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In Europe 9th March 2015

Morning briefing-ECB to begin buying sovereign bonds

The Corner | March 9, 2015 | The ECB will finally begin its purchasing of sovereign bonds today, but as ever, the Greek question continues to loom in the background. Greece will return to the forefront of events today at the meeting of the Eurogroup of finance ministers in Brussels. Weekend remarks from the Syriza led government seemed to spell out just how precarious the government’s financial situation now is. Yet once again, the country and its creditors appear polls apart on how best to proceed.

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In Europe 23rd February 2015

Greece: A pause in uncertainty but for how long?

ATHENS | By Nick Malkoutzis via MacroPolis | Is Friday’s agreement at the Eurogroup a good deal for Greece? In some respects it is but in more respects it is not. Above all, the four-month agreement leaves Greece walking an economic and political tightrope over the next four months without knowing what lies at the end of it. 

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In Europe 23rd February 2015

Greek agreement does not dispel mistrust and acrimony

MADRID, February 23,2015 | By JP Marín Arrese | The agreement reached on Friday averted a full-fledged crisis but did not dispel mutual mistrust and acrimony. EU partners remain far from convinced the Hellenic government will honour its commitments. Irritation accumulated in the days following the deal, which Mr Schäuble underlined with his the grossly impolite and scathing remarks that “ Greeks certainly will have a difficult time to explain the deal to their voters”. This acrimonious climate points to further clashes flaring in future.  The last-minute truce will not entail a stable peace. 

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In Europe 23rd February 2015

“Grexit risk cut to 25%”

MADRID, February 23, 2015 | By Sean Duffy | Friday´s deal was a relief for all involved, yet it remains to be seen if a frantic weekend of number cruncing from Greek officials will meet the strict criteria outlined in the agreement. German bank Berenberg cut the chances of a Grexit to 25% from 35% on Monday.

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In Europe 21st February 2015

Greece granted bailout extension

By Alexandre Mato in BRUSSELS & Sean Duffy in MADRID | A day of hard negotiations finally produced a positive outcome.Greece will work throughout the weekend to ready proposals for Monday´s meeting, but politicans were visibly relieved after an arduous week.

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In Europe 20th February 2015

Schäuble and Varoufakis lurch towards an angry showdown

MADRID | By JP Marín Arrese | With the request for a six-month extension of the current bailout being flatly rebuffed by the German Finance Minister, hopes for a compromise at the Eurogroup meeting today are dwindling. Even if talks collapse, keeping Greece afloat lies almost entirely in Mario Draghi’s hands. 

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In Europe 20th February 2015

Face off

MADRID | Sean Duffy | Today´s meeting of the Eurogroup brings Finance Ministers Varoufakis and Scauble head-to-head. Germany are unimpressed with Greek proposals,meaning that the Greeks face the prospect of being cut off from extra bailout funding.

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In Europe 17th February 2015

What led to the breakdown between Athens and Brussels?

BRUSSELS | By Alexandre Mato | Greek authorities again rejected  a Eurogroup statement regarding the extension of its bailout programme. Brussels wants a continuation of the second bailout, but the Syriza goverment wants a 4-month bridge with new rules to be applied. The gulf between both sides has emerged as bigger than initially thought.

 

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In Europe 16th February 2015

Greece talks set to go to the wire

Madrid| JP Marin-Arrese| There is little chance that the Eurogroup will broker a way out of the Greek conundrum later today. As time runs out in the nail-biting tussle between Greece and its creditors, investors may start to lose their nerve. Even if they gauge that a potential Grexit would bring about limited damage for other partners, no one can exclude the possibility of turmoil erupting in the markets.