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Friday June 19, 2015

// June 19th, 2015 // Daily News

Greece talks fail; emergency summit called
Holly Ellyatt | Julia Chatterley
CNBC.com

Euro zone leaders will hold an emergency summit on Monday after a the region’s finance ministers failed to agree a reform-and-aid deal with Greece, making it more likely the near-bankrupt country will default on its debt at the at the end of the month.
European political leaders and economists are now preparing for financial turmoil and potential capital controls in Greece on the back of a Reuters report that Greek savers had pulled about 2 billion euros out of banks over the past three days.
The large deposit outflows seen in Greece prompted the European Central Bank (ECB) to reportedly express doubts on whether Greek banks would open on Monday. The ECB is to hold a teleconference on Greece on Friday to discuss extending emergency liquidity to the country.
The emergency summit was called after the euro zone’s finance ministers – the so-called Eurogroup – failed to reach a deal on reforms with Greece when the group met in Luxembourg on Thursday.
The reforms would allow Greece to receive a last tranche of bailout aid worth 7.2 billion euros but sticking points remain over pension cuts. Without the money, Greece has said that it could not make a 1.54 billion euro ($1.74 billion) debt repayment to one of its senior creditors, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on June 3
After five months of stalled talks over reforms, Greece now has just the weekend to come up with a last-ditch plan to present to creditors in order to stave off the ignominy of a default — and what its own central bank predicted the recently would be an “uncontrollable crisis” following such an event.
There was incredulity among some euro zone ministers emerging from Thursday’s meeting at Greece’s apparent lack of awareness of the gravity of the situation.
Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb told CNBC that Greek bailout negotiations had hit a dead end. And Belgium Finance Minister Johan Van Overtveldt said he found it strange that while “there should be a sense of urgency” on the Greek side, the country had only come up with a “few, pretty vague ideas, fully aware of the fact that the Eurogroup always works through the three institutions [overseeing Greece’s bailout – the European Commission, ECB and IMF].”
Although Van Overtveldt emphasized that nobody in the Eurogroup wanted to see Greece leave the euro zone, he warned that if the Greek government “keeps saying the same things and keeps the same position it’s had for weeks, then there is a problem and we are obliged to look at alternative scenarios whether we like it or not.”
In addition, the President of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Djisselbloem, told CNBC that the group “hadn’t heard a full and credible plan tonight, that’s my side of the story.”
But Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis hit back at critics and what he called “disinformation” about his presentation to the Eurogroup by posting his “precise words” to the Eurogroup on Thursday on his blog site.
“I will not deny that our proposals have not instilled in you the trust that you need. And, at the same time, the institutions’ proposals that [European Commission President Jean-Claude] Juncker conveyed to Prime Minister Tsipras cannot engender the hope that our citizens need. Thus, we have come close to an impasse ,” he said.
“That Greece needs to adjust there is no doubt,” Varoufakis continued, adding: “The question, however, is not how much adjustment Greece needs to make. It is, rather, what kind of adjustment. If by ‘adjustment’ we mean fiscal consolidation, wage and pension cuts, and tax rate increases, it is clear we have done more of that than any other country in peacetime.”

Today’s Inspiration

No Longer a Victim

by Joyce Meyer – posted June 19, 2015

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds [curing their pains and their sorrows].
Psalm 147:3

You may have been a victim at one point in your life, but you don’t have to remain one. You can be emotionally healthy and whole in your soul. The Word of God promises that God will heal your wounds. He will help you . . .He’s waiting to help you.

We all have painful issues from the past that we need to deal with. Many of them were not our fault, and it isn’t fair that we should suffer because of other people’s behavior. Perhaps you were teased mercilessly as a child and still feel insecure or sensitive because of that old pain. Maybe someone you loved left you without explanation, or you may have been abused in some way. Whatever the source of your pain, be thankful that God loves you and wants to heal you. You don’t have to spend your life as a victim; you can have victory and even help bring victory to others.

Prayer of Thanks Father, I thank You that You are a healer. You have not left me to suffer in the pain of the past—You are healing my wounds and giving me the strength to move forward. Today is a new day, and I am going to enjoy every minute of it!