Schaeuble Positive On Brexit Trade Deal

Pretty positive statement from Schauble at @wef on ability to do new trade deal to minimise damage to both EU and U.K.

— Lawrence Freedman (@LawDavF) January 20, 2017

Greece Caught Between Rock and a Hard Place

IMF:More debt relief,lower surpluses after 2018. Schäuble:IMF in program,but no relief nor lower surpluses. Enough w/ games against #Greece.

— Dim. Papadimoulis (@papadimoulis) December 8, 2016

Greece should do itself a favour, and leave the Eurozone.

Schaeuble Still Wants Grexit

As per The Wall Street Journal:

"Germany’s “powerful finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, has long believed that Greek politicians aren’t capable of adapting Greece’s economy to the rigors of euro membership. Mr. Schäuble sees Greece as the weak link not only for Europe’s common currency, but also for Europe’s border controls against migration, and would welcome a new debate about a Greek exit this year, say people familiar with his thinking.”

This should come as no surprise to anyone. More to the point, the need for a resolution to the Greek question has been given added impetus by the migrant crisis. The position of the Schengen border is now being used as means to pressurise Greece to implement the agreed reforms.

The bottom line is that Greece must implement the reforms or, in effect, leave.

Schaeuble Reveals Stubborn Streak - Surely Not?

Schäuble says he's "quite stubborn" in his opposition to #EDIS. In contrast to his usual flexibility? https://t.co/OtSw94VGhY

— Jarno Hartikainen (@JarnoHa) November 13, 2015

Tsipras Wanted To Bring Back The Drachma

It seems that Tsipras really did want to Grexit and bring back the Drachma.

Greek media report that Tsipras asked Putin for Euro10BN to underwrite the currency. However, Putin said no.

However the fact that, had Tsipras still opted for Grexit, he would have got a Euro50BN handout from Schaeuble raises serious questions as to why he bottled it and opted for a deal that will destroy Greece.

The Euro50BN Greek Fuck Off Fund

On July 8th I wrote the following:

"As I have noted several times before on this site, a fund (aka "fuck off money") has been set aside to be given to Greece as and when it exits, in order for Germany et al to wash their hands (with a "clean" conscience) of any further problems within Greece."

The value of the fund has now been disclosed, it was Euro50BN.

Greece will regret rejecting Schaeuble's offer.

Schaeuble Is Right

Despite the "#thisisacoup" hyperbole whipped up by the those with a rose tinted glasses view of the eurozone and Greek "democracy", and the US attempt to use the IMF as a bulldozer to force through its own geopolitical agenda, Schaeuble's Grexit plan was the best option on the table for Greece.

It is a pity that the Greeks choose to live in fantasy land wrt the eurozone!

Rethinking Wolfgang Schäuble. He's right about #Grexit pic.twitter.com/SVQ8hNwIz3

— Bruno Waterfield (@BrunoBrussels) July 15, 2015

Schaeuble Says Nein!

Schaeuble says there is no basis to have serious negotiations with Greece at moment.

Varoufakis On Schaeuble

My answers (verbatim) to Die Zeit on Dr Schäuble http://t.co/l4kOBFGqhT

— Yanis Varoufakis (@yanisvaroufakis) May 20, 2015

Schauble Washes His Hands of Greece

Wolfgang Schauble, quoted by the Telegraph, has washed his hands of Greece:

"If they want to find money somewhere else, whether in Moscow, or Beijing, or New York, that's fine, we'll be happy.

We will not help a country that refuses to help itself. If Greece wants the next disbursement of €1.8bn, it must fulfil what is agreed. That is called the Memorandum of Understanding."

Over and out!

Farewell Greece!

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is telling the world how it is, wrt Greece.

As per Bloomberg:

"None of my colleagues, or anyone in the international institutions, can tell me how this is supposed to work.

Greece was able to sell those treasury bills only in Greece, with no foreign investor ready to invest. That means that all of the confidence was destroyed again."

The clock is ticking, Greece as a result of its "game plan" will not remain in the eurozone. The only question remaining is when will it go.

Schaeuble Gives Greeks Rope To Hang Themselves - Germany's Cunning Stunt

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble urges parliament to approve extension of Greece's bailout - @Reuters http://t.co/KiJkyR4cby

— Breaking News (@BreakingNews) February 27, 2015

Thus Schaeuble has ensured that Greece will exit the Eurozone of its own accord, as and when it defaults and fails to fulfil its side of the agreement, ensuring that Germany will not be blamed.

