Free Republic

When a group of farmers handed out free fruit and veg in front of the Ministry of Agriculture in Athens Wednesday, they couldn't have predicted the ensuing chaos. In just two hours hoardes of hungry Greeks scrabbled to get their share of 50 tons of hand-outs, which led to skirmishes in the streets and comparisons with Nazi occupied Greece in the World War II. Families and the unemployed queued up to catch rations given out from vans. "Look", an old man gestured on local TV, "they're pulling supplies out of the trucks. It's like war time." "My pension is worth...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- What fiscal pact? There is little sign that last week's European summit even happened, judging from the high cost of sovereign debt and the weakness in European markets. Last Friday, European leaders -- with the exception of Britain's David Cameron -- pledged to form a tighter, more deeply integrated fiscal bond among member states. Of course, most of the countries still need to get parliamentary approvals before moving forward. One of the most crucial aspects of the fiscal pact, which was masterminded by Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Nicolas Sarkzoy, was to force eurozone members to...

"The plan of initiatives calls for a confidence vote," Papandreou told his Socialist party lawmakers in parliament, moments after he had also announced a referendum would also be held on the EU deal. "The command of the Greek people will bind us," he said.

Once again the bond markets have spoken, and once again the message is the same: default. Greek two-year bonds are near 44%, having touched as high as 46%. The interest rate on 1-year Greek government debt is a stunning 59.8%.  Greece Not Saved  Supposedly "Greece was Saved" on that blue circle when yet another bailout (throwing more good money after bad) was approved.  The deal unraveled for numerous reasons but demands by Finland for collateral are at or near the top of the list. Austria, Slovakia, and the Netherlands now want collateral as well.  Under great pressure from Germany, the...

At a town hall meeting on his campaign-style tour of the Midwest, President Obama claimed that his economic program "reversed the recession" until recovery was frustrated by events overseas. And then, Obama said, with the economy in an increasingly precarious position, the recovery suffered another blow when Republicans pressed the White House for federal spending cuts in exchange for an increase in the national debt limit, resulting in a deal Obama called a "debacle." "We had reversed the recession, avoided a depression, gotten the economy moving again," Obama told a crowd in Decorah, Iowa. "But over the last six months...

RPT-GLOBAL MARKETS-Global Stock Rally Slows, Doubts On Euro DebtBy Masayuki Kitano Mon May 10, 2010 11:25pm EDT* Global stocks rally slows sharply on Tuesday * Asian shares take breather after biggest 1-day rise in a yr * Euro dips, trims much of gains made on EU's rescue package * Some doubts about how some euro countries will cut deficits TOKYO, May 11 (Reuters) - A massive relief rally in world stocks on news of a $1 trillion deal to resolve Europe's debt crisis slowed down on Tuesday in Asia on nagging doubts about how Greece and other debt-laden euro zone...