Political turmoil in Greece raises fears over Eurozone exit
(15 May 2012) Athens, Greece 1. Low shot of Greek flag 2. Wide interior of Hellenic stock exchange 3. Mid of stock exchange plaque 4. Various of electronic stock price monitors and electronic ticker Frankfurt, Germany 5. Various of Frankfurt stock exchange workers at their desks 6. Mid of monitor showing market index movements 7. SOUNDBITE (German) Robert Halver, head of Market Research at Baader Bank: "The finance ministers can count to 3. They know that you cannot rush the decision and say the Greeks are leaving (the eurozone). It is important to be aware of the possible repercussions and to take preventive measures. They have to buy some time. There will have to be a lot of talks with Hollande, Merkel and the other heads of government and then, in early fall (autumn), you can say: now we are prepared, now we can let the Greeks go in a controlled fashion and under a mutual agreement." 8. Various stock market interiors STORYLINE: Seeking to end a nine-day deadlock, Greece's president is due to meet with five political party leaders on Tuesday in an effort to form a new government as the crisis-hit EU state battles ongoing recession. No party won an outright majority in Greece's May 6 election, leading to an impasse that has shaken financial markets around the world and led to questions about Greece's ability to stay in the 17-nation eurozone. European markets took a break from Greece-related concerns on Tuesday, while shares on the Athens Stock Exchange recovered slightly from days of heavy losses, gaining 0.48 percent at 586.84 after EU finance ministers voiced strong support for Greece's continued eurozone membership. New growth figures released on Tuesday revealed the extent of Greece's ongoing crisis, adding urgency to the coalition talks as an extended deadlock would trigger fresh elections. The country's economic output slowed by 6.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012, compared with the first three months of 2011, according to the Greek Statistical Authority. Europe dodged one bullet on Tuesday however as figures showed the economy of the 17 countries that use the euro narrowly avoiding recession in the first quarter of the year, largely due to the powerhouse economy of Germany. European shares largely got a lift after data showed Germany's economy grew 0.5 percent in the first quarter of 2012 due to strong exports. That helped Britain's FTSE 100, which rose 0.2 percent to 5,475.11. Germany's DAX was marginally higher at 6,453.48 and France's CAC-40 added 0.3 percent to 3,067.79. Though Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, revealed that the eurozone posted flat output in the first quarter as against expectations of a 0.2 percent decline, there are growing concerns that the months ahead will be as difficult as any the currency union has faced since its creation in 1999. The political turmoil in Greece has ratcheted up fears of a disorderly debt default that could lead to the country's exit from the single currency and ensuing contagion to bigger economies, such as Spain or Italy - a potentially disastrous chain of events for the eurozone economy. However German analyst Robert Halver, head of Market Research at the Baader Bank, said on Tuesday he believes European leaders will continue to stand by Greece, for the meantime at least. "The finance ministers can count to 3. They know that you cannot rush the decision and say the Greeks are leaving," he said in Frankfurt on Tuesday, referring to a possible euro exit. Kickstarting economic growth was a central plank of Hollande's electoral platform, not just in France but across Europe as a whole. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
