Greece referendum: Greek banks prepare to trim clients’ savings as fears circulate ATMs could run out of cash next week July 4, 2015 Greece’s banks are preparing the ground for a haircut of deposits over €8,000 in a raid to prevent collapse. According to the Financial Times, sources in the sector said the trimming would be at a rate of “at least 30 per cent” of all deposits above the €8,000 mark, and that such a scenario was [...]
Greek referendum: “What they are doing to Greece is terrorism” says Yanis Varoufakis July 4, 2015 Yanis Varoufakis has injected some more colour into the rhetoric surrounding the Greek referendum tomorrow, labelling the country’s creditors as “terrorists”. Speaking to Spain’s centre-right El Mundo newspaper, Greece’s finance minister was blunt: "What they’re doing with Greece has a name: terrorism." When pushed on whether he would stand by this definition, he continued: It’s [...]
Greek court rejects referendum appeal July 3, 2015 A court in Greece has rejected an appeal against the referendum on whether or not to accept creditors' bailout conditions, due to be held on Sunday. Two Greeks citizens appealed against the referendum, saying the country's constitution prevents votes on fiscal issues. Critics have also complained that with capital controls in place, many inhabitants of [...]
Greek referendum: European markets dip as court prepares to rule on referendum July 3, 2015 European markets closed down today as Greek court prepared to rule on the legality of Sunday's referendum on creditors' bailout conditions. Read more: Even pro-Europeans admit the Greek crisis has been disastrous for the EU The FTSE 100 closed down 0.67 per cent, while Germany's Dax closed down 0.37 per cent and France's Cac was 0.57 [...]
Grexit: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras tells voters to reject “blackmail and ultimatums” July 3, 2015 Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has urged Greeks to vote against the terms being offered by its creditors in the referendum this weekend, saying it would be to reject "blackmail and ultimatums". The referendum, which takes place on Sunday, looks to be a close-run thing, with a recent poll suggesting a marginal lead for the [...]
IoD on Grexit: Three quarters of business leaders think Greece will leave the euro July 3, 2015 Three quarters of business leaders think Greece will leave the euro within the year, a study by the Institute of Directors (IoD) has suggested. Read more: Even pro-Europeans admit the Greek crisis has been disastrous for the EU Of the rest, only two per cent think it's "very unlikely" – suggesting UK businesses are bracing themselves [...]
IMF: Greece needs debt reduction due to poor recent governance July 2, 2015 One of Greece’s official creditors has acknowledged that the country needs debt relief, but only due to the choices of its current leadership elected in January. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday that Greece would need more than €50bn (£36bn) in financing by the end of 2018, as well as a doubling in the length [...]
Even pro-Europeans admit the Greek crisis has been disastrous for the EU July 2, 2015 There is a growing gap between the way the Greek crisis is seen in the Eurozone and the way it is seen across the rest of the world. Everyone agrees that Greece is a poorly governed country and that Syriza has played a poor hand badly. But whereas many Eurozone policy-makers appear sanguine about the [...]
How Greece could pull fragile Europe back into recession July 2, 2015 European stocks began the week with losses of 4 per cent or more, a clear sign that investors are concerned about the news from Greece. Talks of a referendum, liquidity issues and bank closures mean that the next few days will be a transformational moment in the 60 year project of building a unified Europe. [...]
Everybody loves Wolfgang Schäuble: The German finance minister is more popular than ever with the general public July 2, 2015 While Yanis Varoufakis is threatening to quit his job if the Greeks accept creditors' proposals for a bailout deal in Sunday's referendum, one Eurozone finance minister is building stronger ties than ever with his country. Read more: Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis: "We will not accept a one per cent primary budget surplus" Today, [...]