On the eve of receiving the second installment of a $154 billion bailout package, Greece warned that it might sue U.S. banks. The Greek government says the banks were involved in masking the extent of Greece’s debts through the use of sophisticated financial instruments.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said in an interview for CNN that Parliament will conduct an investigation on “how things went in the wrong direction and what kind of practices were negative practices.”
Last Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) made the first transfer of $6.8 billion. Another $11.1 billion will be granted in September, from which $8 billion will come from eurozone members and the other $3 billion from the IMF. In December the Greek government will be given another round of $6.8 billion, according to the Greek Ministry of Finance.
But the backup funds could not relieve the concerns of the financial markets and the Athens stock exchange general index collapsed by 2.6 percent on Monday afternoon local time.
Last week Deutsche Bank chief executive Josef Ackermann gave an interview for the German magazine Handelsblatt where he suggested that Greece might not be able to repay its EU loans.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou justified the loan as a “good investment” and he is aware of the responsibilities around the loans.
“We’re not begging for monetary gifts, we’re asking for credit that will be repaid with high interest,” Papandreou said to Handelsblatt.
According to Papandreou, the case of Greece is a good example of how to handle similar crises in the future and he called for structural changes in the eurozone.
According to a poll of the local Ethnos newspaper, 58.8 percent of the Greek population believes the debt crisis will be overcome, while 36.6 percent are pessimistic. Another public research report showed that 56.2 percent of the interviewed people think the draconian austerity measures are necessary, while 87.8 percent called them “unfair.”
The total bailout funds that the EU and IMF decided to extend in order to save European countries threatened with debt crises, amounts to US$1 trillion.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said in an interview for CNN that Parliament will conduct an investigation on “how things went in the wrong direction and what kind of practices were negative practices.”
Last Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) made the first transfer of $6.8 billion. Another $11.1 billion will be granted in September, from which $8 billion will come from eurozone members and the other $3 billion from the IMF. In December the Greek government will be given another round of $6.8 billion, according to the Greek Ministry of Finance.
But the backup funds could not relieve the concerns of the financial markets and the Athens stock exchange general index collapsed by 2.6 percent on Monday afternoon local time.
Last week Deutsche Bank chief executive Josef Ackermann gave an interview for the German magazine Handelsblatt where he suggested that Greece might not be able to repay its EU loans.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou justified the loan as a “good investment” and he is aware of the responsibilities around the loans.
“We’re not begging for monetary gifts, we’re asking for credit that will be repaid with high interest,” Papandreou said to Handelsblatt.
According to Papandreou, the case of Greece is a good example of how to handle similar crises in the future and he called for structural changes in the eurozone.
According to a poll of the local Ethnos newspaper, 58.8 percent of the Greek population believes the debt crisis will be overcome, while 36.6 percent are pessimistic. Another public research report showed that 56.2 percent of the interviewed people think the draconian austerity measures are necessary, while 87.8 percent called them “unfair.”
The total bailout funds that the EU and IMF decided to extend in order to save European countries threatened with debt crises, amounts to US$1 trillion.
Friends Read Free