Greek economy close to collapse as food and medicine run short
Source: The Guardian
Greeces economy is on the brink of collapse after the capital controls imposed ahead of Sundays referendum left the country with shortages of food and drugs, the tourist industry facing a wave of cancellations and banks with barely enough money to survive the weekend.
Banks said they had a 1bn cash buffer to see them through the weekend equal to just 90 (£64) a head for the 11 million-strong population and would require immediate help from the European Central Bank on Monday whatever the result of the referendum, in which the two sides are running neck and neck.
Alexis Tsipras, Greeces prime minister, was fighting for his political life on Friday night, using a rally to say that a no vote would enable him to negotiate a reform-for-debt-relief deal with the countrys creditors.
The survival of the Syriza coalition, formed just over five months ago to repudiate five years of austerity programmes, was in doubt as Greece started to suffer shortages of basic provisions, including the sale of vital drugs in pharmacies nationwide.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/03/greece-economy-collapse-close-food-medicine-shortage
pinto
(106,886 posts)Seems a tragedy for the Greek citizens, though, if it all falls apart.
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)Greek banks are preparing contingency plans for a possible bail-in of depositors amid fears
The plans, which call for a haircut of at least 30 per cent on deposits above 8,000, sketch out an increasingly likely scenario for at least one bank, the sources said.
A Greek bail-in could resemble the rescue plan agreed by Cyprus in 2013, when customers funds were seized to shore up the banks, with a haircut imposed on uninsured deposits over 100,000.
It would be implemented as part of a recapitalisation of Greek banks that would be agreed with the countrys creditors the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank.
That "recapitalization" word simply means the banks coffers will be filled with depositor's money.
Depositors who have no choice what the bank does with their money, which is why the smart Greeks removed their money when they still could.
msongs
(67,502 posts)as long as it is not them or theirs
Sure hope the "bail-in" doesn't get applied to any other countries, though the precedent has been set (by the One Percent).
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)There are agreements already in place.
News articles about it appeared last year, under the headline of : Good News...no more bank bailouts"
Check out that phrase in Google.