Get Fit For Foggies - 7 Minute Workout

So, now my lovely visitors have gone, I have to work off all that good food and drink. It is back to the exercise! And back to my diet!

I have to say, I am feeling strong, and strong is good when the country you are living in is on the verge of catastrophe. Will the euro survive? Will the drachma return? It is the question on the lips of most people these days. The general election will be held next Sunday 17th June, and we await the results and the decisions of the Greek people. The advice we have been given, is plan for the worst and hope for the best, though what to plan for is a difficult question. Whichever way things go, there will be a future of hardship. Thank God the sun is shining and we can laugh about things. By the way, I am stocking up on porridge.

Hope you are laughing too, this video might help bring a smile.

Love Jane x

New Prime Minister for Greece

The new prime minister is Panayiotis Pikramenos, chief judge of the Council of State.

And there will be another general election on June 17th.

Local News - Yesterday, a 77 year old woman was robbed of 46,000 euro which she had just taken out of the National Bank in Agios Nikolaos.

 

What if Greece Exits Euro?

Viewpoints: What if Greece exits euro?

If Greece left the euro, inflation and unemployment would probably rise

Greek politicians are struggling to form a new government.

There are powerful factions that do not want the austerity measures imposed on Greece by its international lenders.
But unless Greece can satisfy the demands of the European Union and the IMF, then they will cut off Greece's last remaining lines of credit.
Without that, Greece will not be able to pay its bills and could drop out of the euro altogether.
Below are the views of several experts on what would happen if Greece were to leave the euro.

Carsten Brzeski, senior economist, ING Belgium

Chaos. Greek banks would go bust. Greek companies would go bust. Unemployment would go up. The new drachma loses lots of value.
Food and energy prices go through the roof. It would be an explosive cocktail.
The turmoil would weigh on growth. The outlook for the eurozone would worsen.

Michael Arghyrou, senior economics lecturer, Cardiff Business School

The drachma would be devalued by at least 50%, causing inflation.
Interest rates will have to double and all mortgages, business loans and other borrowing will become much more expensive.
There will be no credit for Greek banks or the Greek state.
That could mean a shortage of basic commodities, like oil or medicine or even foodstuffs.
A lot of Greek firms rely on foreign suppliers, who may cut off Greek customers. Greek companies could be driven out of business.
Greece will lose its only reference point of stability, which was its euro status.
The country would end up in a volatile period. There would be institutional weakness.
The worst case scenario would be a social and economic breakdown, perhaps even leading to a totalitarian regime.

Sony Kapoor, managing director of the Re-Define think tank

I think that either the Greeks or European policy makers talking about an exit in a casual blase way are being highly, highly irresponsible.
Total cost versus the total benefit remains overwhelmingly negative, both for the eurozone and Greece.
In one shot, a Greek exit could undo a large part of good work in Ireland and Portugal.
If you are a Portuguese saver with money in the bank, even if there is a small likelihood of losing that money, it would make perfect sense to move euro deposits while you can to a safer haven, like the Netherlands and Germany.
There would be a significant deposit flight in peripheral countries.
It would immediately weigh on investment in the real economy, because corporations would be very reluctant to invest anything at all.

Megan Greene, director of European economics at Roubini Global Economics

You would see cascading bank defaults in Greece and everybody would take money out of Portuguese and Spanish banks.
A big part could be plugged by the European Central Bank (ECB) through a liquidity operation that would backstop the banks.
The ECB has already done that several times and it would step up to the plate again.
But that would not stem the political contagion or unrest. We have seen four elections in two weeks. In Greece, France, Italy and Germany, electorates have voted against austerity at home.
However, Greece is a small country and the rest of the eurozone has been making provision for this for a long time now.
The eurozone could survive a Greek exit. Depending on the choreography, the exit could be better for everyone involved if managed in a co-ordinated orderly way.
But if it were done by a unilateral default, an exit would be a worse option for Greece.

Jeremy Stretch, head of forex research, CIBC

In the currency market, we are already seeing money fleeing to safe havens.
The alternatives are few and far between for those who want to stand aside from the euro.
The dollar is performing relatively well. The dollar index - the dollar against a basket of other major currencies - is at the highest level in two months.
A new drachma would not be the most widely trading currency in the world and would probably drop in value by 50%.

