Greek economy dying

The latest figures show that the Greek economy is not only shrinking; it is also showing no signs of reform and recovery in the medium term. According to the chamber of commerce for small manufacturers, bunkruptcies were twice as many as startups in the first eight months of this year - 2,076 against 1,088. Greece fell a further 12 places in the World Economic Forum's Competitiveness Index to 83rd out of 139 countries surveyed. The index combines a basket of 121 indicators of public trust in institutions, ease and security of the investment environment, efficiency of government and the judiciary, infrastructure, health, education, innovation, market sophistication and more.

The head of JP Morgan's European interest rate strategy in London told Bloomberg that Greece may have to extend its loan from the EU and IMF by three to six years in order to avoid default, adding his voice to a growing chorus of economists who consider default inevitable.

Trichet: Explore suspension of EU voting rights for indebted
European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet argues that in future, if eurozone members break the rules on deficits the suspension of their voting rights in Brussels "should be explored".
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Norway funds boosts Greece
Norway's sovereign wealth fund has boosted market confidence in Greek bonds, and the bonds of other weak European economies, by stepping up purchases.
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Labour relations heating up at OTE
Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) chairman and CEO Panagis Vourloumis, who turned the company around in the last six years and saw it through a successful privatisation, has declared war on its powerful labour union. In a letter he sent to the head of OTE's labour leader on August 30, he says he seeks the abolition of tenure for OTE's 10,000-odd employees, a two-year wage freeze, abolition of seniority-based pay rises, and changes to the company's hiring and firing rules and disciplinary code.
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Muslim hatefest suspended
A Gainesville, Florida pastor who led a campaign to burn copies of the Koran on the 9th anniversary of the World Trade Center attack has "temporarily suspended" the event after a global outcry. The reason, he says, is that a planned islamic centre in the lower Manhattan area will now be relocated.
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See Guardian article.

Turkish referendum puts AKP in spotlight
FT: Turkey's reformist government is seeking to limit the power of the military futher, with constitutional changes that are turning into a referendum on the party itself. "The package presented to the electorate contains measures all parties accept, including limits on the powers of military courts. But there is no consensus on its core provisions, which give parliament more say in appointments to the constitutional court and the judiciary’s watchdog."
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