Cunning eh?

Schaeuble Varoufakis Meeting Summarised In One Photo

Source Zerohedge

Greece Needs Another Aid Programme

According to the Twitterverse, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said that Greece will need another aid programme.

This should come as no surprise, given that the Bundesbank said the self same thing the other week.

Happy Greek Independence Day - Cyprus "Fixed"!

On this bank holiday in Cyprus, to celebrate Greek Independence Day, doubtless the good people of Cyprus are also "celebrating" the fact that the banking crisis has been "fixed" and that they will receive Euro10BN in bailout money.

The Eurozone finance ministers have agreed that Laiki (Popular) Bank will be wound down and depositors with more than Euros100K will face losses of 40% or more (Schauble's original plan). Those who have deposits of less than this amount will, theoretically, incur no immediate losses.

However, unlike the last "deal", the Cyprus parliament will not be voting on this.

It seems that, once again, the Eurozone sacrifices democracy in order to pursue its Messianic mission!

The chairman of the Cypriot parliament's finance committee, Nicholas Papadopolous, told the BBC said the agreement made "no economic sense":

"We are heading for a deep recession, high unemployment. They wanted to send a message that the Cypriot economy ought to be destroyed, and they've succeeded in a large part - they've destroyed our banking sector." 

Needless to say the banks, as it a bank holiday, remain closed. As and when they re open will be the litmus test as to whether people believe that this is "fixed".

Clearly anyone with half a brain will empty their bank account immediately, Cyprus has signed its own death warrant and is finished unless it leaves the Eurozone.

Happy Greek Independence Day!

Greece - The Never Ending Story

Despite Eurozone hyperbole that the Greek crisis has been "solved", via a debt write down, bond buyback and probable gifting of the next tranche of bailout money, it appears that this is not the end of the story.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has in fact warned that Greece may need additional help.

As per ekathimerini.com, Euro-area governments may provide additional funding through the European Union structural fund and further interest payment reduction as long as Greece meets all its obligations under the agreement.

In other words there is an open ended commitment to prop Greece up.

Greece Faces D Day - Again

Today Euro of Greek bonds mature, next Friday 16th November a further Euro4BN mature.

Greece has issued, as it often does, a warning that if it dopes not receive bailout money by then it may default on those bonds.

However, Wolfgang Schaeuble, Germany's finance minister, is not so easily cowed by these threats; he told reporters yesterday that a decision on Greece next week "would be too soon".

Thus, as ever, the Eurozone crisis drags on as the politicians and bureaucrats dither over whether to continue to fund Greece or expel it.

Schaeuble's Line In The Sand

The EC is refusing to deny or confirm the story that the Troika will ask private Greek companies to introduce a six day working week.

Meanwhile Wolfgang Schaeuble, the German finance minister, has ruled out a third Greek bailout package:

"The costs for Greece are already very high and therefore we cannot have a new programme for Greece."

Whether this is a sop for the domestic audience, to keep it docile, or a genuine line in the sand is not yet clear.

Time Is Not a Healer For Greece

Wolfgang Schaeuble, Germany's finance minister, has told SWR that time (in Greece's case anyway) is not a healer.

In his view granting Greece more time to implement spending cuts would not solve its problems, the Telegraph quotes him:

"More time is not a solution to the problems."

Why draw such a line in the sand?

Schaeuble is no fool, he knows that with Greece it is never just a matter of "time" but also money. He knows that, at some stage, Greece will come back and ask for more money.

As I have already noted it is highly likely that Greece will ask for more money, given the Euro3.5BN black hole in Greece's finances.

Greece's Bottomless Pit

The Greek Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras, will meet with various Eurozone leaders during the coming week in order to beg for more time (an extension of two years) for Greece to try to enact its austerity programme.

His renegotiation mission comes on the eve of next month's Troika report into Greece's economic progress (or lack of it).

Der Spiegel has reported that the Troika's initial assessment is that there is a Euro14BN hole in Greec's finances for 2013/14. This hole being Euro3.5BN larger than the previously identified hole of Euro11BN.

The abundance of black holes is rather alarming, given that the Troika found a Euro15BN in Greece's finances in February 2012.

Therefore will Greece be given more time and more money?

The German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, as per the BBC sums up the situation perfectly:

"I have always said that we can help the Greeks, but we cannot responsibly throw money into a bottomless pit."

The question is, at what stage do those funding Greece realise that the Greek economy is a "bottomless pit"?