Financial Transparency Coalition

PARIS – Greece’s ambitious programme to tackle its economic crisis can succeed in rebuilding growth, jobs and living standards if the reforms are fully implemented, according to a new OECD report.

One of the main problems underlying the current crisis in the Eurozone is that the conditions set out in the Maastricht Treaty which lay the economic foundation of the zone are not congruent with the criteria needed to form an optimum currency area. The criteria under the Maastricht Treaty namely are (i) a rate of inflation no more than 1.5 percentage points higher than the average of three EU members with the lowest inflation rates (ii) a ratio of the annual government deficit to GDP not to exceed 3% at the end of the preceding fiscal year or...

Reposted from the TJN blog: Sometimes a picture speaks more clearly than words can. Now, courtesy of something that FT Alphaville has just pointed out, we bring you this: Look at all those jurisdictions inside the black circle. All secrecy jurisdictions, except for France and Germany. Widen the circle a little, and look at the

Though Ireland is the European country headlining this week with words like “DEFAULT” and “CONTAGION” looming overhead, let’s not forget that the flames have not yet been completely doused on Greece. To prevent the country from defaulting on its debt, this May the International Monetary Fund and the European Union promised to provide Greece with a €110 billion rescue package. But in the terms of this agreement, Greece was to meet certain deficit goals: including reducing the budget deficit to 7.6% of GDP (earlier this year the IMF estimated the Greek deficit was 8.6 percent in 2009,...