New York Times (June 1)
“A forced Greek exit from the euro would create huge economic and political risks, yet Europe seems to be sleepwalking toward that outcome…. There’s a definite 1914 feeling to what’s happening, a sense that pride, annoyance, and sheer miscalculation are leading Europe off a cliff it could and should have avoided.”
Bloomberg (April 24)
“European Union leaders have been unequivocal in their insistence that Greece has been ring-fenced, and that the common-currency project can survive the departure of its weakest member. They may be right; but we won’t know for sure whether contagion is alive or dead unless and until Greece bows out.”
Tags: Contagion, Currency, EU, Greece, Ring-fenced
Institutional Investor (April 20)
“Like an old couple that can’t seem to stop fighting, Greece and its European Union partners are wondering if it’s time to head for divorce court.” The long-running saga has “been threatening to undermine the single currency for more than five years. Yet the Greek crisis appears to be entering a new, and potentially fatal, phase as exhaustion and mutual recriminations push both sides to the brink of an irrevocable rupture.”
Forbes (April 15)
It’s easy to underestimate the loss of Greece. “While it may be true that the economic damage of a Greek collapse would largely be confined to Greece itself, it nonetheless would undermine the great post-WWII dream of a united Europe that would never experience another catastrophic war….. Thanks to remarkably bad leadership, Europe’s post-WWII order is in mortal danger, threatening unimaginable political and economic repercussions.”
Tags: Collapse, Danger, Economic damage, Europe, Greece, Leadership, War, WWII
New York Times (April 7)
“Greece cannot count on Russia to ride to its financial rescue. The sharp drop in oil prices and, to a lesser extent, Western sanctions have damaged the Russian economy and limited Mr. Putin’s ability to dole out aid to other countries.” The Greeks can, however, be sure that Putin will try to exploit any chinks in the EU’s armor. “Mr. Tsipras should be careful not to let himself be used to undermine European unity.”
Tags: Economy, EU, Financial rescue, Greece, Oil prices, Putin, Russia, Tsipras, Unity, Western sanctions
Financial Times (March 16)
“Since nobody knows how many days or weeks Athens is from insolvency, the risk of a sudden exit is clear and present. Grexit may never happen — but it is time to get ready.” Without preparation, it is possible that “a sudden seizure of the Greek financial system” could “bring about a humanitarian crisis, global financial contagion and reputational damage to the EU.”
Tags: Contagion, EU, Financial system, Greece, Grexit, Humanitarian crisis, Insolvency, Reputational damage, Risk
The Economist (February 21)
“Deflation can be a good thing. But today’s version is pernicious.” Prices have fallen in Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, indeed the euro zone as a whole, and “ultra-low inflation is also widespread. America, Britain and China each have inflation rates of less than 1%.” Should there be another crash, central banks would have little room to act. “The world is grievously underestimating the danger of deflation.”
Tags: Central banks, China, Deflation, Euro zone, Germany, Greece, Italy, Pernicious, Prices, Spain, U.S., UK
New York Times (February 18)
“The eurozone ministers may find it difficult to make concessions to a nation they perceive as profligate and ungrateful. Nevertheless, they must still “come to grips with the fact that cutting Greece some slack now is the only good choice they have.”
Tags: Concessions, eurozone, Greece, Ministers, Profligate, Ungrateful
Bloomberg (January 27)
“Debt forgiveness tied to pro-growth economic reforms would help” both Greece and Germany. Europe’s most powerful nation would actually stand “to gain a lot. Its refusal to countenance further debt relief is economically damaging and politically dangerous. For its own sake, Germany should think again.”
Tags: Debt, Europe, Forgiveness, Germany, Greece, Pro-growth, Reforms, Relief
New York Times (January 24)
Given the struggles of ordinary Greeks amid a still flailing economy, “the only surprise in the rise of the left-wing Syriza party, which is expected to come in first in Sunday’s general election, is that it has taken so long for an anti-austerity party to come to the fore.”
