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Greek civil service workers go on strike over massive layoffs
Protesters attend a demonstration in Athens, Greece, July 8, 2013.
Tens of thousands of Greek municipal workers have staged a strike to protest against the massive public sector layoffs enacted by the government in order to secure promised loans.
Greek civil servants including policemen and schoolteachers took to the streets outside the Administrative Reform Ministry in Athens on Monday, as the government...
Athens mayor attacked over job cuts tied to Greece bailout
Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis
Greek staff unionists have physically assaulted Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis amid protests against job cuts tied to Greece’s bailout, officials say.
The mayor’s office said Kaminis was “physically attacked” on Sunday while he was leaving a Confederation of Greek Municipalities (KEDE) meeting, where he held discussions about the austerity measures and their affects...
Europe faces decade of stagnation: head of Bank of Canada
Governor of Bank of Canada Mark Carney
Governor of Bank of Canada has warned Europe that it faces a “decade of stagnation” if it does not apply sustained and significant reforms to put its fiscal house in order.
Mark Carney issued the warning on Tuesday while making a speech to the Montreal board of trade.
“Europe remains in recession, with economic activity constrained by fiscal austerity,...
Portugal launches fresh round of austerity measures
People protest against government austerity policies at Lisbon’s main square, Praca do Comercio, March 2, 2013.
Portugal has announced a fresh round of spending cuts in order to obtain the approval of international lenders and secure additional funds for the debt-ridden country.
The Portuguese government said on Thursday that it plans 800 million euros of spending cuts this year on public sector...
More Portugese Need Food Assistance
Portuguese people protesting against austerity measures
The economic crisis in Portugal is forcing an increasing number of people in the recession-mired eurozone country to turn to food banks for help.
“We have more people asking for our help every year, the list is growing so fast that we had to do something that isn’t our policy: create a waiting list,” said Rogerio Figueira, a volunteer with...
Cyprus, EU leaders eroded trust in European banks: Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin says that the banking crisis in Cyprus has revealed the unreliability of Western financial institutions.
In an interview on Friday with Germany’s state-owned ARD television before an April 7 visit to the European nation, Putin accused Cypriot and European Union leaders of undermining confidence in Europe’s banks by taxing deposits...
Cypriot president's family to be probed
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades
Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades says no one, not even members of his own family, will be immune to investigations of alleged financial wrongdoing in the run-up to an international bailout deal.
Anastasiades made the remarks on Monday evening in reaction to reports accusing his relatives of transferring millions of euros out of the island state to London.
A...
Big banks take advantage of money laundering epidemic in US
The attorney general of the United States says the country’s largest banks may be too big to jail, but the former chief economist for the International Monetary Fund isn’t exactly convinced.
Simon Johnson, the former top IMF economist and a current professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, published a blistering editorial in Bloomberg News this week that makes an argument for imprisoning...
European stock markets plunge on Cyprus deal
Traders at work at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
European stock markets have plunged after Cyprus struck a 10-billion-euro ($13 billion) bailout deal to save the country from bankruptcy.
The stocks fell on Monday afternoon after Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who heads the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, said that the Cyprus model, which includes a heavy tax on bank deposits, could...
Bank of Cyprus clients could lose up to 60% of their savings
Large depositors stand to lose up to 60 percent of their savings as Cyprus enforces the controversial conditions of a €10-billion bank bailout from the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund.
Officials said that deposits over €100,000 ($128,225) at the country’s largest bank will lose 37.5 percent of their value after being converted into bank shares. The losses could increase by another...
IMF censures Argentina, threatens sanctions
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued Argentina with a ‘declaration of censure’ for providing inaccurate inflation and GDP data and has given it until September 29th to amend the problems or will impose sanctions.
The IMF Friday called on Argentina to fix its statistics “without further delay”
“The fund has issued a declaration of censure against Argentina in connection...
Greek parliament approves tax hikes
Greek lawmakers have approved a new tax legislation intended to increase government revenues by 2.3 billion-euro (3 billion USD) in the following months.
The new tax bill was approved with the support of the majority of the lawmakers in the 300-member parliament early on Saturday.
The new legislation aims to tax any income above 42,000 euros (56,000 USD) per year at 42 percent.
The passage of the...
Greeks kick off new wave of strikes against austerity measures
People walking by closed shops in Athens during the 24-hours general strike.
Greeks have kicked off a new wave of strikes to protest against fresh austerity measures due to be presented by the government to the parliament.
The work stoppage began on Monday as the metro in the capital Athens was shut and taxi drivers halted services.
There was also a media blackout on Monday as journalists stopped working...
Greece Public Debt And Deficit Worse Than Estimated
Provisional figures released by Greece’s national statistics authority have shown the country’s deficit and public debt for 2011 are worse than estimated.
According to provisional data published by ELSTAT statistics agency on Monday, the 2011 deficit stood at 9.4 percent of gross domestic product and the public debt at 170.6 percent.
“The revisions as regards the debt ratios are primarily...
Argentina’s president lashes out at IMF over 'red card' warning
Argentinean President Cristina Fernandez addresses world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly on September 25, 2012 in New York City.
Argentine president has blasted the International Monetary Fund after the financial institution warned the Latin American country could get ‘a red card’ for failing to provide reliable data on its economy.
The head of the IMF Christine Lagarde on Monday...