News Roundup - Eurocrisis

Italy:-

(Reuters) - Thousands of people protested in Rome on Saturday against austerity policies and high unemployment, urging new Prime Minister Enrico Letta to focus on creating jobs to help pull the country out of recession.…Confidence in the government, cobbled together after inconclusive elections, is already falling, with one poll on Friday by the SWG institute showing its approval rating had dropped to 34 percent from 43 percent at the start of the month."We can't wait anymore" and "We need money to live" were among slogans on banners held up by the crowds.…"This government will last a very short time," said demonstrator Marco Silvani. What we need is a new leftist party that fights for the rights of the people," he said. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/18/us-italy-protest-idUSBRE94H06M20130518

Bulgaria:-

Al Jazeera reported voter apathy due to scandals and disappointment with politicians. During the campaign there were also allegations of fraud and an illegal wiretapping scandal. The day before the election, a printing press inKostinbrod was raided and 350,000 alleged illegally printed ballots were recovered. BSP leader Sergey Stanishev said that this was preparation for fraud with 10 percent of the electoral turnout being falsified for about 25 constituencies. He said: "This is a scandal unseen in Bulgaria so far." There was also allegations of illegal wiretapping of politicians. Prosecutors suggested former Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov was responsible with media revealing Borisov's alleged summons of Sofia's chief prosecutor to discuss details of the bribery probe. The OSCE's monitoring delegation member Eoghan Murphy said of the fraudulent ballot papers: "It's not for us to investigate these matters. It is for the Bulgarian authorities, but we will be interested in their assessment of the situation and how they deal with the matter as reported."[14] In their post-election press-conferences and press interviews, many of the parties stated that the vote should be invalidated because of the so-called "ballot-gate". 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_parliamentary_election,_2013

GERB won the 2009 European Parliament election in Bulgaria with 24.36% of the vote. The party elected five MEPs and joined the European People's Party-European Democrats Group in the European Parliament (in the EPP section). On June 6, 2007 GERB applied formally to join as a member-party theEuropean People's Party[11] and joined EPP on February 7, 2008.[12]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_for_European_Development_of_Bulgaria

The EPP is pretty clearly the party of European corruption. 


Cyprus:-

It’s plausible that the haircut on uninsured deposits - so far 37.5 per cent - could shoot up to 60 per cent, speculates one leading economist.
“The bank’s capital needs will depend on several things, but a key factor will be the clients’ - businesses as well as households - progressive difficulty in repaying loans. Another is the falling price of real estate held as collateral,” said Simeon Matsis, who was a member of the BoC’s previous board of directors.
Hardly anyone disputes that the bank’s non-performing loans are bound for an upward trajectory in the midst of a protracted economic slump.
And the lender’s consolidated balance sheet, though provisional, appears to bear out these concerns.
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/bail/further-raid-boc-possible/20130519

Greece:-

Reeling from its long recession, Greek industry suffered a 12.7% slump in new orders in March, compared with a year ago.
Data just released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority showed that orders for electrical equipment are down by 27% year-on-year. 

...

And capital goods orders, for substantial pieces of machinery and factory equipment, suffered a dramatic 30% decline.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/may/20/eurozone-crisis-markets-rally-economic-optimism

Italy:-

Industry orders... -10% YoY sales, down 0.9% on month, down 7.6% year on year, the worst since 2009 Rome ...
http://www.corriere.it/notizie-ultima-ora/Economia/Industria-Istat-ordini-marzo-tendenziale/20-05-2013/1-A_006494761.shtml

Spain:-

#15M - Of the 14,000 people interviewed, 63 percent said they support the movement — a figure similar to that of two years ago and somewhat higher than that of 2012, a few months after the Popular Party (PP) landslide election victory. Support for the protests was higher among Socialist voters that those who support the PP, and among younger respondents. 

http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/05/19/inenglish/1368993293_946824.html

The current disconnect between the markets and the fundamentals of the economy is continuing, with the recent rises. It not only reflects the separation between the financial world and that of productive investment but between the ruling classes and the working class, and between philosophical outlooks. The market is living on confidence born of rampant idealism coupled with the vulgar materialist attitude towards society.