Greece Get $17 billion Bailout Package

The European Union approved the disbursement of it's last $17 billion tranche of bailout funding Saturday, putting Greece's debt crisis at bay -- for now.

With the last part of the $156 billion bailout package in place, the struggling nation will be able to keep functioning for a little while longer. The disbursement, which will be made by July 15, follows the Greek Parliament's approval of new austerity measures.

This latest piece is the fifth tranche of a bailout that was approved by members of the European Union last year.

"The Greek authorities provided a strong commitment to adhere to the agreed fiscal adjustment path, and to the growth-enhancing structural reform agenda, which are essential components of our strategy to restore fiscal sustainability and safeguard financial stability," ministers said in a statement Saturday.

European officials will now work on a second proposed bailout.

The bailout is a highly contentious subject in Greece. As the Greek Parliament voted in favor of the funding on June 28, thousands of protesters descended on Athens and clashed with riot police. Tear gas choked the streets as protesters and police pounded each other with clubs and firebombs.

Greece: Back from the brink - for now

However, the bailout won't take care of the nation's long-term budget problems, according to Mark Blyth, an economics professor at Brown University in Providence, R.I.

"This is simply giving them more breathing space, while they're kicking the can down the road," Blyth said, referring to the bailout. "They need to have enough money to cover the primary fiscal debt, and for keeping the lights on at the hospitals and military bases. Once they've got that, they're able to default without shutting down the country."

Blyth believes that a Greek default is inevitable. "Ultimately, there's no way the Greeks can pay back what they've borrowed," he said.

The debt-ridden nation has "heavy near-term financing requirements," according to S&P, with about $135 billion in government debt maturing between now and the end of 2013. An additional $82 billion is set to mature in 2014.

Still, the rest of Europe does not want Greece to default, because it would rupture the bond market and undermine the European banking system so severely that the repercussions could be felt on Wall Street.

Greek austerity: Cure or poison?

The French banking association and the German Finance Ministry, as well as German banks, have offered proposals to keep the Greeks from defaulting on $152 billion worth in bonds.
These proposals offer different variations on the same theme: rolling over Greek debt. As explained by Barclays (BCS), one of the options is to roll the debt into a 30-year bond, with at least 70% backed by private sector investors.

For the Greeks, there is one part of their future that is crystal clear: more austerity. In order to qualify for the final tranche of the bailout, the Greek Parliament had to agree to a new raft of austerity measures, in addition to the ones that were imposed on the Greek people last year. This is why people were rioting in the streets of Athens.

Since 2010, the Greeks have faced a myriad of austerity measures including pension cuts, a boost to the sales tax, excise taxes on fuel, cigarettes, alcohol and luxury goods, more stringent eligibility for disability benefits, and a hike in the retirement age to 65 from as low as 61.
On June 29 and 30, the Greek Parliament approved a new raft of austerity measures that included reducing the pay of public workers, increasing the attrition of public jobs and ramping up taxpayer compliance.

Tax dodging, in particular, is one of the most chronic fiscal problems in Greece. Many of the protesters in Athens blame rich tax evaders for their nation's troubles. The protesters -- particularly the young and unemployed -- believe they're being forced to shoulder an unfair burden to get their country out of hock.

The pain of Greece's crisis

Marko Mrsnik, the lead analyst in the recent Standard & Poor's downgrade of Greece, blames the austerity measures for exacerbating the shoddy job market. The unemployment rate has soared to 16.2%, compared to 11.6% in March 2010, he said.

The contradiction of the austerity measures is that they're harming the economy even as they're keeping it afloat, according to Jurgen Odenius, a strategist for Prudential Fixed Income.

Greece: Back from the brink

Greece has pulled itself back from the brink, by agreeing to a painful austerity package aimed at reducing the country's giant budget deficits.

On Thursday, the Parliament voted to implement those unpopular reforms. The vote set the stage for the nation to secure the final $17 billion of a $156 billion international relief package.

The latest cash infusion means Greece will be able to stave off an immediate default and pay its bills for the next three months.

But Greece is not out of the woods. The country still needs to put the unpopular reforms into practice, negotiate with creditors and privatize big public institutions.

