leaders They Are “Making A Grave Mistake” (ZeroHedge, May 31, 2015):

On Sunday, PM Alexis Tsipras penned a lengthy statement expressing his frustration at creditors’ insistence on presenting what he calls “absurd proposals” even as the Greek delegation has gone most of the way towards meeting the troika’s demands. “Judging from the present circumstances, it appears that this new European power is being constructed, with Greece being the first victim. To some, this represents a golden opportunity to make an example out of Greece. If some, however, think or want to believe that this decision concerns only Greece, they are making a grave mistake. I would suggest that they re-read Hemingway’s masterpiece, ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls.'”

Shape Of Greek Endgame Emerges: IMF Discussed “Cyprus-Like” Plan After Tsipras Warned Of Looming Default

–  Shape Of Greek Endgame Emerges: IMF Discussed “Cyprus-Like” Plan After Tsipras Warned Of Looming Default (ZeroHedge, May 18, 2015):

The IMF discussed a “Cyrpus-like” take it or leave it solution for Greece last week, FT reports. With the countdown to outright insolvency down to two weeks, PM Tsipras will meet EU leaders in Latvia on Thursday to make one last push for a last minute deal. Meanwhile, the fate of the Greek banking sector hangs in the balance as the ECB has come under fire for the monetary financing of the Greek government.

Greece €400 Million Short For Wage And Pension Payments, Rushes To Pass Troika-Friendly Laws

tsipras merkelMerkel TsiprasTroika By Syriza

Greece €400 Million Short For Wage And Pension Payments, Rushes To Pass Troika-Friendly Laws (ZeroHedge, April 28, 2015):

There was a brief bout of Greek risk-on euphoria following yesterday’s latest twist in the winding road to the Greek insolvency, in which the Greek finance minister Varoufakis became the latest sacrificial scapegoat to be “Nav Sarao-ed” to the angry gods of the Troika, and has been henceforth kicked out of any negotiations with the Greek “institution” creditors.

The core problem for Greece, however, remains: namely that it is still completely out of money, and as we learned yesterday, the local municipalities have mutinied, and told the government they would not hand over their cash to the central bank without their own conditions being met first, and certainly not before May 7 which may well be too late for Greece.

Which means that suddenly not only does Greece not have the nearly €1 billion in cash it will need to fund May payments to the IMF, but it is suddenly short by €400 million for wage and pension payments.

Read moreGreece €400 Million Short For Wage And Pension Payments, Rushes To Pass Troika-Friendly Laws

Under Pressure From Europe, Tsipras Prepares To Show Varoufakis The Door

Varoufakis

Under Pressure From Europe, Tsipras Prepares To Show Varoufakis The Door (ZeroHedge, April 27, 2015):

On Friday, Greece’s embattled FinMin Yanis Varoufakis added to his highlight reel of “kerfuffles” when he put on a performance at the negotiating table in Riga that prompted his peers to describe him as an amateurish time-wasting, gambler. As talks with creditors drag on under the constant threat of a Greek default and a disorderly euro exit, it appears Varoufakis’ antics may have finally gone too far, for as Reuters reports, PM Tsipras looks to have effectively replaced the FinMin as lead negotiator.

Here’s more:

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday reshuffled his team handling talks with European and IMF lenders, after his finance minister was sharply criticized for his performance at a euro zone meeting last week…

Tsipras and senior aides expressed support for Yanis Varoufakis and agreed the finance minister would supervise a new team negotiating a reforms deal with lenders, but appointed deputy Foreign Minister Euclid Tsakalotos as coordinator of the group, a government official said.

The appointment suggested Tsakalatos, an Oxford-educated economist and professor who is soft-spoken and well-liked by officials representing creditors, would have a more active role in face-to-face talks from now on.

And here are more details via Bloomberg:

Read moreUnder Pressure From Europe, Tsipras Prepares To Show Varoufakis The Door

Did Greece Just Launch Capital Controls: ‘Mandatory Cash Transfer’ Decreed Due To ‘Extremely Urgent Need’

As a side note:

If you take advice from Krugman, then you are either a bloody idiot, …

Paul-Krugman-Keynesians-Fail

… or an elite puppet (or both).


–  Did Greece Just Launch Capital Controls: “Mandatory Cash Transfer” Decreed Due To “Extremely Urgent Need” (ZeroHedge, April 20, 2015):

We warned last week that capital controls were inevitable and it apears the first steps have been taken (very quietly):

  • GREECE ISSUES DECREE: LOCAL GOVTS OBLIGED TO TRANSFER DEPOSIT RESERVES AT CENTRAL BANK

So, following the pension fund raid, the Greek government is now centralizing all Greek cash citing an extremely urgent and unforeseen need.”.

One wonders if this is per Krugman’s advice?

Tsipras-Krugman

As Bloomberg reports:

Read moreDid Greece Just Launch Capital Controls: ‘Mandatory Cash Transfer’ Decreed Due To ‘Extremely Urgent Need’