Germany May Consider Growth Measures for Greece

It would be quite ironic and rather fitting if Germany and France fail to ratify the Merkozy treaty. 25 Nations have ratified the treaty but France and Germany still have not. French president Francois Hollande has already threatened non-ratification unless the treaty is revised. The Leader of the Social Democrat Party (SPD)in Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, is making similar threats for the first time.

BRUSSELS — Within minutes of eurozone finance ministers reaching a deal to cut Greece’s debt late on Monday, commentators on Twitter were dismissing it as another exercise in “kicking the can down the road”. To an extent that is true. Under the agreement, the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund will give Greece two more years to reach its budget goals and will find another 44-billion euros (US$57-billion) to keep the country afloat in the meantime.

As I watch the implosion of Greece, with shops closing everywhere and GDP plunging like a rock, I cannot help but wonder if we are witnessing the start of a similar trend in Italy. To be sure, Italy has a manufacturing base that Greece does not have, but retail aspects and shop closings in Rome as compared to Athens seems rather similar. If that sounds far-fetched, please consider Summer of gloom for crisis-hit Rome shops

By Peter Boone and Simon Johnson The EU, led by France and Germany, appears to have some sort of financing package in the works for Greece (probably still without a major role for the IMF).  But the main goal seems to be to buy time – hoping for better global outcomes – rather than dealing with the issues at any more fundamental level.