Germany

– Germany Slams “Stupid” Greek Demands For “Incomprehensible” €278 Billion In Reparations (ZeroHedge, April 7, 2015):

Yesterday we reported that in what may have been an attempt to stun the world, if not so much Germany, with the law of large numbers, Greece calculated that Germany owes it a whopping €278 billion in World War II reparations, or about a third of what Germany reported was its GDP in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for Greece, Germany does not appear to be rushing to wire the funds. As Reuters reported earlier today, Germany’s economy minister had one word for the Greek demand: “stupid.”

From Reuters:

Sigmar Gabriel, who is economy minister and German vice chancellor, called the demand “stupid”, saying Greece ultimately had an interest in squeezing a bit of leeway out of its euro zone partners to help Athens overcome its debt crisis.

Read moreGermany Slams “Stupid” Greek Demands For “Incomprehensible” €278 Billion In Reparations

– Greece Calculates Germany Owes It A Third Of Its GDP In WWII Reparations (ZeroHedge, April 6, 2015):

With almost 70% of Europeans already believing that Greece is a drag on the EU economy, this morning’s statement by Greek Alternate Finance Minister Dimitris Mardas – coming just a week after the war-raparations committee was set-up, telling lawmakers in Parliament that he has calculated that Germany owes Greece EUR 278.7 billion in World War II reparations, will surely deepen the rift (at almost 40% of Germany’s EUR 735 billion GDP) whether right or wrong.

As Bloomberg reports,

Read moreGreece Calculates Germany Owes It A Third Of Its GDP In WWII Reparations

– Germany Gives Greece One Final Ultimatum After Friday’s “Optimistic” Talks Devolve Into Disagreement And Confusion (ZeroHedge, March 22, 2015):

On Friday, the main catalyst that launched the early ramp in the EURUSD, subsequently sending both the Dax over 12,000, and the US stock market soaring, was speculation and hope that the latest round of Greek talks on late Thursday night ahead of tomorrow key meeting between Tsipras and Merkel in Berlin, had gone well, and there was a reason to be optimistic about the near-term for a Greece which increasingly more see as on the verge of expulsion from the monetary union. We explained as much, although we added the provision that at this point it is likely too late to do much if anything about Greece in “German DAX Surges Over 12,000 On Greek Optimism, But The Money Has Run Out.”

Now, courtesy of reporting by the FT, we can also rule out any of the so-called optimism in the aftermath of Thursday’s talks because as Peter Spiegel reports, not only was there no real consensus, but the talks “ended in disarray”, and even though “Greece’s prime minister and fellow Eurozone leaders emerged from a meeting early on Friday morning touting a breakthrough agreement to unlock much-needed bailout funds for Athens — only to fall into disagreement hours later about what it all meant.”

Read moreGermany Gives Greece One Final Ultimatum After Friday’s “Optimistic” Talks Devolve Into Disagreement And Confusion

H/t reader squodgy:

“This is too good to miss….classic sitcom material, IMF sounds like Sheldon Cooper…..”

– IMF said to call Greece most unhelpful client in its history (Chicago Tribune/Bloomberg, March 18, 2015):

ATHENS — International Monetary Fund officials told their euro-area colleagues that Greece is the most unhelpful country the organization has dealt with in its 70-year history, according to two people familiar with the talks.

In a short and bad-tempered conference call on Tuesday, officials from the IMF, the European Central Bank and the European Commission complained that Greek officials aren’t adhering to a bailout extension deal reached in February or cooperating with creditors, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the call was private.

Read moreIMF said to call Greece most unhelpful client in its history