Crisis shuts down Athens stores

The debt crisis and ensuing recession plaguing Greece have driven about 15 percent of businesses in Athens to the wall, a study released by a leading trader association said on Monday. The research, taking into account over 3,400 shops in both affluent and low-income districts, recorded an average failure rate of 14.8 percent, the national confederation of Greek commerce (ESEE) said.
The situation is exceptionally dire in the centre of the capital - which is also routinely blocked by street protests - where between 20 and 25 percent of shops are locked up, ESEE said. "Greek retail has been going through a strong crash test for a year," ESEE chairman Vassilis Korkidis said in a statement. "The additional collapse of economic activity threatens the survival of businesses and imposes major pressure on employment," Korkidis said.
Greece is in the grip of a growing recession exacerbated by draconian austerity measures adopted by the government as it battles a debt crisis that recently forced the country to request a massive bailout loan from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. The economy is expected to contract by four percent this year and by an additional 2.5 percent in 2011 while prices are expected to increase by 4.75 percent by the end of 2010, EU and IMF experts monitoring Greece's reforms said last week.