Greece shocks IMF by holding back €300m June 4, 2015 The standoff between Greece and its creditors intensified last night when the embattled Mediterranean state refused to cough up €300m (£218m) owed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The payment, due today, is one of several instalments in June which Athens now says it will bundle into one transfer at the end of the month. [...]
As the Greek saga continues, can only fiscal integration secure the Eurozone’s future? June 4, 2015 Lydia Prieg, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, says Yes Greater fiscal union is the only sustainable solution for the Eurozone. Without coordinated redistribution, some countries are enjoying artificially low exchange and interest rates. This boosts exports and growth. Other countries have inappropriately high exchange and interest rates, which hinder exports and growth. [...]
Greece delays €300m IMF payment until the end of the month June 4, 2015 Greece has informed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it plans to bundle its June debt repayments into one payment of €1.5bn due on 30 June. Originally, the Greek government had a €300m payment to the IMF on Friday. However, Green has announced that it will bundle this, along three other payments, into one at [...]
European markets fall on Greece jitters ahead of IMF payment deadline June 4, 2015 European markets opened lower this morning after last-minute talks between European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras failed to reach a conclusion ahead of a crucial deadline on Friday. The FTSE 100 was down 0.84 per cent in early morning trading, while Germany's Dax fell 0.68 per [...]
Greece deal to cut primary budget surplus target as Tsipras and Juncker have crunch talks June 4, 2015 As Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Junker prepare for last-minute crisis talks, European leaders have finally caved on one of the most crucial sticking points in crisis talks, after it was reported Tsipras, Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande had reached an agreement on cutting targets for Greece's primary budget surplus [...]
Has Greek brinkmanship in debt negotiations damaged its position in the single currency? June 2, 2015 Konstantinos Venetis, an economist at Lombard Street Research, says Yes Taking negotiations down to the wire in the hope of preventing a “Gr-accident” has actually brought one closer. Greece’s state coffers dried up, the banking system suffered severe strain, and the economy relapsed into recession. Confidence is low and elevated uncertainty has increased the risk [...]
Dijsselbloem: Greece deal is not theoretically possible this week June 2, 2015 Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem has poured cold water on optimism over a deal on Greece, saying it's "not theoretically possible this week". Read more: Greek crisis complacency has big risks Greece must be "honest with voters", he added. Earlier, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sent the euro to a three-week high , saying he [...]
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras offers a “realistic” agreement to creditors June 2, 2015 After months of unpromising talks between Greece and its international creditors, could a bailout agreement finally be in view? Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras said today he had submitted a “realistic plan” for Greece to exit its current economic crisis, which includes a number of concessions, although the details are not yet known. Read [...]
Leaders in late night Greek debt talks fail to break deal deadlock June 1, 2015 German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other high-ranking officials met in Berlin late last night to discuss the prospect of a deal for Greece. The country faces a slew of hefty payments in the coming weeks and a real prospect of defaulting on its debt if it is unable to secure a reforms-for-cash deal with creditors [...]
Greek crisis complacency has big risks – CNBC Comment June 1, 2015 Would you believe that 14 weeks have already passed since the Greek bailout extension deal was agreed? That’s about 2,352 hours of twists and turns, reform talks, rumours and misinformation. No wonder most analysts and investors admit to being bored. But is that boredom breeding complacency, and can investors dare to hope that this week [...]