Passage of the austerity plan "will certainly give some short-term relief to markets," said IHS Global senior economist Diego Iscaro. "But concerns about the long-term feasibility of Greece's fiscal plans still remain in place."

Greece is now expected to begin negotiations with the European Union and International Monetary Fund for another bailout, said Wolfango Piccoli, a director at the Eurasia Group in London.

The next round of emergency aid is expected to range between $172 billion and $216 billion, which would cover Greece's expenses through 2014, he said.

As with the previous deal, the new package will come with conditions. The terms are expected to include some concessions by Greece's creditors and the transfer of state assets to the private sector.

But providing more short-term support for Greece "is just kicking the can down the road," Piccoli said.

Officials in Europe are hoping to keep Greece solvent long enough to allow other troubled European nations to strengthen and put pressure on Greece to enact the painful reforms passed Wednesday.

At the same time, the European Union is working with Greece's main creditors -- French and German banks -- to roll over some of the nation's debt into longer-term bonds.

"It's unclear how that will be done, though there seems to be some willingness there," on the part of the banks, said Piccoli. "But that's just another measure to gain time, it doesn't diminish the amount of debt that Greece will be left with."

The bottom line is that Greece's ability to repay its debts remains in question.

"For all economic intents and purposes, Greece has already defaulted," said Sandeep Dahiya, professor of finance at Georgetown's McDonough School of Business. "There's no way Greece can repay all the money it owes."

The big worry is that other debt-laden nations in Europe -- particularly Ireland, Portugal, Italy and Spain -- would be dragged down if Greece were to default in a disorderly way.

But the threat to the U.S. economy, for now, remains remote.

That's mainly because U.S. banks have relatively little Greek debt on their books and the financial markets have largely priced in Greece's fiscal problems, which have been playing out for over a year.

Nevertheless, the situation remains highly uncertain.

Greece austerity: Cure or poison?

"We're still not sure how much exposure there is," said Gus Faucher, an economist at Moody's Analytics. "There is certainly the potential for a big problem in the U.S. if Greece were to default unilaterally."

While he believes that's unlikely, Faucher said an outright default by Greece could cause a financial shock similar to the one that occurred after Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008.

The investment bank's implosion roiled global financial markets and caused a severe credit crisis.

Analysts say U.S. money market funds, which hold an estimated 40% of their assets in various forms of European debt, would be the most vulnerable in such a scenario.

The pain of Greece's crisis

Ben Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, said last week that the central bank is looking into how exposed U.S. money market funds are to Greece. He acknowledged that the indirect exposure could be "very substantial," but sounded hopeful that the worst won't come to pass.

In addition, some U.S. investment banks and insurance companies could be on the hook if they own credit default swaps linked to European debt.

These complex derivatives, which crippled US insurance giant AIG after Lehman fell, could also yield big profits for investors betting against Europe.

However, the market for credit default swaps is opaque and analysts say it's impossible to pinpoint how exposed U.S. institutions may be to them.

European stocks surge on Greek austerity vote

European stock markets extended strong gains on Thursday following Greece's approval of austerity measures needed to unlock critical bailout funding and stave off a debt default.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of top shares jumped 1.53 per cent to 5,945.71 points, while in Frankfurt the DAX gained 1.13 per cent to 7,376.24 points and in Paris the CAC 40 climbed 1.48 per cent to 3,982.21 points.

"The recent rise in European markets has continued today as markets end the month, quarter and first half of 2011 on a positive note, with oil and banking sectors leading the gainers as fears about an imminent Greek default get pushed out beyond the release of the next tranche of bailout funds," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson .

The Greek parliament approved Thursday measures to implement 28.4 billion euros ($41 billion) in unpopular budget cuts and tax hikes despite street protests that turned violent this week.

The EU quickly said in response that Greece had now met conditions for the release of the next installment of 12 billion euros of bailout funds under under its 110-billion-euro EU-IMF bailout package agreed last year.

Athens faced the prospect of default in July if the bailout funds had been held back.

