Free Republic

"I voted with my heart and also my mind," said Marie Triadafillou, who works in transportation logistics and voted yes. "I believe when you are in a union you cannot leave. We say in our country if the sheep leaves the flock it cannot live." ...Martin Schulz, the head of the European Parliament, who had offered at one point to come to Greece to campaign for a yes vote, said on Sunday that Greece would need to prepare to operate without the euro and with a parallel currency if there was a no vote on Sunday. While Greece would remain...

Greek banks are preparing contingency plans for a possible “bail-in” of depositors amid fears the country is heading for financial collapse, bankers and businesspeople with knowledge of the measures said on Friday. The plans, which call for a “haircut” of at least 30 per cent on deposits above €8,000, sketch out an increasingly likely scenario for at least one bank, the sources said.

Greece in teetering on the brink of ruin - and it is hard not to feel sympathy for the pensioners crying in the street and the mothers facing empty supermarket shelves. Yet those reading a new book may find themselves feeling a little less compassionate towards the Greeks. It reveals an eye-popping catalogue of benefits scams and tax avoidance schemes that have robbed the public purse. James Angelos' The Full Catastrophe: Travels among the New Greek Ruins lays bare the corruption which filtered through all levels of society - from the islanders who pretended to be blind, to the families...

The deepening Greek crisis hit global markets on Monday, as the country imposed capital controls ahead of a national referendum on creditors' bailout conditions. Uncertainty surrounding the country's economic future dragging equity markets lower. European markets were trading sharply lower, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 (^STOXX) falling around 2.4 percent in morning trade. Both Germany's DAX (^GDAXI) and France's CAC (Euronext Paris: .FCHI) fell nearly 3.5 percent. U.S. futures also indicated a lower open, with the Nasdaq (^NDX), S&P (^GSPC) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow Jones Global Indexes: .DJI) all seen opening down over 1 percent. Greece's main stock...

The governor of Puerto Rico told the New York Times that the island cannot pay back it's $72 billion debt and will seek permission from its creditors to defer payments. The news precedes an address by Governor Alejandro Garcia to the Puerto Rican legislature, where he will unveil a budget that cuts about $670 million from a $9.8 billion budget, while setting aside another $1.5 billion to pay the debt. Fox News: Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla's spokesman, Jesus Manuel Ortiz, confirmed that the island's government is seeking to defer payments while negotiating with creditors. He confirmed comments by Garcia that appeared...

Grexident looming? Tsipras hits back at creditors who reject plan ahead of third Eurogroup meeting in less than a week

Germany has rejected a Greek request for a six-month extension to its eurozone loan programme. The rejection came despite the European Commission calling the Greek request "positive" only minutes earlier. Greece had sought a new six-month assistance package, rather than a renewal of the existing deal that comes with tough austerity conditions. However, a German finance ministry spokesman said it was "not a substantial proposal for a solution".

Angela Merkel pledged to keep Greece in the eurozone - but her comments failed to convince traders who bet on yet more dangerous procrastination in Berlin and Brussels. After talks with prime minister Antonis Samaras in Berlin, the German Chancellor said she was “deeply convinced” that the new Greek government was “doing everything to solve the problems.” Mr Samaras insisted that Greece “wants time not money.” But Ms Merkel refused to even address Greece’s plea, signalling a continuation of the deadlock at the heart of the debt crisis. The sense of vacuum rather than solution was compounded by revelations that...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks fell to new depths in Tuesday's session following a report that European Union officials believe Greece can't pay what it owes and needs more debt restructuring. The dive coincided with a report from Reuters that three E.U. officials believe Greece will have to restructure some 200 billion euros in debt.

Angela Merkel Stands Firm On Greece At G8 Talks After inconclusive discussions, leaders issue communique saying 'the right measures are not the same for each of us' Patrick Wintour 20 May 2012 Angela Merkel has declined to shift position on fresh measures to stimulate demand in the euro area, including the idea of eurobonds, leaving other EU countries hoping she will adopt a more conciliatory mood when the EU heads of government meet on Wednesday for the next round of discussions. Barack Obama left the German chancellor in no doubt that he would like to see her adopt a less...

In Athens, the homeless are on the streets in growing numbers, soup kitchens feed twice as many people as a year ago, and the poor are diving into garbage bins in search of scrap they can sell. Greece is close to breaking point as it struggles with austerity targets set by creditors, but this is just a foretaste of the nightmare of unrest, hunger and even anarchy that could engulf the debt-crippled nation if it is forced out of the euro. If the exact economic impact of such a move is hard to nail down - newly issued drachmas devalued...

Major global banks are advising clients to prepare for a stock market rally and a resurgence of the euro if Greece is forced out of monetary union, betting that world authorites will flood the international system with liquidity. Bank of America said EU authorities will pull out the stops to keep Greece in the system as they weigh the full dangers of contagion. Should that fail, it expects a series of dramatic moves Bank of America said it expects a "powerful short squeeze" in risk assets as speculative funds unwind positions, led by a rebound in battered bank stocks and...

Until now, Polyzonis's self-immolation was the most vivid image of a singular public act of protest in a country that's been shaken by anti-austerity violence. But Greece was jolted even more Wednesday after a 77-year-old man took his own life in the busy Syntagma Square, central Athens, the scene of several violent clashes between anti-austerity protesters and the police in recent months. Just a few hundred yards away from the Greek Parliament, retired pharmacist Dimitris Christoulas shot himself with a handgun amid the morning rush hour, in what was apparently a protest over the financial crisis gripping the nation… Christoulas's...

"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.

David Cameron clashed repeatedly with Nicolas Sarkozy today after the French President tried to exclude Britain and non-eurozone countries from a critical Brussels summit to rescue European banks. During two hours of bitter exchanges during a meeting of all 27 EU leaders before a crisis summit of the eurozone’s 17 members on Wednesday, President Sarkozy fought hard to get the Prime Minister barred from talks that would finalise a 100billion euros cash injection into banks. ”We’re sick of you criticising us and telling us what to do. You say you hate the euro, you didn’t want to join and now...

Lots of rumors are circulating yesterday including still undisclosed agreements between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, more talk of Greek default from Jean-Claude Juncker, discussion of a "Marshall Plan" for Greece, guarantees of Greek debt and an expansion of the size of the EFSF as well as the EFSF being allowed to buy bonds in the secondary market. That so many rumors are circulating, I wonder if Merkel and Sarkozy have really agreed to do much more of anything than agree to agree. The granddaddy speculation of them all is the possibility Merkel might drop her opposition...

ATHENS, Greece — Greek investigators examining last week’s assassination attempt on a government minister are unraveling evidence of a network of urban guerrilla groups operating across Greece, Spain and Italy. Europe’s international police agency, Europol, in its 2010 report noted a 43-percent increase over the past two years in what it terms “terrorist” strikes in these three countries. In the latest attack in Greece, the minister for the protection of the citizen, Mihalis Chrysochoidis, was sitting just meters away from a bomb that blew up inside his offices last Thursday, killing his deputy. Despite a drumroll of low-intensity terrorist attacks...

ATHENS, Greece - A bomb disguised as a gift exploded inside the Greek law enforcement ministry, killing a close ministerial aide in Greece's highest profile attack in years. Public Order Minister Michalis Chryssohoidis, who was in his office a few yards (meters) away from the blast, said the package had been intended for him. Pale and visibly shaken, but otherwise unharmed, he told reporters he had "lost a valuable and beloved associate." There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Thursday night bombing, which killed police officer Giorgos Vassilakis, a 50-year-old father of two. But suspicion fell on radical...