The spectrum of short-term Greek crisis has been apparently averted. Credit ratings agency Moody`s on Friday raised Greece`s long-term issuer rating to “Caa2” from “Caa3” after euro zone governments extended a credit lifeline to the country.
Moody`s also changed its outlook to “positive”, up from “stable” previously, saying it saw signs that the heavily indebted country`s economy was stabilizing.
It pointed to a mid-June agreement reached by Greece`s creditors to re-launch an aid plan to the country, which had been blocked for months due to disagreements between euro zone countries — especially Germany — and the International Monetary Fund.
The move reduces the spectra of a short-term crisis, after euro zone governments agreed to give Greece a new credit lifeline of some 8.5 billion Euros ($9.5 billion).
Moody`s said it expected Greece`s debt ratio to stabilize this year at 179 percent of GDP, adding that growth should return to the economy this year and next.
Greece returned to growth in the first quarter of 2017, with a 0.4 percent increase in GDP, according to figures revised upwards in early June.
“It is too early to conclude that economic growth will be durable,” Moody`s said.
The IMF, which links financial aid to debt relief, has also signed an “agreement in principle” to allow immediate assistance that avoids a payment crisis in Athens this summer.
It said Thursday that negotiations with creditors for debt reduction had “made progress”.
“If we did not think there was a good chance of reaching a debt deal, we would not have chosen that route,” an IMF spokesman said.
Moody`s also raised the long-term country ceilings for foreign-currency and local-currency bonds to B3 from Caa2. (AFP)
For the time being the problem with the economy is that it is stabilizing on the papers while Greeks do not see it happening in their real life. Obviously it is happening much too slow. On the other hand, when economic deteriorate, the average people see it immediately through incomes cuts, direct and indirect tax increases.
MOODY’S – like all the other ratings agencies is a creation of the banks / an extension of the banks / paid for & funded by the banks / & obedient to the banks.
A magicians trick – “watch me pull a rabbit out of a hat” type of trick to fool the idiots.
Amen.
To complement R Davis, the so called “growth” they saw in the 1st quarter of 2017 is as real as the German controlling Eurostat and HelStat wants it to be; i.e. they falsified some growth statistics to support their employees here in parliament and government. They know the trick, Mr. Georgiou has done similar things for them before….