Can beggars be choosers again? Judging by the drop in Greek bond prices, the answer is no. As Bloomberg reports, Greek PM Samaras is pushing back against Troika demands for up to $3 billion more savings (i.e. cuts to spending) in 2015. The impasse risks leaving Greece without a backstop on Jan. 1 after the program ends, they said. With Greece full of bravado over managing to issue debt publicly, perhaps they feel they can ignore warnings from the uberlords in Brussels. “It’s crucial that Greek authorities work with the troika to complete the current review,” but with the government in Athens refusing to concede there is a funding hole, the standoff means Greece may miss a Dec. 8 deadline for agreement on the steps required to unlock the ‘aid’ tranche.
Of course in this idiotic world, while GGBs are down over 1 pt – hovering near 9-month low prices (high yields), Greek stocks are up 3.3% today…
Greece’s government and its international creditors are deadlocked over a final round of measures required to release the last tranche of the country’s bailout, two people familiar with the negotiations said.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s government is resisting pressure from the so-called troika of creditors for additional budget savings in 2015 of as much as 2.5 billion euros ($3.1 billion), said the people, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private. The impasse risks leaving Greece without a backstop on Jan. 1 after the program ends, they said.
Troika representatives are furious because the Greek government has failed to come up with any concrete measures to plug the fiscal gap since euro-area finance ministers warned earlier this month about a lack of progress in Greece meeting its commitments, one person said. With the government in Athens refusing to concede there is a funding hole, the standoff means Greece may miss a Dec. 8 deadline for agreement on the steps required to unlock the aid and what comes after it, both said.
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While reviews by the troika of the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank have been characterized by unforeseen twists and deadlock, the difference now is that Greece’s 144.6 billion-euro bailout program is due to expire in a matter of weeks.
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A compromise needs to be found within hours, one of the people involved in the talks said yesterday. Failure to resume the review this week would make it impossible to complete it by Dec. 8, the person said.
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Greece! again? But they are the cleanestr dirty short in Europe right? all that yummy GDP growth?
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1uLnRnr Tyler Durden