The Greek vote will also allow talks to proceed on a second bailout package expected to total a similar amount to ensure Athens has sufficient funding for the next three years.

News that German banks will take part in a second Greek debt rescue package also helped improve market sentiment, as did moves by Portugal and Italy to further tighten their budgetary belts.

Brussels ended the day up 0.97 per cent, Amsterdam rose 1.3 per cent, Milan climbed 1.62 per cent, Madrid jumped 2.13 per cent and Lisbon soared 3.03 per cent.

London was also supported by news that Lloyds bank will axe 15,000 more jobs and that the London Stock Exchange is once more a likely takeover target.

Lloyds, which is 41-per cent state-owned after a massive bailout, said it will axe 15,000 jobs in a drastic cost-cutting plan that will halve its international base and save £1.5 billion (1.66 billion euros, $2.4 billion) per year by 2014.

In response, LBG rocketed to the top of the FTSE 100 index, gaining 9.73 per cent to 49 pence as investors welcomed news of the measures.

Off the FTSE 100, the London Stock Exchange saw its share price jump 10.98 per cent to 1,061 pence, one day after The LSE and Toronto's bourse scrapped plans to merge after failing to win support from two-thirds of their shareholders.

"Shares in the London Stock Exchange rallied .. as investors speculated that the firm may become bid prey to Nasdaq OMX, having seen its multi-billion bid for Canada's TMX fall by the wayside," said analyst Giles Watts at City Index.

Nasdaq failed to take over LSE in in 2006 and 2007.

"Investors are now speculating that the firm's failure to secure a deal with the Canadian Exchange operator at a time of huge competition and subsequent consolidation within the sector makes it vulnerable," Watts added.

Wall Street also rallied on the Greek vote, with the Dow Jones Industrial average gaining 1.18 per cent to stand at 12,406.05 points at 1600 GMT.

The broader S&P 500 rose 0.94 per cent to 1,319.74 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.19 per cent to 2,773.21 points.

Asian stock markets closed higher on Thursday after Greek lawmakers gave preliminary approval on Wednesday to the key package of spending cuts and tax hikes aimed at helping Athens avoid a catastrophic default.

Hong Kong gained 1.53 per cent, Tokyo added 0.19 per cent, Shanghai was up 1.23 per cent and Sydney rose 1.73 per cent.

Debt ceiling: Just do it

Warnings from all three credit ratings agencies didn't do it. Seven weeks of talks among lawmakers didn't do it. Maybe President Obama's talks with Capitol Hill brass will do it.

But as of now, there's still no debt-reduction deal. And many lawmakers are still demanding one in exchange for their vote to increase the debt ceiling.

Here's an idea: Even if they can't come up with a deal by Aug. 2, lawmakers should raise the debt ceiling anyway. Then they should make a pot of coffee and go back to hammering out a debt-reduction plan.

Fiscal responsibility isn't a one-off proposition; it's an ongoing process.

If Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling by Aug. 2 -- the day when the Treasury Department estimates it will no longer be able to pay all the country's bills -- any number of damaging and utterly preventable scenarios could occur.

Deadbeat nation: For starters, the United States would look ridiculous. The debt ceiling needs to be raised because of obligations that Congresses past and present chose to incur.

Not raising the ceiling would signal to the world that Americans are willfully choosing not to pay their bills. The message won't be "We can't pay." It will be "We could pay, but we've decided not to. Sorry."

Market mayhem: To date, investors have been trading on the assumption -- the rock-solid belief, actually -- that there is just no way Congress would fail to raise the debt ceiling in time.

If Congress dashes those expectations, no one can know exactly how the markets will react. But most think markets will react, and not well.

Some bond experts expect that contrary to popular belief, Treasury rates won't rise but stocks may tank. In other words, there will be a move out of risk-based assets and a flight to safety in bonds.

Bond experts to Congress: Don't mess it up

So interest rates may stay low, but Americans' investments get whacked.

Or, Treasury yields could become volatile and start to climb as investors smell political instability in Washington. That would push the cost of U.S. debt higher.

Hopping mad republic: If Treasury is technically and legally able to prioritize the payment of interest to bond investors, the country may avoid the kind of default that would trigger rating downgrades.

