AWARDS

Greece's parliament has voted to accept substantial economic reforms needed before the country can receive a fresh bailout worth as much as $96 billion.

The heavily indebted country needs the bailout money to avoid bankruptcy and a 'Grexit' from the euro, but the reforms are extremely unpopular.

Many Greeks resent that European lenders are imposing such harsh, strict reforms on their pension and tax systems.

For months, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his Syriza party rallied against the reforms. But Tsipras was forced to accept them as the country tottered on the brink of bankruptcy.

Greece's parliament formally approved the following measures:

- Reform the tax code to raise additional revenue for the government. This will include raising sales taxes on restaurant meals and other items to 23% and eliminating tax discounts on popular Greek islands.

- Overhaul the pension system, which will include setting the standard retirement age at 67 to discourage people from retiring early.

- Safeguard the independence of the nation's statistics agency, the institution responsible for data tracking the nation's debt and economic growth.

- Implement rules to meet budget targets, which could require additional spending cuts.

Greek parliamentarians debated late into the night as protesters waited outside.

The IMF had participated in the previous Greek bailouts, but is not directly lending money to Greece this time around after the country defaulted on two IMF debt payments over the last three weeks.

Eurozone nations, along with the European Central Bank and the IMF, have already loaned Greece roughly 233 billion euros ($255 billion) in rescue financing since 2010.

They are unwilling to lend Greece any more money without promises that it will get its financial house in order. 

Ask us about our FREE financial advice program: 

Other Top Stories:

Will Twitter's Share Crash?

Technical Analysis Lesson 1 - Introduction

How I Made Over $30,000 a Year by Investing in Binary Options

Follow us and SHARE this story on Facebook:   

Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister, is preparing for a make-or-break parliamentary vote over the austerity measures Athens must take in exchange for a fresh bailout from its eurozone partners.

Just hours before the vote, Tsipras suffered a blow with the loss of a key minister, Nadia Valavani. The deputy finance minister resigned, saying it was “impossible” for her to keep serving in the Tsipras government given the austerity measures he had agreed to. She warned the nation faced a “crushing” capitulation at the hands of its creditors in Brussels.

Tsipras must keep the number of rebels within his own party below 40, in order to pass the measures required as part of the controversial rescue package agreed after marathon talks over the weekend.

Athens parliament will vote tonight on the bailout plan demanded by creditors, which the International Monetary Fund has just savaged.

The deal – which includes austerity measures tougher than those overwhelmingly rejected by the Greek public in a referendum this month – has come under fresh fire, after the International Monetary Fund published a highly critical paper calling for large-scale debt relief for the stricken country.

The IMF’s “debt sustainability analysis”, which was published by the Washington-based lender after parts of it were leaked to the media, suggested Greece may need a 30-year moratorium on repayments; or a substantial “haircut” – a partial write-off of its debts.

Greece is already in arrears to the IMF, and the emergence of the paper raised doubts whether the Washington-based lender would be willing to contribute to another Greek bailout.

Ask us about our FREE financial advice program: 

Other Top Stories:

Will Twitter's Share Crash?

Technical Analysis Lesson 1 - Introduction

How I Made Over $30,000 a Year by Investing in Binary Options

Follow us and SHARE this story on Facebook:   

After a decade long dispute, Iran and world powers reached a historic deal early Tuesday for Tehran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the easing of economic sanctions.

Tehran has been negotiating with the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China for years, after extending deadline after deadline in hopes of arriving at a workable plan.

President Barack Obama said the deal ensures that "Iran's pathway to a nuclear weapon" has been cut off.

"Today… we have stopped the spread of nuclear weapons in this region," he said in an early-morning televised statement.

His remarks appeared aimed at reassuring close U.S. allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia, who have vehemently opposed a deal and insisted Iran cannot be trusted with a nuclear program of any kind.

Obama said that if Iran violates the terms of the agreement, sanctions will be snapped back into place.

