Free Republic

Hedge fund manager Marc Mezvinsky had friends in high places when he bet big on a Greek economic recovery, but even the keen interest of his mother-in-law, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, wasn't enough to spare him and his investors from financial tragedy. In 2012, Mezvinski, the husband of Chelsea Clinton, created a $325 million basket of offshore funds under the Eaglevale Partners banner through a special arrangement with investment bank Goldman Sachs. The funds have lost tens of millions of dollars predicting that bailouts of the Greek banking system would pump up the value of the country’s distressed bonds....

In 2012, Mezvinski, the husband of Chelsea Clinton, created a $325 million basket of offshore funds under the Eaglevale Partners banner through a special arrangement with investment bank Goldman Sachs. The funds have lost tens of millions of dollars predicting that bailouts of the Greek banking system would pump up the value of the country’s distressed bonds. One fund, exclusively dedicated to Greek debt, suffered near-total losses. Clinton stepped down as secretary of state in 2013 to run for president. But newly released emails from 2012 show that she and Clinton Foundation consultant, Sidney Blumenthal, shared classified information about how...

Discussion on the Greek bailout and implications for the EEC

Finance ministers from the euro zone were meeting in Brussels on Friday expecting to give their final blessing to lending Greece up to 85.5 billion euros after parliament in Athens agreed to stiff conditions overnight. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, long the most powerful skeptic on the merits of giving Greece a third bailout to keep it in the EU's common currency area, voiced optimism as the meeting began that it would end with an accord that will give Athens the funds needed to meet a loan repayment next week. However, some issues still need to be ironed out following...

The Greek boss learns a few lessons about economics as he makes his rounds, on the very eve of the election… As a minor mob boss in the south, Greco had had some serious setbacks. His operation was crumbling around him, and he didn’t know what to do. Deep in hock to the big Mob Bosses in Brussels, Greco had gone back to the well for renegotiations again and again, and neither his bosses nor his grubber list seemed to understand his situation at all. No compassion, no understanding. What was the world coming to? But it was Saturday, and...

Why I Won't Support More Bailouts Insolvency must be purged from Europe's system and it must be done openly and honestly. When I had the honor of leading the True Finn Party to electoral victory in April, we made a solemn promise to oppose the so-called bailouts of euro-zone member states. These bailouts are patently bad for Europe, bad for Finland and bad for the countries that have been forced to accept them. Europe is suffering from the economic gangrene of insolvency—both public and private. And unless we amputate that which cannot be saved, we risk poisoning the whole body....

Finland's eurosceptic True Finns party said on Monday it was sticking to its pre-election stance that it cannot support Portugal's bailout package. We cannot with good conscience support Portugal's package nor the creation of permanent bailout mechanism. Neither do we approve the hike of Finland's guarantees in the temporary stability mechanism," the party said on Monday as its formal answer to Jyrki Katainen, the leader of National Coalition party, who is leading the talks to form the country's new coalition government." As has been reported previously, absent Finnish approval, the European rescue is virtually halted in its tracks, and means...

Potentially interesting development here. Germany may pursue some action against Goldman Sachs (GS) relating to the CDOs itself to a German bank. Remember, Germany already has hostility towards the company due to its apparent role in helping Greece hide its debt in order to gain entry into the EU. With Merkel on the ropes a bit due ot the Greek bailout, going after Goldman would probably be a smart political move.

... Here in Germany, opinion surveys show that two-thirds of the people oppose financial assistance for Greece. More ominously, a survey released Sunday by the newspaper Bild showed that a slight majority of Germans, 53 percent, said they favored expelling Greece from the euro group entirely if its mountain of debt threatened the stability of the currency union. “Every country has its own debts,” said Kristin Lautenschläger, 70, a retiree in Berlin who said she opposed spending German money to save Greece. “Germany is no longer such a rich country anymore, and has its own problems to deal with before...

... BERLIN (Reuters) - A majority of Germans want debt-ridden Greece to be thrown out of the euro zone if necessary and more than two-thirds oppose handing Athens billions of euros in credit, a poll published on Sunday showed. Vocal opposition to aid for Greece from members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition also grew at the weekend with several senior politicians expressing skepticism, especially as Germany's own recovery is fragile. The Emnid poll for Bild am Sonntag newspaper showed 53 percent of Germans asked said the European Union should, if necessary, expel Greece from the euro zone. Athens has struggled...

BERLIN (Reuters) - A majority of Germans want debt-ridden Greece to be thrown out of the euro zone if necessary and more than two-thirds oppose handing Athens billions of euros in credit, a poll published on Sunday showed. Vocal opposition to aid for Greece from members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition also grew at the weekend with several senior politicians expressing skepticism, especially as Germany's own recovery is fragile. The Emnid poll for Bild am Sonntag newspaper showed 53 percent of Germans asked said the European Union should, if necessary, expel Greece from the euro zone. Athens has struggled to...