A growing number of lawmakers say that it's OK not to raise the debt ceiling as long as Treasury continues to make payments to bondholders.

But that doesn't mean there wouldn't be seriously negative consequences.

"Someone -- perhaps millions of someones -- won't be paid on time. Contractors, federal workers, program beneficiaries, or state and local governments will suddenly find themselves short on their cash flow," former Congressional Budget Office Donald Marron wrote in a recent op-ed in the Christian Science Monitor.

That could hurt the economy, which is still trying to find its sea legs, and won't do much for the country's mood.

Damaged reputation: Even if bond investors continue to be paid, investors and credit rating agencies won't take it lightly when Treasury has to delay payments to others.

Such delayed payments -- and the public anger that would result -- could cause investors to worry that even if they're getting paid today, tomorrow may be another story. And they could trade on that concern, even if it's unfounded. That, in turn, could cause interest rates to rise.

Fitch Ratings Agency said it would put the country on "Ratings Watch Negative" in such a scenario.

"Extensive payment arrears to suppliers of goods and services to the government ... would damage perceptions of U.S. sovereign creditworthiness and signal growing financial distress," the agency said in a recent report.

The S&P already has already downgraded its credit outlook on the United States to "negative" from "stable." And Moody's is considering doing the same.

Downright default: This is the very worst and still least likely of outcomes, because most believe that there's no way the U.S. government would not pay its bondholders.

But if they don't raise the ceiling, lawmakers would raise the chance that those bondholders don't get paid over time.

Debt ceiling: What you need to know

That could theoretically happen if the Treasury a) is somehow not able to prioritize payments to bondholders; or b) has to pay out more to bondholders than it has coming in on any given day.

On some days Treasury brings in more money than it has to pay out. And on some days it doesn't. But on average, the United States comes up short by about $125 billion every month.

To cut that much spending or raise that much extra in tax revenue overnight would hobble the U.S. economy and very likely de-stabilize world markets.

A U.S. default would be catastrophic, influential bond investor Mohamed El-Erian said Sunday on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS."

His advice to Congress? Raise the ceiling, even if you can't complete a debt-reduction deal in time.

"If ... you're going to kick the can down the road, kick the can rather than face something that could be catastrophic in terms of legal contracts being triggered," said El-Erian, CEO of PIMCO

Stocks don't need (or want) more stimulus

The Federal Reserve is winding down its $600 billion bond buying stimulus that helped fuel an eight-month stock rally, and experts say stocks are ready to take back the reins.

They don't need or want any more stimulus, say strategists surveyed by CNNMoney.

Even though stocks have retreated about 7% since the start of May, most market strategists say the pullback is temporary, and are calling for the S&P 500 to rise more than 7% during the second half.

That means the S&P 500 would end 2011 with double-digit gains ... at a fresh 3-year high. All of that without any additional stimulus.

"The Fed should stop. They've done more than enough already," said Matt King, chief investment officer at Bell Investment Advisors. "Any further stimulus only increases the long-term risk of inflation, which we already view as high."

A stormy year for stocks

What's more, some went so far to say that the Fed's stimulus program, known as quantitative easing or QE2, was "a failure."

"It weakened the dollar and stuck the economy with higher food and energy prices," said Donald Selkin, chief market strategist at National Securities, adding that those factors are to blame for the recent pullback in consumer spending and slowdown in economic growth.

CNNMoney survey: Where the markets are headed

Rather than another round of monetary stimulus, experts say policymakers need to focus their goals on righting the nation's fiscal ship to keep the market and economy on track.

"The Fed should move to the sidelines until Congress acts to extend the debt ceiling and addresses a budget deficit package," said Marc Pado, chief investment strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald.

Without Fed intervention, Congress may also be more inclined to address tax policies that are keeping record amounts of corporate cash abroad, experts said.

If Congress were to enact some sort of repatriation tax holiday, it could bring some of that money back to the United States, which would spur business spending and lead to more job creation.

