07-03-2015, 01:10 AM
Germany alone accounts for 57 billion euros in two bailout programs. Germany is also the biggest shareholder in the European Central Bank (ECB), which has provided 118 billion euros in liquidity to Greek banks, the bank's head Mario Draghi recently said.
How Greece went bust - Business Insider
The Germans fretted that Jean-Claude Juncker, the Commission's president, might be too amenable to Tsipras. When Juncker had met the newly-elected Tsipras in February, he had greeted him with a kiss and led him off by the hand to a meeting. One senior German official joked: "If Juncker could decide for himself, we would have a pure financial transfer (of money from Germany and other countries) to Greece for the next 10 years."
How Greece went bust - Business Insider
My analysis was based on a comparison of economic costs and benefits of a country exiting the euro. The costs, I concluded, would be severe and heavily front-loaded.
Path to Grexit tragedy paved by political incompetence
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his creditors sparred heading into Sunday’s referendum on austerity as a poll suggested voters are inclined to accept deeper cuts. As rationing of pensions began in the first week of capital controls, a poll showed a narrow majority going against the government’s wishes in order to keep the euro. A late compromise bid by Tsipras, who’s urging citizens to vote “no,” was roundly quashed by the rest of the euro region, meaning negotiations will have to wait until after the plebiscite.
Europe Rebuffs Greek Overture as Poll Shows Voters Leaning ‘Yes’ - Bloomberg Business
But the German chancellor ruled out what many economists, and the Greek finance minister, saw as the most practical solution to Greece's immediate cash crunch. That idea was to allow the euro zone's bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), to pay off the loans from the IMF and to take over Greek government bonds held by the ECB. Both sets of debts could be replaced with lower-rate, longer-term loans from the ESM. Merkel told Lagarde the idea would be unacceptable to Berlin and to others in the euro zone, according to a person familiar with the German position.
How Greece went bust - Business Insider
Tourism is crucial. It’s Greece’s largest industry. It’s the only major industry still growing. It’s vibrant, hardy, and resourceful. It has successfully dodged the economic miasma of the last few years. No government has been able to kill it, unlike some other industries. It accounted for 17.3% of GDP in 2014 and for 9.4% of total employment, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. The industry also supports numerous jobs outside the industry; direct and indirect jobs combined contributed 19.4% to total employment. “This is expected to rise by 3.9% in 2015,” the report added.
Greece’s Largest Industry Suddenly Takes a Terrible Hit | Wolf Street