[vox_mundi]

Greek Refiner Denies Rumors of Fuel Shortages

Spooked by rumors concerning impending fuel shortages, drivers are flooding gas stations across Greece, leading the country's largest refiner to issue a statement reassuring there are enough reserves.

Refiner Hellenic Petroleum says that "we maintain fuel reserves for several months. The supply of our refineries with crude oil is also assured."

In fact, the rush to the gas stations has been prompted less by worries about shortages than rumors that only withdrawals of up to 60 euros ($66) per day from ATMs will be allowed and that use of credit or debit cards will not be permitted.

We already know that banks will be shut down and capital controls imposed. The specific measures will be announced at the end of the cabinet meeting, which has gone on for over four hours now.

Greece Will Close Banks Amid Fear Of Financial Collapse

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced on Sunday that the nation's banks and stock market would be closed on Monday amid fears of financial collapse. Greece is also set to impose capital controls that will limit the amount of funds that citizens can transfer or withdraw from its financial institutions.

No information was given as to the specifics of the controls or the limits that may be placed on ATMs, which have already seen long lines of people seeking to take out their cash. Over 1 billion euros have been withdrawn from the Greek banking system since Friday night, Agence France-Presse reported.

"I would withdraw money today, anyway. Now I will withdraw more to be safe for the next few days. I am certain that ATMs will run out of money, it has already happened at some places," one man in line at an Athens ATM told HuffPost Greece.

"Yes. I am scared of bankruptcy, of the ruthless devaluation of currency and the general isolation of the country once it exits the EU," another woman said.

[Tanada]

The problem is both the EU and USA banking systems are grossly over extended. This might or might not crash the EU banking system. If it does the USA will soon follow.

[vox_mundi]

The problem is both the EU and USA banking systems are grossly over extended. This might or might not crash the EU banking system. If it does the USA will soon follow.

Here's another wrinkle ...

Puerto Rico says it cannot pay its debt, setting off potential crisis in the U.S.

The governor of Puerto Rico has decided that the island cannot pay back more than $70 billion in debt, setting up an unprecedented financial crisis that could rock the municipal bond market and lead to higher borrowing costs for governments across the United States.

With as much as $73 billion in debt, the island’s debt obligation is four times that of Detroit, which became the largest U.S. city to file for bankruptcy in 2012. The implications are serious for Americans outside Puerto Rico largely because many hold island bonds in mutual funds. At one point in 2013, an estimated three out of four municipal bond mutual funds held Puerto Rican bonds, which were attractive because of their high yields and exemption from federal, state and local taxes.

A U.S. commonwealth with a population of 3.6 million, Puerto Rico carries more debt per capita than any state in the country. The island has been staggering under the increasing weight of those obligations for years as its economy has tanked, triggering an exodus of island residents to the mainland not seen since the 1950s.

The island’s web of debt includes general obligation bonds, which Puerto Rico’s constitution says must be repaid even before government workers receive their pay. But billions of dollars more in bonds were floated by public corporations that provide critical services on the island, including providing electric power, building roads and running water and sewer authorities. Beyond the bond debt, the island owes some $37 billion in pension obligations to workers and former workers.

IMF Internal Report - Puerto Rico Debt Restructuring

[onlooker]

This could be a case of if one domino falls the rest will follow. The level of debt for many countries is untenable. So it may be that countries worse off will attempt to disengage from the system in a falling dominos effect. It just seems that at some point the weakest link in the world economic system will give way. The weakest may be debt and debt payments.

[Timo]

In relative terms, Greek and Puerto Rico aren't indebted to any significant degree to cause a collapse of either the EU, or the US. A Greek default would be along the same lines as Iceland. That seemed to work out pretty good for the Ice Cubes, and it didn't shake the world economic systems, either. The danger of a Grexit is that it could set a precendent that others would follow. Spain and Portugal and Italy could very easily decide to exit the EU, as well. Throw in the movement of an independent Scotland that would disrupt the membership of Great Britain, and then things start to look very worrisome for the EU. At that point, the EU would essentially be done. Every member nation would then revert to their own currency, and Russia would move in to estabish trade deals with each seperate nation, rather than with the EU, as a whole. Europe does need Russian gas. Many European nations are making great strides in lessening their dependence on FFs, but no nation can go Full Monty, and buck the necessity of some coal and gas to keep their economies running. Russia is ready and waiting to fill those needs.