"The Fed needs to pass the baton to the next runner in this relay race and that is business spending," said Burt White, chief investment officer at LPL Financial. "It is time for businesses to spend and hire, which will move the baton later to the anchor runner, the consumer."

Inflation & possible RBI rate hike

Share investors are likely to cheer the increase in fuel prices that is expected to improve India's deteriorating finances, partly weighed down by fuel subsidies and demonstrate the government's commitment towards reforms. But this optimism is unlikely to translate into gains for stocks as the much-awaited decision on diesel and cooking gas prices will add to inflationary pressures in the short-term and may prompt the central bank to increase rates further.

"It is a bold move by the government after a long time and investors will like it," said Motilal Oswal, chairman & managing director, Motilal Oswal Financial Services . "While the move is inflationary in short term, the market has more or less discounted it, but a lot will depend on the monetary policy reaction," he said.

On June 16, the Reserve Bank of India raised key rates for the tenth time since March 2010 and is widely expected to tighten the screws further in July.

Focus to be on Europe, Crude Oil

Investors fear more rate increases would be excessive and would delay the economy's ability to bounce back once inflation settles around the central bank's comfort level of 6%. India's wholesale price inflation jumped to 9.06% in May. Fund managers expect inflation to accelerate to over 10% over the next few weeks as higher fuel prices would increase transportation costs of food.

In the longer run, most economists say, the higher price of diesel will encourage more rational use of the fuel and benefit the wider economy. "The increase in diesel and LPG prices may have an effect on inflation in the short term and in turn worry the market, but the move is beneficial for the economy and long-term investors will be happy," said Aneesh Srivastava, chief investment officer, IDBI Federal Life Insurance.

Brokers said the focus this week will continue to remain on the debt situation in Europe and the direction of crude oil prices. Benchmark Indian share indices - Sensex and Nifty - rose almost 3% on Friday, as foreign investors bought shares worth Rs 890 crore after global crude oil slid, Europe pledged to rescue Greece, and China hinted that it may be nearing the end of monetary tightening.

In the past few months, the perception of a government in disarray has gained ground as it has increasingly given the impression of being unable to deal with a blizzard of scams and agitations by groups claiming to represent civil society.

A widely-followed CEO poll carried out by industry body Ficci and published by ET in its edition dated June 13 reported that a majority of respondents expected little of the Congress-led UPA government. The price hikes may help reshape the impression of haplessness. Late on Friday, the government raised diesel rates by Rs 3, LPG by Rs 50 per cylinder and kerosene by Rs 2 per litre.

In May, the government had increased petrol prices by Rs 5 per litre. The government last increased prices of diesel and cooking gas on June 26 last year, despite global crude strengthening since then. "If all petro product prices are passed on properly, markets will bottom in the next three months and recover significantly thereafter because growth is still there," said Sankaran Naren, chief investment officer, ICICI Prudential Asset Management.

OMCS TO BENEFIT

Shares of oil marketing companies may surge on Monday as the government's decision to increase petroleum product prices will help trim losses that they incur from subsidised sale of oil and cooking gas. Brokers said the step has brought cheer to investors in these companies as they expected a lesser increase in diesel prices and none in kerosene and cooking gas.

Though the three oil marketing companies - Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) - together will still incur revenue losses from fuel subsidies of Rs 121,000 crore this year, the increase in product prices will reduce their monthly borrowings and improve cash flows.

"Shares of oil marketing companies will rise this week not because the petro price increases will bring these companies back into profits, but that there were very little expectations from the government," said the investment head of a mutual fund owned by a public sector bank. "Also, their valuations are almost at rock bottom because these stocks have hardly seen any movement," he said.

Shares of BPCL and IOC have fallen about 4% so far in 2011 against the 10% fall in the Sensex during the period. HPCL shares, which surged 6% on Friday, have been unchanged since January. BPCL and IOC gained almost 3% each on Friday ahead of the meeting of the government representatives to decide on the prices. Oil marketing companies buy crude at international prices, but sell diesel, kerosene and LPG at subsidised prices fixed by the government.

