Papandreou

John Aglionby Eurozone crisis: live blog

November 9, 2011 9:10 am by John Aglionby

Silvio Berlusconi – shutting one's eyes won't make the problems go away. Image AFP/Getty

Welcome back to the FT’s coverage of the eurozone crisis. Curated by John Aglionby, Tom Burgis and David Crouch on the news desk in London, with contributions from correspondents around the world. All times are GMT.

Greece really is expected to get a new prime minister today – 48 hours later than expected. Italy, well who knows what’s going to happen there as bond yields surge and the EU’s economic inspectors arrive … And policymakers and financiers are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of the crisis on global liquidity levels.

18.53 That’s it for our live coverage today. We leave you with a round-up of where we stand at the end of another turbulent day in Europe – and some cold hard numbers (and letters) for your bedtime reading.

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Posted in Europe, Financial crisis, Foreign affairs, Global economy |

John Aglionby Live blog: Eurozone crisis

November 8, 2011 9:20 am by John Aglionby

Welcome back to the FT’s live coverage of the eurozone crisis. Run by John Aglionby, Tom Burgis and Orla Ryan on the news desk in London, with contributions from correspondents around the world. All times are GMT.

20.00: So, Berlusconi has offered to resign – but only after parliament passes an austerity package. And then, he tells Italian television, he wants elections. We’re wrapping up the live blog now: see the new stories and analysis on FT.com for developments from Rome and elsewhere through the night.

19.46: In Rome Ferdinando Casini, head of the opposition party UDC, has told reporters he is “convinced that Berlusconi understands that the current economic and political situation does not allow for a long and extenuated election campaign“.

19.40: From Milan, the FT’s Rachel Sanderson reports that after meeting the president Berlusconi returned to his residence in Rome, Palazzo Grazioli, where he has been joined by Angelino Alfano, the young Neapolitan member of his party whom Berlusconi suggested earlier this year could be his successor. Berlusconi has also been joined by Niccolo’ Ghedini, his lawyer, and members of his coalition party the Northern League, according to Italian reporters at the scene. Read more

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Posted in Europe, Financial crisis, Global economy, Greece, Italy |

Live blog: Eurozone crisis

November 7, 2011 12:05 pm by Orla Ryan

Silvio Berlusconi, Reuters

Welcome to the FT’s live blog on the eurozone crisis. Curated by Orla Ryan and John Aglionby on the world news desk with contributions from correspondents around the world. In Italy, doubts have emerged that Silvio Berlusconi can remain in power as the country’s borrowing costs continues to rise. Greece is expected to name a new leader after its two largest political parties late on Sunday decided to form a government of national unity. George Papandreou will stand down as prime minister.

18.24: That’s it for the live blog for today. For news and analysis of events in Greece, Italy and the rest of the eurozone, visit www.ft.com.

18.19: Before we wrap up the live blog, here is a summary of the day’s key events:

Silvio Berlusconi is still prime minister of Italy, despite a flurry of rumours and speculation that he would step down today. Italy’s stock and bond markets endured a volatile session, with borrowing costs continuing to rise. Fears remain that Italy will be the next casualty of the eurozone crisis.

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Posted in Europe, Foreign affairs, Greece |

Tom Burgis Eurozone crisis: live blog

November 4, 2011 9:00 am by Tom Burgis

Nicolas Sarkozy, French president and G20 host, blows a kiss to someone – presumably not the Greek prime minister (AFP/Getty)

  • Welcome back to the FT’s live coverage of the eurozone crisis. By Tom Burgis and John Aglionby on the news desk in London, with contributions from correspondents around the world. All times are GMT.

One issue dominates the agenda for as the Group of 20 leading economies enters its second and final: the fate of the eurozone amid the turmoil in Greece.

16.41: That’s it for the live blog for today. See FT.com over the coming hours for news and analysis on the G20 summit, Berlusconi’s woes and the outcome of tonight’s Greek vote.

16.31: Before we wind up the live blog, a brief re-cap of the day’s developments

  • The IMF is to monitor Italy’s progress on promises to reform its economy
  • Italian bond yields rose to fresh euro-era highs as Berlusconi said he was going nowhere
  • The Italian PM insisted his majority at home was “solid”, though it looks anything but
  • The G20 summit in Cannes ended with plenty of rhetoric urging the euorzone to get its house in order but no actual cash to help it do so
  • Any decision on boosting the IMF’s resources to help tackle the crisis was put of until when G20 finance ministers meet in February
  • Greek MPs are debating a vote of confidence in the government and will vote at midnight Athens time, 10pm London

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Posted in Development, Europe, Financial crisis, Foreign affairs, Global economy, Greece, World affairs |

Tom Burgis Eurozone crisis: live blog

November 3, 2011 8:37 am by Tom Burgis
 

Getty

Welcome back to the FT’s live coverage of the eurozone crisis. By Tom Burgis and John Aglionby on the news desk in London, with contributions from correspondents around the world. All times are GMT.

One issue dominates the agenda for today and tomorrow’s summit of the Group of 20 leading economies: the fate of the eurozone amid the turmoil in Greece.