It really is a tough call to advocate for any eventual outcome from this. The only thing for certain is that things will change, and probably not in a way that will make the US oligarchs happy.

[dolanbaker]

A Greek default would be along the same lines as Iceland.

You can't really compare Greece to Iceland as Iceland had its own currency, compare Greece to a US state like (I dunno???) Florida and you'll get a better comparison. How would Florida going bust affect the rest of the US?

[Graeme]

Greece’s anti-solar, coal-based energy policies underlie its economic collapse

As Greece prepares for its referendum, Takis Grigoriou takes Greece to task for its highly polluting lignite power sector, its ditching of a successful solar program in favour of more coal, the minimal insulation in its buildings that locks in high fuel bills, and Syriza's failure to tackle these issues. The good news? Greece's latest €1.4bn coal project looks like going unfunded.

Greece stands on the precipice of a great unknown, and what is decided in Sunday's referendum and in the weeks to come will have wide-reaching ramifications - not least on the country's fragile energy economy.

In the years since the global financial crisis, Greek energy - like most of Greek society - has been in a state of flux. A series of missed opportunities and poor decisions have left it in deep trouble.

So here's the story of Greece's post-crisis energy crisis; the rise and fall of solar PV; the rise and fall of energy efficiency; the rise and fall of lignite.

theecologist

[Tanada]

Greece is broke and Graeme expects them to take what little money they have and use it to replace their existing, functional lignite structure? Lignite is not only cheap to burn, the structure to use it is already in place making it doubly cheaper.

I fear this is the route everyone will be taking as PO bites, whatever is cheapest to burn is going on the fire.

[Graeme]

No you didn't read the article. It was a failure of Greek government energy policies, which serves as a clear warning to the rest of the world. Invest in RE and energy efficiency not the old BAU FF industries!!!

Swapping solar for brown coal

Greece, however, lost a historic opportunity to transform the energy sector (and the economy) by making two crucial mistakes.

First, instead of allowing the liberalisation of the market by actually agreeing to phase out lignite and increase the share of renewables in the mix, Greece did the opposite. It opted to engage in a long battle to preserve the ailing industry while putting an abrupt end to solar energy development by blocking new applications.

Talks with the troika ended up with the Greek government agreeing in 2012 to have several PPC units sold to private enterprise. To appease furious unions, it promised to use the money from the sale to fund the long-sought construction of Ptolemaida 5.

This new and supposedly modern generation 660MW unit, costed at €1.4 billion, received construction approval on 1st July. It would create 250 new jobs and save a couple of thousand more, but it is fiercely opposed by WWF Greece as a "dirty giant" that sets Greece's energy policy firmly on the wrong course.

At the same time, more than 45,000 jobs were wiped from the economy due to the collapse of the PV market.

Second, the government did a U-turn on energy efficiency, abandoning Building the Future - that was never supported with smart and effective financing policies - in favour of a subsidies program based on European structural funds that could hardly retrofit 35,000 homes.


A new study by WWF-Greece questions also the project's economic viability, arguing it would make more economic sense to invest this money into tapping the country's tremendous renewable energy potential. In addition, as Greenpeace-Greece has revealed, the environmental credentials of the plant are deeply flawed, with ELVs (Emission Limit Values) often falling short of proposed EU regulations for lignite plants.

[C8]

"Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Surely nobody can disagree with this observation? Even here at PO.com?

It is the basis for the design of the US Constitution- separate branches, federal vs. state power, democracy vs. republican govt. etc. etc.

The US has been the most dynamic economy the last 100 or so years because big business and big labor have not succeeded in defeating each other. In fact, even as labor unions decline many worker rights are permanent law, the welfare state saves many from ruin. It is this balance between raw capitalism and socialism that has made the US so great.

Power corrupts- and the US has a balance of power politically and economically between labor and management.

What many don't get is that there can be "too much" democracy. The "people" left in charge are not angels- they vote more benefits and pay for themselves and less work every opportunity they get. The Greeks massively evaded paying taxes and retired early expecting others to magically pay taxes for them. "The People" can be amazingly ignorant and greedy. Now people who cheated on their taxes all their lives are crying in front of closed banks.

The US is heading into this same path- higher minimum wages (Democrat city leaders), free daycare (Hillary), "free" tuition (Obama), "universal" health care for all services (including sex change operations), unlimited immigration of unskilled people who quickly get pregnant but can't pay for medical expenses or their children (Hispanic lobby), lets spend even more on schools that already have massive amounts of money and produce jaw dropping illiteracy rates (Teacher unions). California democrats are even lobbying for the return of lifetime welfare benefits. We'll just print more money, we can do that forever!

