Latest News & Developments

[Prolet]

Risto, Do you know what you can do with 17.5 million Euros in Macedonia?? You will live like a king.

But just so you know when the interest rates in the EU were 1% in the UK i think it was 0.5% while in Macedonia the interest rates where 12% in a recession year now they lowered the rates to about 8% i think but thats still alot of money. The way the national bank works is that its scared of a devaluation of the Denar towards the Euro so its doing all it can so the Denar does not loose its value towards the Euro at any cost.

[Daniel the Great]

Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski phones Greek counterpart George Papandreou.

http://www.makfax.com.mk/_tools/article/98439/view

____________________
MACEDONIAN PRIDE

[Bill77]

Council of Europe asks Bulgaria to register Macedonian party


The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg has called on Bulgaria to amend its Constitution and allow minorities the right of “association and assembly,” Macedonian media reports.


In his report, which was released on Tuesday, Hammarberg recommends “amendments to the Bulgarian Constitution in order to improve the freedom of association and assembly of minorities in compliance with the standards of the Council of Europe.”


Local media reports the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has made a decision that condemns Bulgaria for its failure to respect the right to political assembly of citizens.

http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/12394/46/



lets see them weasal there way out of this

[The LION will ROAR]

Австралија без македонска поддршка за ОН
http://www.a1.com.mk/vesti/default.aspx?VestID=119755
Македонија нема да и даде поддршка на Австралија при изборот за непостојана членка на советот за безбедност на Обединетите Нации.

Ова е последицата од последниот испад на висок австралиски претставник, Премиерот на Јужна Австралија, Мајк Рен, кој го обвини Претседателот Иванов за крадење на грчката историја.

Австралија 4 пати била непостојана членка на советот за безбедност, а за последен пат во периодот 1985-86 година. Австралија, Луксембург и Финска официјално побараа македонска поддршка при гласањето за новите непостојани земји членки со двегодишен мандат.

Луксембург, како и Македонија, Албанија, Србија и Црна Гора се меѓу 75 земји членки на Обединетите Нации кои никогаш не биле избрани за непостојана членка на советот за безбедност.

По посетата на шефот на дипломатијата на Луксембург, Жан Аселборн, Македонија објави дека ќе гласа за Луксембург.

„Македонија досега многу пати го поддржала Луксембург на мултилатерално ниво, така и овој пат ќе продолжиме да ја разгледуваме оваа номинација во еден пријателски дух“, изјави Антонио Милошоски.

Македонска поддршка ќе добие и Финска која досега била два пати членка на советот за безбедност, со последен мандат што завршил во 1990 година. Покрај петте постојани земји членки на советот за безбедност на Обединетите Нации: САД, Русија, Британија, Франција и Кина.

Непостојани земји членки оваа година се и БИХ, Бразил, Габон, Нигерија и Либан, чиј мандат истекува идната година.

Луксембург, Австралија, Финска се кандидати кои на крајот од оваа година очекуваат да бидат избрани да ги заменат Австрија, Јапонија, Турција, Мексико и Уганда.

Macedonia will not vote for Australia to become a member on the UN security council because of Mike Rann's Anti-Macedonian propaganda, Macedonia will now vote for Luxembourg.

[Bill77]

[Bill77]

French Bank: The EURO is Doomed

The European single currency is facing an 'inevitable break-up' a leading French bank claimed yesterday.

Strategists at Paris-based Société Générale said that any bailout of the stricken Greek economy would only provide 'sticking plasters' to cover the deep- seated flaws in the eurozone bloc.

The stark warning came as the euro slipped further on the currency markets and dire growth figures raised the prospect of a 'double-dip' recession in the embattled zone.


Claims that the euro could be headed for total collapse are particularly striking when they come from one of the oldest and largest banks in France - a core founder-member.

In a note to investors, SocGen strategist Albert Edwards said: 'My own view is that there is little "help" that can be offered by the other eurozone nations other than temporary, confidence-giving "sticking plasters" before the ultimate denouement: the break-up of the eurozone.'

He added: 'Any "help" given to Greece merely delays the inevitable break-up of the eurozone.'

The alarming claim came a day after European Union leaders promised 'determined and co-ordinated' action to shore up Greece's tattered public finances, but disappointed traders by failing to provide specifics.

Further details are expected early next week, but markets were in high anxiety yesterday amid fears political divisions among rich eurozone members could derail any rescue.

The euro slid almost 1 per cent to $1.357 yesterday, meaning it has lost 10 per cent of its value since November. The pound rose to 1.14 euros.

Earlier this week Business Secretary Lord Mandelson's claimed that the single currency had been a 'remarkable success' and that it remained in Britain's interests to join.





David Cameron ridiculed that claim yesterday.

He told the Tories' Scottish conference: 'Are this Government the only people in the country who still think that would be a good idea? Our deficit and debt are bad enough without the straightjacket of the euro.

'If I am elected for as long as I am prime minister the United Kingdom will never join the euro.'

The French bank's warning was echoed by Mats Persson, Director of the Open Europe think-tank, which campaigns for reforms in Brussels.

He said: 'The eurozone is facing a fully-fledged crisis. The Greece episode has made it painfully clear how flawed the euro project was from the very beginning.

'Even if Greece receives a one-off bailout it would not solve the real problem, which is the huge differences in competitiveness between the eurozone's richest and poorest members.

'If these differences are to be evened out, the EU would need a single budget and common taxes so it can redistribute resources.

'One thing is clear, Britain made the right choice in staying out.'

