28 May, 2010

Greece: the knot tightens


From Associated Press (hat-tip Ian Martin of the WSJ)


“Greece’s biggest phone company says it accidentally cut off the prime minister’s home line in a mix-up over an unpaid bill the day the country faced a crucial debt repayment deadline. OTE telecoms says George Papandreou was left without a home landline for three days on May 19-21 after an employee mistyped a digit when cutting another subscriber’s line over debts. An OTE statement said Wednesday the mistake was not immediately noticed. It said the company chairman wrote to Mr. Papandreou over the incident.

On May 19, Greece repaid an expiring 10-year bond worth €8.5 billion ($10.48 billion) - using the first installment of a €110 billion rescue package from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. There was a general strike the next day.”

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