Greece, not all doom and gloom it would seem

I came across one story today which may surprise some people.  Surprise, if only because we don't expect to read anything about Greece which isn't doom and gloom at the moment.  Many might not know that recently the Greek stock market has been mounting a bit of a comeback.

From the Daily Wealth.

One month ago, we challenged readers with a question… Is Greece better off today than it was four months ago? 

We may have our answer... Yesterday, the Greek stock market challenged its high for the year.

The Athens General Share Index (ATG) is now 22% higher than where it started 2012. And it's up 73% since bottoming just four months ago.

The financial press might write headlines about a crushing debt load, 60% unemployment, and rioting in the streets. But when it comes to Greece, this chart might be the biggest story of the year...

http://www.dailywealth.com/

I also came across this on Bloomberg.

Individual Greek investors accounted for 40 percent of trading in the nation’s stocks during September, the highest level for the month since at least 2007, according to Athens Exchange Chairman Socrates Lazaridis.

“In 2012, we’ve seen an increase in the participation of local investors in trading activity,” Lazaridis said in an interview at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters yesterday. “It is the first time that local investors have shown more activity than international investors. Confidence starts from the local community.”

The ASE has surged 74 percent since its 2012 low on June 5 and has posted the third-biggest gain out of 24 developed market benchmark gauges this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The measure is still 84 percent below its 2007 peak. 

Foreign investors haven't totally deserted Greece either.

Foreign investors owned 50 percent of the market value of stocks listed on the Athens Stock Exchange last month, according to Lazaridis in the interview.

“What is also important is to see that foreign investors did not abandon the Greek market,” he said. “Some foreign investors left, but there were some new investors who came in.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-09/stock-trading-among-greek-individuals-climbs-to-five-year-high.html

The fact is that if Greece does turn things around, even if it takes years as it surely will, don't expect to read anything about it in the mainstream news until it is well under way. Don't expect to read anything about it from "alternative" web based news sources either, as it may well not fit in with their way of looking at the world. Doom and gloom sells, but the world and markets have a habit of not exactly running to script and coming to an end.