Jan Randolph, head of sovereign risk, IHS Global Insight

What everyone is missing is a third possibility.
If credit is withdrawn by the EU and IMF, then Greece becomes a cash economy. It means the government can only pay what it collects.
The government starts shutting down, 10-15% of state employees don't get paid and unemployment surges from 20% to 30%.
But Greece can still use the euro.
It would be difficult for the ECB to keep banks afloat. The Greek banking sector would collapse as well.
That would cause more unemployment, as credit for companies would dry up.
What happens next is a political question.
European nations would probably not accept another Western European country descending into chaos and collapse.
The EU and IMF would probably negotiate some kind of aid. But Greece could continue with the euro.

Article from Ekathimerini today.

Music Soiree May 2012 - Year 4

My progress after three and a half years of study. I am looking forward to improving - onwards and upwards, as they say.

I'm just back from our Poetry Club meeting, we are still trying to establish a group, but today we did get a couple of visitors.

And now I'm going to relaxe for an hour before having a sort out in the back garden.

Byeeeeeee! Jane x

Strike in Athens Today

Strike protesters burn German flag

7 Feb 2012

Hundreds of protesters chanting "Nazis Out!" clashed with police outside parliament during a general strike rally against austerity (Eurokinissi) Hundreds of protesters chanting "Nazis Out!" clashed with police outside parliament during a general strike rally against austerity. Police used pepper spray against the protesters, who burned a German flag, during a brief flare-up of violence at the rally which was joined by some 25,000 people despite the heavy rainfall. The generally peaceful rally, organized separately by general and communist trade unions, was called against widely reported plans by the government to slash the minimum wage and impose other drastic cuts. Unions and employers have already rejected calls to cut the minimum wage, currently at 751euros per month, arguing that it would make the country's four-year recession even worse. "This is a crime against the nation," Vangelis Moutafis, a top strike organizer at the country's largest union, the GSEE. "They are driving wage-earners into absolute poverty. They are wiping out the unemployed and retired people ... They are selling off the state for nothing. This must not continue. It's a crime and it must be stopped now." (Athens News/gw)

BRITAIN PREPARES PLANS FOR COLLAPSE OF EURO

UK’s Plan B to Aid British Expats in Case of Euro Collapse

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Economy

Is the euro really collapsing? Does the euro zone near the end? I can’t answer these questions but the Britons allegedly prepare their Plan B to help British expats through the collapse of the common currency, collapsing of the banking system and outbreak of riots. British The Telegraph in an article Prepare for riots in euro collapse, reports that the Foreign Office and the Treasure  confirmed ”earlier this month that contingency planning for a collapse is now under way ” as the  Italian government struggled to borrow and Spain considered seeking an international bail-out.
British ministries seem to consider a euro collapse as an issue of a “matter of time”.

Recent Foreign and Commonwealth Office instructions to embassies and consulates request contingency planning for extreme scenarios including rioting and social unrest.
Greece has seen several outbreaks of civil disorder as its government struggles with its huge debts. British officials think similar scenes cannot be ruled out in other nations if the euro collapses.
Diplomats have also been told to prepare to help tens of thousands of British citizens in eurozone countries with the consequences of a financial collapse that would leave them unable to access bank accounts or even withdraw cash.
There is also the potential for social unrest: embassies and consulates have been told to prepare for a flood of inquiries and requests for help if the euro stops working in some countries and other currencies have to be introduced (there are a million Britons in Spain alone). Fortunately, the government can keep liquidity flowing at home in an emergency, thanks to the UK retaining its own currency. source: Telegraph

It's all a bit scary really. Ignorance is bliss, but this will affect everyone, and heads in the sand will get their backsides kicked!

Vrahassi was very quiet today. David and I popped into the cafeneio for a drink, we sat outside looking on to an empty street. A couple of old men were perched on the old bench by the statue. The travelling fish man stopped but had no takers for his fish. He was not a happy man. I had a word with Papa Niko, he was not a happy man either. The school taxi dropped off a couple of kids; a scooter carrying 3 people puttered past. Only David and I remained in the silence of the afternoon. The sun was warm, a slight breeze shook the young trees which masked our mountain view. Abandoned cafeneio chairs stood guardian to a heap of firewood, and we drank up and left with no one to say good bye to. We had obviously missed the rush hour!

Jane x