The government compensates them through a mix of cash subsidies and discounts from oil exploration and production companies, including Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India. Shares of ONGC and Oil India could also rise on Monday as their share of the overall subsidies will drop after the price increases. "Outlook of upstream companies have been clouded by the ad hoc nature of the subsidy-sharing formula. Lack of concrete subsidy-sharing mechanism has resulted in earnings/valuations of upstream companies being contingent upon government directives," said Enam Securities, in a note prior to the rise in prices.

"Probably inevitable" a country will exit euro: George Soros

Billionaire investor George Soros thinks a country will eventually exit the euro zone and urged policymakers on Sunday to come up with a "plan B" that could rescue the European Union from looming economic collapse.

Soros, famous for making $1 billion by betting against the British pound in 1992, did not name any country he thought might exit the currency, but speculation is mounting about the fate of Greece as its politicians struggle to agree more austerity measures demanded by international lenders as the price for staving off bankruptcy.

Soros reiterated his view in a panel discussion in Vienna that the euro had a basic flaw from the start in that the currency was not backed by political union or a joint treasury.

"The euro had no provision for correction. There was no arrangement for any country leaving the euro, which in the current circumstances is probably inevitable," he said.

While he called survival of the European Union a "vital interest to all," he said the EU needed structural changes to halt a process of disintegration.

"There is no plan B at the moment. That is why the authorities are sticking to the status quo and insisting on preserving the existing arrangements instead of recognizing there are fundamental flaws that need to be corrected."

With a debt crisis in some peripheral members testing the EU's cohesiveness at a time of popular disquiet in wealthier countries over bailouts, he said leaders had to adopt measures now to remedy the situation.

"Let's face it: we are on the verge of an economic collapse which starts, let's say, in Greece but could easily spread. The financial system remains extremely vulnerable...

"We are on the edge of collapse and that is the time to recognize the need for change."

Some steps the EU could adopt included creating a larger central budget; directing some of the income from value-added tax or a levy on financial transactions to Brussels; having a European institution guarantee banks, and tripling the size of its bailout fund by topping it up with tax revenue, he said.

Distrust of Government Impedes Reform in Greece

Demonstrators projected the word across the facade of Parliament last week, and it underscored the hurdle that Prime Minister George Papandreou faces in selling an increasingly resentful electorate on a tough new round of austerity measures: “Thieves.”

Most Greeks say they have little confidence in a political class that they see as corrupt and unaccountable. A recent study by Transparency International in Greece found that 9 out of 10 Greeks believed that their politicians were corrupt, and 80 percent said that Parliament had lost credibility.

“We’re here because we have lost confidence in the present political system, which has brought us to the edge,” Christos Siveris, 35, said last week as he waved a Greek flag outside Parliament during a crucial confidence vote, which Mr. Papandreou won. “This is our Thermopylae,” he added, referring to the ancient battle in which an outnumbered army of Greek warriors held out against a Persian force before ultimately succumbing.

This week Mr. Papandreou will seek parliamentary approval for an austerity package that was agreed on Thursday with European officials and the International Monetary Fund. He is expected to succeed, despite tensions within his Socialist Party and in the face of intransigence from the center-right opposition, which was in power when Greece’s debt soared.

But as the crisis extends into a second year, a growing number of Greeks are turning a critical eye on their own government. They are questioning why members of Parliament have immunity from prosecution unless Parliament votes to lift it, and they want to see more transparency and accountability in party financing.

And having faced across-the-board wage and pension cuts, they have come to question why the lawmakers have benefits that include state cars, generous double pensions (from the government and their own professional guilds), bonuses for attending committee meetings on top of their $8,500-a-month salaries, and personal staff who are widely perceived to attend to a tradition of providing favors in exchange for votes.

In recent years, a number of former officials from both the conservative New Democracy and the Socialist Parties have been implicated in a range of corruption scandals. In one episode, which occurred when New Democracy was in power, the government approved a highly complex land swap in which a Greek Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos received prime, state-owned real estate in exchange for much less valuable land in a rural area. But to date, no officials have been charged with wrongdoing.

Such scandals “add to the frustration and the popular perception that they’re crooks,” said Costas Bakouris, the president of Transparency International’s Greek branch.

