Articles 1
20 May 2011
The main problems faced by Greece remain a large and dominant public sector, and an adverse business environment for the private sector. Unless rapid structural changes are made, a sustainable solution to Greece's economic challenges will be impossible.
16 July 2011
The Eurozone meeting in Brussels this past Monday, July 11th confirms that the Eurozone leaders are as far apart as ever on reaching a resolution to the Greek debt crisis. Absent real decisions in the next two weeks...
21 October 2011
Yesterday evening the Greek Parliament passed the third major austerity plan, after the initial Memorandum of May 2010 and the Mid-Term Fiscal Consolidation Plan of July 2011. This third plan, nicknamed the “Multiple Law” in Greek...
26 November 2011
We are clearly present in an era of great unwinding. In financial terms, we could call it the end of the Age of Leverage. In simpler, ordinary terms, it’s the great unwinding. The unwinding of the trust which underpinned the great political experiment of the Eurozone.
01 December 2011
The meeting of the Eurozone finance ministers yesterday agreed (according to Greek press reports) to release the 6th instalment of the first bail-out package. Worth EUR 8 billion, the instalment is desperately needed to pay
02 December 2011
One of the inevitable consequences of the Greek and European debt crisis is the question of whether bank account deposits are safe. This question has been asked a number of times recently, but no clear answer is possible
04 December 2011
The recent move by central banks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Australia, Japan and the Eurozone (the European Central Bank) to extend US dollar credit facilities to the banking sector may presage the beginning of a "grand deal"...
10 December 2011
Since George Papandreou came to power in the October 2009 elections in Greece, a central policy priority has been the promotion of “green energy.” As part of this policy, between EUR 10-15 billion in renewable energy (RE) projects have been licensed.
19 December 2011
In May 2011 I attended a conference in Barcelona, at which a European Commission spokesperson gravely assured me that political cooperation between the then ruling Socialist party and the main opposition party...
30 December 2011
The first confirmation of the coming pricing problems in the Greek energy sector became visible yesterday with the publication of the first official proposal on energy price increases by the Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy (YPEKA)
30 December 2011
Cyprus and its three main banks were downgraded in November 2011 by the three major credit ratings agencies, in no small part due to their exposure to the Greek debt crisis as well as the declining situation in Cyprus.
08 January 2012
The year 2012 will be critical to the resolution of a number of economic issues, primarily in Europe. Unfortunately, it is highly likely that whatever solutions will be found will be very temporary in nature, and will address symptoms rather than root causes.
14 January 2012
The ECB’s decision to lend EUR 498 billion at an average rate of 1% for 3 years to European banks is turning into the mother of all carry trades. The unspoken premise behind these loans was that banks would use part of these loans to re-invest in sovereign debt.
04 March 2012
Although the recent Eurozone decisions (agreement on Greek PSI, greater economic coordination, a debt brake, etc) and the European Central Bank's second tranche of Long Term Refinancing Operation have given a temporary respite to markets...
13 December 2012
This article evaluates the basic elements of the Cyprus bail-out package and compares how this programme and the fundamental economic situation of Cyprus compare with that of Greece. It concludes that if implemented properly and proactively by Cypriot public authorities...
13 February 2013
The Economist ran the latest of a series of interesting article on the increasing convertibility of the Chinese Yuan (“Yuan for the money”) in its February 9th, 2013 edition. According to The Economist: In the last three months of 2012...
07 March 2013
The two-round Cypriot presidential election in February provided Nikos Anastasiades of the DISY Party with a convincing majority for his election as President. The objective of this article is to examine the economic challenges...
23 March 2013
The Eurozone insistence on a Cyprus bank deposit confiscation has almost nothing to do with a desire to “save” Cyprus, and everything to do with its destruction. The surprise plan forced through on Saturday, 16 March called for a 6.75% "levy"...
23 March 2013
In May 2012, Navigator published a short brief on the status and potential of hydrocarbon exploration in Cyprus. With the Cyprus financial crisis currently in full swing, it's worth taking a renewed look at oil and gas potential, and our forecasts from this time.