Bloomberg (July 15)
“By this point you can probably agree that it was a mistake for Greece to join the European common currency in 2001…. So why exactly are Greece and its European creditors still trying against all odds and good sense to keep the country in the euro?”
New York Times (July 14)
The EU’s tentative deal “may avert an immediate catastrophe, but there is little to celebrate since it will do little to address, much less repair, the slow-moving disaster of the Greek economy.” For that matter, “in forcing Greece to submit they have not resolved the crisis of the monetary union or advanced the European project.”
Tags: Catastrophe, Crisis, Deal, Disaster, Economy, EU, European project, Greece, Monetary union
Chicago Tribune (July 11)
“By voting no in last Sunday’s referendum, and by such an impressive margin, Greece won itself a moment’s elation — and may come to regret the consequences for years. It was one more in an absurdly extended series of miscalculations.”
Tags: Absurd, Consequences, Elation, Greece, Miscalculations, Referendum, Regret, Vote
New York Times (July 8)
The euro has “stopped being a force for unity. In many ways, it…” has become… “a weapon that each side seized upon to advance its cause.”
Financial Times (July 6)
“In Greece the No vote will widen political fissures in a society knocked senseless by an economic slump. Greeks who voted Yes will treat the outcome as a calamity comparable to the 1922 military defeat at Turkish hands that resulted in the annihilation of Greek civilisation in Asia Minor. Greeks who voted No will rapidly learn that there is no salvation, only misery, ahead.”
The Economist (July 4)
“Shale matters. The industry has become huge—listed firms have invested over half a trillion dollars of capital…. Shale firms owe almost as much debt as Greece. After drilling beneath much of Texas and North Dakota, they account for 5% of global oil output. The health of shale firms affects people around the world, from Western drivers and Saudi Arabia’s sheikhs to Asia’s consumers.”
Tags: Asia, Capital, Consumers, Debt, Drilling, Greece, North Dakota, Oil, Output, Saudi Arabia, Shale, Texas
Washington Post (July 3)
“As the Islamic State, Iran and Greece occupy the attention of the Western world, China marches forward, except now it is not just building its economy but also a new geopolitics in Asia.”
Tags: Asia, China, Economy, Geopolitics, Greece, Iran, Islamic State, West
Bloomberg (June 29)
“Three years after Mario Draghi pledged to do whatever it took to save the euro, the mounting crisis in Greece is calling into question the integrity of the entire currency union.” Although Greece is minor in terms of economic output, “its exit would hurl the bloc into unknown territory by setting a precedent for other nations to reconsider their membership.”
Tags: Crisis, Currency union, euro, Exit, Greece, Mario Draghi, Membership
Kathimerini (The Daily: Athens) (June 29)
“The more time that Tsipras allows to pass the more the country’s situation will deteriorate. Those who want to see Greece devolve into chaos will salute him. The beleaguered Greeks who believe in false promises and false bravado will also salute him. In the meantime, however, Greece will keep tumbling down the cliff, and fast. Tsipras may still have a slight chance to stop this historical accelerator from stirring into action. This will be evident if he receives one more offer. It is not at all certain that something like this will happen.”
New York Times (June 12)
“More than five years have passed since European officials reached the first loan agreement with Greece. Yet instead of moving toward recovery, the country has been trapped in an economic calamity with no end in sight.”
Tags: Economic calamity, European, Greece, Loan agreement, Officials, Recovery, Trapped