Aggravating that perception, the legislators have immunity from prosecution unless the full Parliament votes to lift it, something that has happened only 17 times out of the hundreds of requests since democracy was restored in 1974 after a military dictatorship. Even after they leave office, former lawmakers can be prosecuted only during the parliamentary session in which they are accused of breaking the law and the subsequent session.

In addition to the austerity votes, Parliament is expected to vote this week on whether to broaden an investigation into Akis Tsochatzopoulos, a former defense minister from the Socialist Party who is accused of corruption in the Greek Navy’s procurement of German submarines.

Greece’s Skai television and the related Kathimerini newspaper reported that Mr. Tsochatzopoulos had been living in one of Athens’s most exclusive areas in an apartment purchased from an offshore company. To many here, the case has come to represent everything they consider wrong about the political system, not least because as a former government minister, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos is immune from prosecution. He denies wrongdoing.

In a rare move and an acknowledgment of public sentiment, the two main parties have proposed that his immunity be lifted so that he can be prosecuted.

In another high-profile case, a former Socialist Party transport minister was charged with money-laundering this year after he admitted that he received several hundred thousand dollars from a Greek subsidiary of Siemens.

This month, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a lawmaker from the New Democracy Party and the son of a former prime minister, caused a stir when he proposed reducing Parliament to 200 members from 300; eliminating double pensions, special payments for serving on committees and immunity for government ministers and lawmakers; and opening up the books on party finances.

“It was received extremely well by the average person on the street, but not so well by my colleagues,” said Mr. Mitsotakis, a Harvard-educated former venture capitalist who is clearly positioning himself as the “new” New Democracy, not least because he has criticized his party’s near total opposition to the austerity measures. (Although he, too, said he planned to vote against them.)

“We have a fundamental trust problem in Greece. We asked people to make huge sacrifices that we’re not willing to make,” he said of his colleagues. “There’s something wrong with that.”

In a nod to the growing popular outrage, Mr. Papandreou said in a speech last week that he would form a committee to look at reducing the number of Parliament members and to abolish the law protecting members from prosecution, although it remains to be seen whether he has the political capital to carry out the constitutional changes those moves would entail.

But other analysts believe that anger at the political class is deeper than the government has acknowledged and will not be easily assuaged. In Syntagma Square each night, Greeks from across the political spectrum have gathered to air their grievances. This collaboration of right and left is new in a country that endured both a civil war after World War II and a military dictatorship from 1967 to 1974.

“That’s unique for Greece,” said Nikos Alivizatos, a constitutional lawyer. “I’m not sure the politicians are conscious of that.”

USA Economic growth still weak

The U.S. economy was a little stronger than originally believed but still struggling in the first three months of the year, according to the government's final reading on the first quarter.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic activity, grew at an annual rate of 1.9% in the quarter, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

That's up from the previous estimate of 1.8%. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast no change from the prior reading.

But growth of 1.9% is still disappointingly weak, and there is widespread concern that the economy has slowed even more since the end of March. Hiring ground to a near halt in May and consumer spending and manufacturing slowed.

New economic stimulus: lower oil prices

Bernanke said Wednesday he believed that some of the current weakness in the economy is due to temporary factors, such as the spike in oil prices following political turmoil in the Middle East and supply chain disruptions caused by the Japanese earthquake.

But he admitted he couldn't say how much of the weakness is due to those temporary factors and how much are more serious, longer-lasting issues such as consumers still struggling with too much debt and continued weakness in housing.

Economists said Friday's report leaves that key question still unanswered.

"We are not yet prepared to write-off a solid second half economic performance, particularly if the labor market regains momentum next quarter," wrote Carl Riccadonna, senior U.S. economist for Deutsche Bank.

"In the near term, it will be critical to determine if economic output in general and factory output in particular are stabilizing as the supply disruptions ease, and also if households and small businesses respond swiftly to lower gas prices."

John Silvia, chief economist with Wells Fargo Securities, also said he's still hopeful that the economy could rebound in the second half of the year.

