European stocks dip on Greece uncertainty

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Greek strike against austerity turns violent

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Police clash with protestors during a demonstration involving thousands of Greek civilians on February 10, 2012, in Athens.

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Greece strikes: Demonstrators are detained by riot police

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From other news sites (4)

Protests in Greece

thewall.com.au | 6:22 pm Feb 10, 2012
- Reuters gives one of the more interesting examples of just how the Greek people are feeling.
- While violence erupts among the largely unemployed youth, the supposedly 'grown-up and responsible' segment of the Greek society is recognizing the wholesale destruction of their society
- Policemen have borne the brunt of the anger of protesters who march to parliament and clash with police in riot gear
- Thousands turned out on Friday for the latest protest in Athens, against new austerity measures that include a 22% cut in the minimum wage
- Greek Police have accused EU/IMF officials of "...blackmail, covertly abolishing or eroding democracy and national sovereignty"
- Complacency is something the Greeks were very good at.
- Historically, a military does not rebel, it seizes power.
- Hoping for the military to rebel against the Western world is a foolish

Story In detail

European stocks dip on Greece uncertainty

thewall.com.au | 7:02 pm Feb 10, 2012

European stock markets have closed lower and the euro has dropped against the dollar in reaction to violent protests in Athens that rocked Greece's divided government after the eurozone held up a debt bailout.
London's benchmark FTSE 100 index fell 0.73 per cent to 5,852.39 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 slid 1.41 per cent to 6,692.96 points and in Paris the CAC 40 lost 1.51 per cent to 3,373.14 points.
Elsewhere in Europe, Milan fell 1.76 per cent, Madrid 1.18 per cent and Lisbon 0.84 per cent.
The European single currency dropped to $1.3190 from $1.3286 in New York late on Thursday but was little changed at 77.59 yen from 77.68 yen.
In midday New York trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.92 per cent to 12,771.79 points, the broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.79 per cent to 1,341.31 points and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.73 per cent to 2,905.90 points.
Cracks in the Greek coalition government and violence on the streets appeared to spell trouble for the country's commitment to an austerity programme demanded by its EU partners in return for a massive new debt restructuring and bailout deal.
Meanwhile, a weakening in China's trade performance in January, while distorted by the lunar new year holiday, added to mounting evidence that the world's second-largest economy was slowing as the eurozone crisis and weakness in the United States hurt demand for Chinese products.
"The primary concern for the market ... is concentrated on the Greek debt situation as unions there take to the streets and EU finance ministers demand even more austerity cuts," US based analysts The Hightower Report said.
In Greece, far-right leader George Karatzaferis said his deputies would not approve a new round of wage and pension cuts to secure a new eurozone bailout package and which go to a parliament vote on Sunday.
A government source said debt dissenters would be replaced but did not specify whether this would happen at a cabinet meeting expected later on Friday.
Eurozone finance ministers on Thursday gave Athens less than a week to meet three conditions in return for aid worth 130 billion euros.
"The rejection ... on the bailout deal leaves us in limbo over the weekend which may encourage a further reduction of risk today during the European trading session," Derek Halpenny, an analyst at The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in London said.
The deadline was set after talks in Brussels between Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos and his 16 eurozone counterparts, who were unmoved by a general deal by Greek politicians on austerity measures demanded by lenders.
"Given on-going concerns over Greece, traders are reluctant to commit funds until a deal is firmly approved by European finance ministers," said ETX Capital trader Manoj Ladwa.
China's imports slumped 15.3 per cent in January compared with one year earlier and with exports falling 0.5 per cent, the trade data was China's weakest since during the global financial crisis in 2009.
Asian stock markets mostly closed lower on Friday in reaction to the news out of China and Greece, although Shanghai's main index edged up 0.10 per cent.
Analysts also digested earnings updates from major companies in Europe, including Barclays bank and energy giant Total.
Barclays' shares rose 0.41 per cent despite a 16-per cent drop in annual net profit for the British bank, as traders cheered its strong buffer against a future financial crisis.
In Paris, Total dropped 1.37 per cent on profit-taking after the French energy giant posted a 2011 net profit of 12.3 billion euros.

Politicians resign as Greek cabinet approves bailout

abc.net.au | 1:16 am Feb 11, 2012

Greece's economic future is again in doubt with at least six politicians resigning over planned spending cuts, as protesters and police clash on the streets of the country's capital. Earlier this week, the governing coalition had reached an agreement which…
Greece crisis reaches boiling point as Athens asks if it can stay in the euro

guardian.co.uk | 3:27 pm Feb 11, 2012

Greece is facing an acute political and social crisis this weekend as the bankrupt state prepares to decide whether it can stay in the single currency. As riot police clashed with protesters on the streets of Athens, and five ministers resigned in protest…
Greek Police Threaten IMF Arrests Due To "Austerity Demands"

zerohedge.com | 6:11 pm Feb 10, 2012

As the headlines from Europe become more and more realistic (and ironically more and more Onion-worthy), Reuters notes one of the more interesting examples of just how the Greek people are feeling. The Federation of Greek Police have accused EU/IMF…
Business, financial, personal finance news - CNNMoney

cnn.com | 9:03 pm Jul 6, 2011