Europe gives Greece 5 days to avoid bankruptcy

[PoliticAverse]

ATHENS — An emergency summit of European leaders called to salvage Greece’s financial rescue broke up acrimoniously late Tuesday night, with officials saying the country now has just five days to avoid bankruptcy.

Following a day’s worth of talks aimed at finding a way out of months of bitter deadlock, European leaders were scathing in their assessments of Greece’s proposals, calling them inadequate and demanding the Greek government return with a detailed plan by Thursday.

The leaders of all 28 European Union members will then meet Sunday in what officials said will be the final chance to save Greece from economic oblivion — or the moment the country is ejected from the euro zone.

“The stark reality is that we only have five days to find the ultimate agreement,” said a visibly irritated Donald Tusk, the European Council president. “Until now I have avoided talking about deadlines. But tonight I have to say it loud and clear — the final deadline ends this week.”

Read the rest at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/with-greeces-fate-on-the-line-european-leaders-to-gather-for-critical-summit/2015/07/07/ca99ab8a-242d-11e5-b621-b55e495e9b78_story.html

[GitRDun]

1. Let the ship sink Greece!

It's about time the banksters got their come-uppance! I hope others will follow. There's something wrong when there is plenty of money to bail out global banks, but no money to help the Greek people...

[geek tragedy]

2. Time for a divorce. nt

[MohRokTah]

3. The ripple effects of this wil have global consequences.

We're in somewhat charted waters.

This could result in a worldwide economic collapse.

[Purveyor]

6. Not to mention the financial happenings in China...

[geek tragedy]

7. Greece's economy is as big as Dallas's.

They've had 5 years to prepare for this.

[MohRokTah]

10. The problem, if it comes, will be a lack of confidence in the value of the Euro.

I fully expect the Grexit to happen.

I then expect the far right elements of Greece to end up taking power.

[geek tragedy]

12. The Eurozone has been planning for the Grexit

for 5 years.

[MohRokTah]

13. Planning for it and what people will believe about the Euro after are two different things. eom

[Yo_Mama]

11. Greece won't. China is another issue.

I think everyone's making a big ruckus over Greece because they don't want to mention China.

Still, the issue in the Eurozone is not really Greece - it's about Italy, which is at a debt to GDP ratio where Greece collapsed and needed a bailout in the first place. If the Greek split-up makes creditors think more about Italy's real creditworthiness, then there's going to be a problem with the Eurozone as a whole.

But really, most of the Italian bond issues are going to the Italian banks, so I think that will stumble on for quite a while.
http://www.businessinsider.com/ecb-government-debt-holders-2015-1

[PoliticAverse]

20. Yes when the final reality of Greece's debt is faced it may cause a reality check for the debt

of other countries as well.

[SoCalDem]

4. There has to come a time when the LENDERS are held accountable

If you KNOW someone is dead broke and in debt, and you CHOOSE to lend them money you know they can never pay back, then the fault is with YOU..

I have been a lender, but before I did it, I KNEW that she might never pay it back. My best friend has awful taste in men, and twice I lent her money so she could escape her significant other ($2k and then $2,200 a few years later). I decided before I did it, that I would jump for joy if she paid me back, but when I gave her the cash, it was a GIFT (in my mind).

She humbled herself in asking, and it was NOT my place to lord it over her that she OWED me.

Any banker with half a brain had to know that Greece would never be able to pay back money that was spent for pensioners/food/ and other basics.

Should Greece have been more responsible waaaaaay back when...when they were piling up debt..of course, but that was then..and no one seemed to stop loaning them money, so of course their series of inept leaders just expected it to continue..and now it's stopped.

My friend did pay me back, and I thanked her, but I knew all along that her friendship was worth way more to me than 4200.00, and if she had not paid me, we would still be besties..

[hill2016]

5. the private sector lenders

did take a hair cut of about 75% of the value of their Greek bonds...

So I guess Germany and the other Euro countries should never lend to Greek again because they know they can't be paid back?

[StevieM]

18. Do you mean that they lost 25%?

In other words, are you saying that they got paid 75 cents on the dollar?

[hill2016]

19. no

the other way around

[StevieM]

25. Wait, so you're saying that whatever happens here, either way the private lenders

lost 75% of their money? Doesn't that mean that full repayment will mean that the EU and other bond holders will turn a huge profit on this bailout?

[hill2016]

27. they lost the money already

a few years ago in the restructuring.

[geek tragedy]

8. Problem is Greece is asking for more loans. nt

[Yo_Mama]

9. Well, but the problem is that Greece needs more money lent to it now.

Which they know is not going to be paid back.

Nor is this bankers - it's governments lending Greece money.

[cherokeeprogressive]

14. How did Greece get in the position of needing to be bailed out in the first place? n/t

[SoCalDem]

15. Decades of bad management and by allowing special privileges to shipping

magnates.. Greece his bad soil for growing much more than grapes & olives , so not much of an agricultural base there.. They are not resource-rich, and have many old people who are pensioners. Their main income source is tourism, which can be a fickle source of income.

Apparently, from what I have read, they allowed their shipping tycoons to escape paying a fair share in taxes, and apparently the populace followed suit..

[1939]

16. Shipping tycoons

All they have in Greece are offices. The ships are at sea making money. If you squeeze them, they will just move the office to another tax-free haven.

[B Calm]

23. Tax cuts to the wealthy.

[The2ndWheel]

17. Governments can be compared to friendships, but not households?

Bad borrowers, and bad lenders. It just becomes a blame game when everything doesn't grow. As long as everything is working, nobody says anything, and both sides of the deal take advantage of it. The people of Greece weren't standing up in defiance when the money was rolling in, probably knowing that their leaders were screwing them. But, ya know, money, retirement, it's all good, doesn't matter where it's coming from.

Everybody wants more. Lenders create this money out of thin air, borrowers don't ask any questions when they can get stuff. The limitless human imagination, against physical reality. It works great, until it doesn't.

[PoliticAverse]

21. So then it would be incredibly stupid to lend Greece more money at this point then? n/t

[Donald Ian Rankin]

22. So are you saying that Greece should not be lent any more money? N.T.

[cemaphonic]

24. As other people are saying, that's kinda the root of the current crisis

The original lenders (banks and other institutions holding pre-2009 Greek debt) were held accountable by virtue of having to accept a 75% loss on the value of their holdings. As a result, private lending to Greece completely dries up. The Troika steps in as lender of last resort and keeps Greece afloat, but imposes painfully recessionary reform and austerity measures as a condition. After 2012, the lenders are almost completely made up of various organizations underwritten by the taxpayers of the rest of the EU.

The current problem is that Greece needs to take on more debt, but they're radioactive to private lending, and the current government has spent the last few months burning bridges left and right with the institutions that have kept them above water thus far.

[whatthehey]

26. Stop being sensible

People seem to feel the need to "stick it to the man" even when they are really sticking it to working Europeans who don't avoid taxes or have generous early pensions.