Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
French economist Thomas Piketty found unexpected fame with his book on wealth inequality, Capital in the 21st Century, and has now turned his attentions to the situation in Greece. The country is struggling under a mountain of debt and is resisting German-led demands for more austerity in exchange for aid, culminating in a landmark referendum…
Yanis Varoufakis abruptly quit his role as Greek finance minister this morning. The announcement came within hours of a referendum in which Greeks roundly backed the position of his Syriza party. Just over 61% of voters rejected a bailout proposal from Greece’s creditors, which the outspoken Varoufakis said amounted to “terrorism” on the eve of…
Greece voted overwhelmingly against enduring more austerity in exchange for a new round of bailout funding from its creditors. With roughly 91% of the vote in more than 61% of voter cast their ballot against the deal, in a victory for Greece’s left-leaning government and a rebuke to the troubled country’s euro zone creditors. It’s…
On Sunday, Greek citizens took to the polls in a controversial referendum asking them whether they support a plan calling for continued economic austerity in exchange for debt relief. Their answer—with more than 70 percent of the votes counted—was a resounding “no.” The outcome means that next steps for the nation, which has fallen into…
On Monday, after Greek PM Alexis Tsipras’ dramatic referendum call sparked a run on Greek ATMs, grocery stores, and gas stations, we did our part to help ameliorate the situation by sending a subtle message to Athens: Dear Greece, if you want to apply for a loan from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, send an…
Here’s the full text of the letter from Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to the heads of the IMF, the European Central Bank and the European Commission: I am writing to inform you on the position of the Hellenic Republic towards the list of Prior Actions of the Staff Level Agreement as published on the…
Alexis Tsipras is asking for only a few changes to proposals, reports say Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has offered new concessions to the country’s creditors, media reports say. A letter to creditors obtained by the Financial Times says Mr Tsipras is prepared to accept most conditions that were on the table before talks collapsed…
Faced with almost impossible choices… And just as promised earlier in the week, Greece has now passed the midnight deadline for repayment of the €1.6 billion bundled loans due to the IMF and in thus in default. As AP reports, Greece’s international bailout formally expires, country loses access to existing financing. Yes we are…
AS THEY boarded the 5:45am flight from London’s Gatwick Airport to Athens in Greece this morning, holidaymakers were weighed down by more than just the usual excess luggage. With Greece’s euro membership hanging in the balance, as the result of its prime minister’s decision to call a referendum (due to take place on Sunday) on whether…
Mere hours before Greece defaults on a loan repayment to the IMF and sees its bailout deal expire, prime minister Alexis Tsipras thought the time was right to launch a new offer to lenders. The Greek leader lodged a request with Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who also chairs the euro zone’s rescue fund, for…