Mr Edwards argued that Portugal, Ireland, and especially Greece and Spain are too economically weak to withstand the rigours of eurozone membership.

Countries that are highly uncompetitive are normally able to slash interest rates and devalue their currencies to prop up their economies.

But this is not possible within the euro, given its one-size-fits-all economic governance.

The implication is that weak, peripheral eurozone members will have to suffer years of painful deflation and tumbling living standards, as well as draconian budget cuts, in order to adjust.

Harvard University Professor Martin Feldstein, a long-standing sceptic on the euro, yesterday said the single currency 'isn't working' because member governments have no incentive to keep their public debts under control.

'There's too much incentive for countries to run up big deficits as there's no feedback until a crisis,' he said.



For those who know of Baba Vanga, she predicted that World War III will start in 2010. She is said to have foretold the break-up of the Soviet Union, the Chernobyl disaster, Boris Yeltsin’s electoral victory, the date of Stalin’s death, the sinking of the Russian submarine Kursk, the September 11 attacks and Topalov’s victory in the world chess tournament.

Its possible, If The European single currency will break-up, could cause a Break up of the EU which then just mabe, the catalyst of this Third World War this Baba predicted.

Just food for thought.

[The LION will ROAR]

Goldman Sachs helped Greece Hide its Debt
http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/12436/1/
Monday, 15 February 2010
Wall Street tactics akin to the ones that fostered subprime mortgages in America have worsened the financial crisis shaking Greece and undermining the euro by enabling European governments to hide their mounting debts, The New York Times reported.

As worries over Greece rattle world markets, records show that with Wall Street's help, the nation engaged in a decade-long effort to skirt European debt limits. One deal created by Goldman Sachs helped obscure billions in debt from the budget overseers in Brussels.

The bankers, led by Goldman’s president, Gary D. Cohn, held out a financing instrument that would have pushed debt from Greece’s health care system far into the future, much as when strapped homeowners take out second mortgages to pay off their credit cards.

Goldman got $300 million commission fro the deal.

[The LION will ROAR]

Greece enters debt tug-of-war with EU February 16, 2010 - 7:15AM
http://www.smh.com.au/business/world...0216-o39a.html
Pressure mounted on Greece on Monday to take fresh, drastic action to slash runaway debts, but Athens demanded first that EU partners reveal the terms of any eventual bailout.

As eurozone finance ministers met seeking to protect their under-threat currency, the new man in charge of economic and monetary affairs at the European Commission, which polices EU member states' budgets, warned that "risks... are materialising."

"There is a clear case for additional measures," said Finland's Olli Rehn.

Greece is already committed to reducing its public deficit by four percentage points this year, from 12.7 per cent of national output last year, using a range of emergency measures.

"We expect that in due course... the (Greek) government will take additional measures to reach this objective," Rehn added, suggesting disappointment for markets seeking concrete Brussels aid plans.

However, Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou called instead for "more explicit" EU backing.

Papaconstantinou asked reporters: "If we announce today new measures, will that stop markets attacking Greece?

"My guess is that what will stop markets attacking Greece at the moment is a further more explicit message that makes operational what was decided last Thursday" by European heads of government."

He said that a political declaration signed by all 27 EU leaders had thrown a protective arm around Greece and indicated that central EU backing would be forthcoming if required.

Now was the time to "work out the mechanism so that, if necessary, the mechanism will be there," he added.

Papaconstantinou said Athens would wait for the first European Commission assessment of its corrective measures next month.

Only then might "additional measures" be appropriate.

In a sign of a hardening mood in Europe's biggest country, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said ministers would "examine and evaluate" fresh additional measures during Monday's discussions.

The fact that German voters are wary of coughing up for weaker European economies means Berlin is seeking more Greek concessions to be agreed with the commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Austria's Josef Proll also warned that if the current action taken by Athens proves insufficient, "(it) would certainly have to do more," stressing that Greece could not be "released of its obligations" as a eurozone member.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who leads the grouping of 16 euro countries in monetary matters, said that failure to make early headway would require new thinking next month.

If, by mid-March, "Greece is not on track, additional measures will be necessary," he said.

Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado, who will chair talks among all 27 EU nations on Tuesday but whose own country is also labouring under heavy debts, said the call for extra measures "is something that has to be discussed."

Moody's credit rating agency calculates that Greece must allocate 15.1 per cent of its revenues to service its debts this year, twice the ratio for Spain and Portugal.

Greece's ballooning public deficit has seen its debts shoot up to about 300 billion euros, or 113 per cent of gross domestic product.

International share and currency markets are watching closely to see the decisions the EU reaches.

The German newspaper Handelsblatt said the ECB is calling for bigger budget cuts, increased value added tax for consumers and an even higher tax on luxury goods and energy.

The Greek government's spending cuts and campaign against waste and corruption have sparked strikes and protests, but it has insisted that by 2012 it will bring its deficit below the eurozone's three per cent limit.

At a summit last Thursday, the EU stopped short of committing actual funds to prop up the country, or more accurately the euro.

Ministers may also discuss modalities for any eventual aid deemed necessary, through bilateral loans or guarantees.

[Risto the Great]

Originally Posted by The LION will ROAR

Goldman got $300 million commission fro the deal.

Yeah ... this is the kind of stuff that absolutely implicates the politicians who sign off on such deals.

[The LION will ROAR]

Originally Posted by Risto the Great

Yeah ... this is the kind of stuff that absolutely implicates the politicians who sign off on such deals.

Imagine the millions given out to others including inside Greece..
No wonder their Broke...