This post should update automatically every few minutes, although it may take longer on mobile devices.

19.30: And what will tomorrow bring? Who knows. It’s day two of the G20 summit, the confidence vote in the Greek parliament and the US non-farm payrolls (monthly unemployment data) are announced.

Thanks for all your comments and tweets today – especially the song suggestions! For further updates from the late-night meetings in Cannes follow ft.com Read more

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Posted in Europe, Financial crisis, Global economy |

Eurozone crisis: Live coverage

October 4, 2011 8:39 am by FT

Welcome to our continuing coverage of the eurozone crisis. All times are London time. Curated by Esther Bintliff and John Aglionby on the world news desk in London, with contributions from FT correspondents around the world.

 

14.44: We’re now handing over to our colleagues on Money Supply, who are  liveblogging the testimony of Ben Bernanke, US Federal Reserve chairman, before Congress. Thanks for reading today and we’ll be back soon.

14.37: A quick round-up of today’s events:

  • Eurozone finance ministers postponed the disbursement of the next tranche of Greece’s bailout money until November
  • However, the Eurogroup also indicated they were preparing to paper over Greece’s failure to meet international lenders’ mandated budget targets for 2011, saying they would now evaluate Athens’ performance based on goals that combine both this year’s and next year’s finances
  • Jean-Claude Juncker confirmed that the eurogroup will review the losses imposed on private sector bondholders (mainly banks) as part of the Greek bailout agreed in July. Last week, the FT reported that as many as seven of the eurozone members wanted private creditors to swallow a bigger writedown on their Greek bondholdings
  • The French and Belgian governments stepped in to stem investor panic on Tuesday by saying they would guarantee loans made by Dexia, amid fears of a funding crisis at the Franco-Belgian bank
  • Shares in Deutsche Bank fell after it said it was going to take an approximately €250m impairment charge on its Greek sovereign debt holdings
  • Ireland’s central bank downgraded its growth forecasts for Ireland in 2012 (see our 13.15 update) while upgrading its forecast for 2011

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Posted in Europe, Foreign affairs |

Rolling blog: the eurozone crisis

September 28, 2011 8:22 am by FT


Welcome to our rolling coverage of the eurozone crisis. All times are London time. Curated by Esther Bintliff and John Aglionby on the world news desk in London, with contributions from FT correspondents around the world.

19.23: We’re winding up the rolling blog for today but thanks for reading, and do follow the rest of our coverage at ft.com/world. We’ll be back tomorrow to cover the crucial German parliamentary vote on expanding the EFSF (will Merkel preserve her absolute majority?) aswell as any other eurozone shenanigans…

19.21: Earlier we referred to some comments made by Angela Merkel in an interview with Greek TV late last night. Here’s the full story, from which:

Angela Merkel, German chancellor, has warned Greece that a €109bn rescue package, approved by the 17 eurozone leaders in July, may have to be reviewed if Athens fails to meet deficit reduction targets agreed with the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

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Posted in Europe, Foreign affairs |

Rolling blog: the eurozone crisis

September 27, 2011 9:44 am by FT

Welcome to the second day of our rolling coverage of the eurozone crisis. All times are London time. Curated by Esther Bintliff and John Aglionby on the world news desk in London, with contributions from FT correspondents around the world.

20.00: We’re wrapping up the blog for today but we’ll be back bright and early tomorrow. In the meantime, you can follow the rest of our coverage at ft.com/world

19.52: BREAKING The FT’s Peter Spiegel and Quentin Peel report that a split has opened in the eurozone over the terms of Greece’s second €109bn bail-out with as many as seven of the bloc’s 17 members arguing for private creditors to swallow a bigger write-down on their Greek bond holdings, according to senior European officials.

The divisions have emerged amid mounting concerns that Athens’ funding needs are much bigger than estimated just two months ago. They threaten to unpick a painfully negotiated deal reached with private sector bond holders in July.

Full story here. Read more

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Posted in Europe, Financial crisis |

Live blog: Decision day in Greece

June 29, 2011 8:03 am by FT

By Kerin Hope and Ralph Atkins in Athens, and Esther Bintliff in London

18.45pm (Athens time): We’re wrapping up the live blog here. Here’s a quick recap of events today:

  • Greece’s 300-member parliament approved the austerity bill by 155 votes to 138 votes
  • Protests continued throughout the day, with police firing tear gas and demonstrators hurling stones and other debris, as well as setting fire to rubbish bins. As evening fell in Athens, demonstrations began spreading beyond Syntagma square.
  • 26 police and 15 protesters have been injured and transferred to hospitals, according to AP
  • Angela Merkel, German chancellor, said the austerity package was “a really good piece of news”
  • José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, and Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, praised the Greek decision – but also reminded everyone that there is another vote tomorrow
  • Markets, which had risen on Wednesday morning in anticipation of the vote, came off their highs once the “Yes” vote was confirmed – providing a lesson in an old saying that it’s ‘better to travel with hope than arrive’. Wall Street was looking at another session of healthy gains, with the S&P 500 lifted by the Athens news

Thankyou all for reading, and for more Greece coverage, go to www.ft.com/greece Read more

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Posted in Europe |