Evil Wall Street is behind all of our problems- if only "the people" could take over here!!!

The scary thing for all of us is that the people will- and they will eventually being crying in front of their banks.

[Graeme]

C8, Nice post. There is certainly more to Greece's problems besides bad energy policy. You touched on these in your post. Incompetence in social and economic policies of the left-wing government probably cover most of the remaining reasons. Corruption, greed and selfishness the rest. These symptoms are everywhere of course so the world will have a hard time grappling with these issues as we stubble through the rest of this century. Does anybody care? Most want to live in a peaceful world but the reality is somewhat organised chaos.

[dolanbaker]

Corruption, greed and selfishness are only successful if only a relatively small percentage of the population indulge in these practices, in Greece the numbers participating are too large for the "honest Joes" to support!

[StarvingLion]

Greeks are the most intelligent people in the world. They know this FIAT money scam too well. They know the moment they turn their back and do honest productive work that the maggots of the international banking syndicate and their cohorts in governments will plug themselves in and suck them dry.

[SeaGypsy]

I have worked with & for a few Greeks. From my experience with is a lot better than for. Yes they are generally bright & their language ensures depth of thinking & reasoning way beyond the ordinary elsewhere, but they do tend to take not just an eye for an eye, but the whole head. Once they decide to fight, they do so with the fearlessness of a furiously insulted teenager, they don't care if they get hurt, they are gunna make sure you do.

[Graeme]

Greece – What You are not Being Told by the Media

Every single mainstream media has the following narrative for the economic crisis in Greece: the government spent too much money and went broke; the generous banks gave them money, but Greece still can’t pay the bills because it mismanaged the money that was given. It sounds quite reasonable, right?

Except that it is a big fat lie … not only about Greece, but about other European countries such as Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland who are all experiencing various degrees of austerity. It was also the same big, fat lie that was used by banks and corporations to exploit many Latin American, Asian and African countries for many decades.

Greece did not fail on its own. It was made to fail.

In summary, the banks wrecked the Greek government and deliberately pushed it into unsustainable debt so that oligarchs and international corporations can profit from the ensuing chaos and misery.

nationofchange

[Outcast_Searcher]

Greece – What You are not Being Told by the Media

Every single mainstream media has the following narrative for the economic crisis in Greece: the government spent too much money and went broke; the generous banks gave them money, but Greece still can’t pay the bills because it mismanaged the money that was given. It sounds quite reasonable, right?

Except that it is a big fat lie … not only about Greece, but about other European countries such as Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland who are all experiencing various degrees of austerity. It was also the same big, fat lie that was used by banks and corporations to exploit many Latin American, Asian and African countries for many decades.

Greece did not fail on its own. It was made to fail.

In summary, the banks wrecked the Greek government and deliberately pushed it into unsustainable debt so that oligarchs and international corporations can profit from the ensuing chaos and misery.

nationofchange

Yes, of course. It was all the evil bankers' fault. Stupid government policies or the people wanting unrealistic programs while not paying their taxes has NOTHING to do with it!

And of course, the entire MSM is completely wrong, but this paper with this article, long on complaints, very short on credible citations, is right.

Here's a classic example of the drivel in this "article":

Few months later, in 2012, the exact bond market manipulation was used when the banksters turned up the Greek bonds’ yields to 50%!!! This financial terrorism immediately had the desired effect: The Greek parliament agreed to a second massive bailout, even larger than the first one.

Right... So there is no bond market where the market drives up interest rates by shunning the bonds of the irresponsible who seem to lack the ability to pay what they owe. It's all "financial terrorism" by the banksters.

Only the financially illiterate and the "I deserve something for nothing" crowd would believe this stuff.

For all the complaining about lying, the author if this screed should have major burns from his pants being on fire.

[onlooker]

Good article cited Graeme, their is a book which describes some of this it is "Disaster Capitalism" by Naomi Klein.

[onlooker]

Very sad story of migrants arriving in Athens, Greece without any possessions to speak of and now just relying on handouts to survive. This in a country which is effectively bankrupt. SAD.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33666807

[onlooker]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-08-0 ... es-history
As was inevitable Greece economy - stock market collapsing. Former Finance minister states opinion that EU wants Greece out of EU one way or the other. I say get out and be a pioneer in running an economy without help from the powers that be. In the long run you will be better off.