The deal is "not built on trust," he explained. "It is built on verification."

The U.S. president spoke after Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif called the agreement a "historic moment" and a "win-win solution" with the potential to usher in a "new chapter of hope" in relations.

"We are reaching an agreement that is not perfect for anybody but it is what we could accomplish and it is an important achievement for all of us," he said early Tuesday. "Today could have been the end of hope on this issue but now we are starting a new chapter of hope."

"It's not only a deal," Federica Mogherini said at a press conference formally announcing the accord. "It's a good deal."

The comprehensive agreement — which runs more than 80 pages — was clinched after marathon overnight negotiations in Vienna.

It involves limiting Iran's nuclear production for 10 years and Tehran's access to nuclear fuel and equipment for 15 years in return for hundreds of millions of dollars in sanctions relief. However, the sanctions would not be lifted until Iran proves to the International Atomic Energy Agency that it has met its obligations under the terms of the deal.

The agreement includes the provision of a "snap back" mechanism that could lead to the reinstatement of sanctions within 65 days if Iran violates the terms of the deal, according to officials.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed Iran also has signed a roadmap with his organization to clarify outstanding issues.

"This is a significant step forward," Yukiya Amano told reporters.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the agreement was a testament to "the value of dialogue."

"I hope — and indeed believe — that this agreement will lead to greater mutual understanding and cooperation on the many serious security challenges in the Middle East," he said in a statement. "As such it could serve as a vital contribution to peace and stability both in the region and beyond."

Ask us about our FREE financial advice program: 

Other Top Stories:

Will Twitter's Share Crash?

Technical Analysis Lesson 1 - Introduction

How I Made Over $30,000 a Year by Investing in Binary Options

Follow us and SHARE this story on Facebook:   

Euro zone leaders clinched a deal with Greece on Monday to negotiate a third bailout to keep the near-bankrupt country in the euro zone after all-night talks at an emergency summit.

However, the terms imposed by international lenders led by Germany may put more pressure on leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, fracture the government and cause an outcry in Greece.

If the summit had failed, Greece would have been staring into an economic abyss with its shuttered banks on the brink of collapse and the prospect of having to print a parallel currency and in time, exit the European monetary union.

"The agreement was laborious, but it has been concluded. There is no Grexit," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told a news conference after 17 hours of bargaining.

He dismissed suggestions that Tsipras had been humiliated by accepting far-reaching, German-inspired terms he long promised to resist.

"In this compromise, there are no winners and no losers," Juncker said. "I don't think the Greek people have been humiliated, nor that the other Europeans have lost face. It is a typical European arrangement."

Tsipras himself, elected five months ago to end five years of suffocating austerity, insisted he and his team "fought a tough battle" but had to make difficult decisions.

Instead, he won conditional agreement to receive a possible 86 billion euros ($95.29 billion) over three years, along with an assurance that euro zone finance ministers would start within hours discussing ways to bridge a funding gap for Greece until a bailout - subject to parliamentary approvals - is finally ready.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she could recommend "with full confidence" that the Bundestag authorise the opening of loan negotiations with Athens once the Greek parliament has approved the entire programme and enacted the first laws.

Asked whether the tough conditions imposed on a desperate Greece were not similar to the 1919 Versailles treaty that forced crushing reparations on a defeated Germany after World War One, she said: "I won't take part in historical comparisons, especially when I didn't make them myself."

EU officials said Tsipras finally accepted a compromise on German-led demands for the sequestration of Greek state assets worth 50 billion euros - including recapitalised banks - in a trust fund beyond government reach, to be sold off primarily to pay down debt. In a gesture to Greece, some 12.5 billion euros of the proceeds would go to investment in Greece, Merkel said.

Ask us about our FREE financial advice program: 

Other Top Stories:

Will Twitter's Share Crash?

Technical Analysis Lesson 1 - Introduction

How I Made Over $30,000 a Year by Investing in Binary Options

Follow us and SHARE this story on Facebook: