It's
Time to Start Paying Attention to Greece Again - (www.businessweek.com) It’s
been awhile since Greece was front-page news, so here’s a refresher: A few
years ago, it looked as though Greece might be forced to leave the euro zone,
as investors lost faith in the country’s ability to pay its debts. In late
2011, 10-year Greek bonds were trading with a yield around 35 percent. The
crisis began to dissipate in the summer of 2012, when the center-right New Democracy
party eked out the narrowest of election victories and cobbled together a
coalition that agreed to a bailout under harsh terms. Since then financial
markets have eased considerably, although the economy is still in the gutter. Anyway,
you might want to start paying attention again. Greece may see elections early
next year, and a new poll just out has the radical leftist Syriza party in
first place by more than 3 percent. If Syriza takes power, the relative calm of
Greek financial markets could be rocked.
Venezuelan
Bond Buyers Pack Into Manhattan Law Office - (www.bloomberg.com) The
scores of money managers and analysts who crowded intoCleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP’s panel discussion on Venezuela last week are
a testament to the deepening concern over whether President Nicolas Maduro can
make good on the nation’s debt obligations. During the two-hour event on the
39th floor of the law firm’s downtown Manhattan office, some 150
attendees pressed the lawyers on an array of potential scenarios if Venezuela
defaulted, according to interviews with six attendees who asked not to be
identified because the meeting was private. Among the topics debated were
whether the state oil company’s U.S. gasoline stations could be seized as
collateral and whether it was legally possible for Venezuela to restructure the
producer as an empty shell to avoid bondholder claims, they said.
Crackdown
Weakens Divided Venezuela Opposition as Election Looms - (www.bloomberg.com) Here’s
the kind of a year it’s been for Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina
Machado: She’s been assaulted by pro-government militants, banned from leaving
the country, kicked out of Congress -- and last week charged with conspiring to
kill President Nicolas
Maduro.
Machado’s difficulties symbolize a crackdown that is weakening an already
divided opposition, reducing its ability to capitalize on popular discontent
building over the fastest inflation in the world, shortages ranging from meat
to medicine and the repression itself. Maduro’s government, the most unpopular
in at least 15 years, is squeezing its opponents as it tries to tighten its
grip on power before congressional elections scheduled for next year, said
Diego Moya-Ocampos, an analyst at political risk consultancy IHS Inc. A victory
by the opposition in the vote could pave the way for a plebiscite in 2016 on
whether Maduro should resign. “Maduro’s use of state institutions (SOUNDS AN
AWFUL LOT LIKE OBAMA) to go after political opponents hasn’t been seen in Venezuelasince the fall of the last dictatorship in the
late 1950s,” Moya-Ocampos said by telephone from London Dec. 8. “This level of
repression is unprecedented in the country’s recent history.”
Singer
Default Deal Odds Diminish on Argentina Debt Sale - (www.bloomberg.com) Argentina’s plan to push out debt maturities and raise
$3 billion locally may allow it to delay a settlement with holdout creditors
who tipped the nation into default, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. and
Emso Partners. For the first time since failing to pay its foreign-currency
debt five months ago, Argentina is selling bonds as it tries to tackle $12
billion of obligations coming due next year. Since Economy Minister Axel
Kicillof announced the plan to sell and buy back debt, its dollar securities
governed by local law have outperformed the overseas notes by the most in three
weeks. The proposal may enable the country to delay devaluing the peso further,
according to JPMorgan. With foreign-currency reserves bolstered by swaps with China and the peso rallying in informal
markets, there will be fewer incentives for President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to negotiate a resolution to the
decade-long debt crisis with holdouts led by billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Management, said Emso Partners’s
Patrick Esteruelas.
Greece
Lurches Back Into Crisis Mode - (www.bloomberg.com) Greek
stocks fell more than at any point during Europe’s debt crisis
today after Prime Minister Antonis Samaras gambled his political future on
bringing forward a parliamentary vote on a new head of state. Greek stocks tumbled
the most since 1987 and three-year yields surged in response to the prime
minister’s move. Unless he can persuade 25 opposition lawmakers to support his
choice, Samaras will be forced to call a parliamentary election that
anti-austerity party Syriza would be favorite to win. “Investors have taken a
second look at Syriza and understood that at this point in time it’s more
radical than the traditional left in Greece,” said Nicholas Veron, a fellow at the Bruegel
research institute in Brussels. “If Syriza takes over it won’t be a smooth
ride.”
Sony
investigator says cyber attack 'unparalleled' crime - (www.reuters.com)
Greek police clash with protesters in Athens - (www.reuters.com)
Greek police clash with protesters in Athens - (www.reuters.com)
Greek
government brings forward key presidential vote to this month - (www.reuters.com)
International lending to China soars in 2014: BIS - (www.reuters.com)
International lending to China soars in 2014: BIS - (www.reuters.com)
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