By Patrick Clark 11/07/12 4:18pm

Whither Europe

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The Greeks Are Throwing Fire Bombs Again Over Austerity Vote

The situation in Greece: With Parliament set to vote today on austerity measures that would raise $17 billion for the cash-strapped government, protestors lobbed Molotov cocktails at police, who answered with giant fire hoses.

The austerity bill, expected to pass by the narrowest margin, would be Greece’s third in four years, raise the retirement age to 67 from 65, lead to layoffs of civil servants and benefit cuts for private sector employees. Read More

By Patrick Clark 6/18/12 7:38am

Morning Read

Pro-Bailout Party Prevails in Greek Election, Bond Markets Move Against Spain: Wall Street Roundup

Whither Europe: Greece’s center-right New Democracy party won 29.7 of the vote in parliamentary elections yesterday, claiming the 50-seat bonus for winning the most votes and positioning the party to form a coalition that would keep the country in the bailout-for-austerity agreement signed with European rescuers. Alex Tsipras’ Syriza party, which had promised to Read More

By Patrick Clark 6/14/12 7:44am

Morning Read

Moody’s Cuts Spain to Near-Junk Status as Europe Awaits Greek Elections: Wall Street Roundup

Whither Europe: “The Spanish government has very limited financial market access,” Moody’s said in a statement yesterday to announce the ratings company had cut Spain’s grade three levels to Baaa3, one level above junk. Spain’s borrowing cost on 10-year bonds hovered near 7 percent, up from 5.1 percent at the beginning of the year. Moody’s also cut Cyprus’s grade on fears of contagion following the results of the Greece’s June 17 elections.

The downgrade didn’t prevent Spain’s Amancio Ortega, founder of retail giant Inditex, from becoming Europe’s richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.

“We have no sense that European partners will follow this tactic of blackmail heard from some quarters and stop funding,” Alex Tsipras, leader of Greece’s anti-bailout Syriza party told Bloomberg Television. Rather, Mr. Tsipras thinks that Greece can break the terms of the European rescue agreement signed by a previous Greek government without being forced to exit the eurozone. Read More