But with growth so weak, he's worried that the economy would be vulnerable to any other shocks that might occur, such as a default of Greek sovereign debt, a new oil price spike due to more political turmoil in the Middle East or a U.S. government shutdown due to the debate over raising the debt ceiling.

"You can't get a shock to the system and walk away from that," he said.

A rebound is a best case scenario, Silvia added. But it's been a while since the economy enjoyed a best case scenario. Economic growth of 3% or better is generally considered necessary to spur the level of hiring by employers needed to make a big dent in the unemployment rate. The U.S. economy typically grows at a 3.6% rate during an economic expansion.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve significantly cut its economic growth forecasts, and raised its unemployment and inflation estimates for the rest of this year as well as for 2012. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said he was frustrated by the fact that declines in unemployment will be slow and painful.

Another drag on growth in the first half of the year was a jump in the price of food and energy, which sapped consumers' ability to spend more on other goods.

Since the GDP reading is adjusted for inflation, higher prices means the economy has to grow faster just to keep pace with inflation.

Many economists have been cutting their forecasts for growth in the second quarter and the rest of 2011.

A CNNMoney survey earlier this month found that top economists are forecasting growth of just 2.3% in the second quarter, which is down from estimates of 3% only a month earlier.

Economists also see a greater risk of another recession, although they still believe that's a long-shot.

"Recent data suggests that the economy has slowed further since the first quarter, and some leading indicators are pointing to softness in the latter half of the year as well," said Jim Baird, chief investment strategist for Plante Moran Financial Advisors.

Is U.S. Economy like Greece?

EW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Deficit hawks often cite Greece's debt nightmare as a cautionary tale for the United States.

But is the United States really like Greece?

The differences between the countries, after all, give the United States some built-in advantages when it comes to managing its debt.

The U.S. economy? Gargantuan. Greece's economy? Tiny.

Plus, the United States' earning capacity is greater since it has a more diverse economy than Greece does, said Barry Anderson, who used to run a budgeting and public expenditures division at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The pain of Greece's crisis

There are also big differences in the countries' currencies.

The dollar is the world's reserve currency and is managed by a single government.

The euro, by contrast, is used by 15 sovereign countries. Therefore, Greece's monetary policy is set not according to Greece's needs but by the needs of stronger economies -- especially Germany -- that prefer higher interest rates as a bulwark against inflation.

The OECD, meanwhile, estimates that U.S. net debt will reach 75% of the country's economy this year. That number includes federal, state and local debt but excludes debt owed to government trust funds such as Social Security.

Greece's debt, by contrast, will be around 125%.

"The real fundamental similarity is trend. Both [countries' fiscal situations] are bad and getting worse," Anderson said.

That's because both the United States and Greece have aging populations and mature economies that aren't likely to grow as much as they have in the past.

Simply assuming that the United States will remain forever immune from the perils of too much debt is not a winning strategy, deficit hawks warn.

Of course, that's a hard case to make when investors embrace Treasuries every time they get spooked by turmoil in Europe. Events in Greece in recent days have driven the 10-year Treasury yield below 3%.

In other words, the United States continues to get the benefit of being a "safe haven" compared to the rest of the world.

But experts believe that investors won't always give Americans the benefit of the doubt.

"The markets do react late, but when they react they react pretty sharply," said Carlos Cottarelli, director of fiscal affairs at the International Monetary Fund, during a Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget conference this week.

A little over a year ago, investors' fears that Greece would ever default were considerably lower than they are today. So it's not surprising that the yield on 10-year Greek bonds is now pushing 18%, up from 6% at the start of 2010, according to Bloomberg markets data.

But even if U.S. rates don't rise soon -- and some say they won't because investors fear slower economic growth -- that doesn't mean markets can't find other ways to hurt the United States, Anderson said.

Investors might choose to punish the dollar if they start to believe Congress doesn't have the political will to do what's required to put the U.S. budget on a more sustainable track.

And a substantially weaker dollar would have all sorts of negative repercussions, including a possible credit downgrade from ratings agencies, said Michael Pond, managing director of fixed income strategy at Barclays Capital, at the CRFB conference.

The bottom line: The U.S. is not Greece in many ways. But it's also not immune from the punishing effects of debt.