Word: greek
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...government revealed that Greece's finances were in far worse shape than the previous government had let on. The 2009 deficit was nearly 13% of GDP, more than four times the euro zone's 3% limit. The European Commission blasted Greece for the faulty stats, and ratings agencies downgraded Greek debt, sending yields on government bonds skyrocketing. Over the past two months, as fears have grown that Greece's poisonous finances could infect the rest of Europe, the euro has slipped by almost 7% against the dollar. The Greek crisis is proving to be a crucial test for the long...
...Papandreou government, which has to raise $75 billion to close its gaping fiscal shortfall, announced an ambitious three-year austerity plan to reduce the deficit to 2% of output by 2013. "Greece is playing by the euro zone's rules and it will put its house in order," Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou tells TIME. "To borrow words from an ad: Watch this space...
Problem is, though, the markets are finding it tough to trust Athens. At the World Economic Forum in Davos rumors swirled - despite assurances to the contrary by Greek and E.U. officials - that Greece was on the brink of a default and would need a bailout from Brussels or the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - or even get booted out of the E.U. altogether. "If any other country was making the kinds of adjustments that we are, it would be applauded," says Papaconstantinou. "In our case, they are not sure we are actually doing it." (Read: "Why Greece Could Be the Next...
...sense of urgency may finally be hitting home. "Greeks have realized, in the last 40 days, that this is no joke," says Eftichios Vassilakis, vice chairman of Aegean Airlines, Greece's largest air carrier. "We are at a critical moment. Some like to say that Greeks respond best when we're at the edge of the cliff. Well, we're definitely at the edge of the cliff." Some Greek business leaders hope that the medicine, though bitter, will produce a healthier economy. "The crisis was inevitable," says Ioannis Kamatakis, CEO of MLS Multimedia, a technology company that produces GPS systems...
...Most Greeks agree that the tax system (see following story) and the bloated public sector, nicknamed "the country's sickest patient," are at the root of Greece's current problems. In a country of 11 million people, almost 850,000 workers are employed by the state, which means they receive 14 monthly paychecks instead of 12. Many enjoy a work day that runs from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. "The state must change the mentality of the public employee," says one investor and economist, Timos Mellisaris, who calls Greece's public sector "the last communist frontier." Greeks like...