Page 2 - Greece Crisis

Greece and creditors 'close' to deal on third bailout

Greece and its creditors were to continue talks today after marathon discussions late into the night, with both sides indicating that the terms of a third bailout were close to being finalised. The finance and economy ministers, Euclid Tsakalotos and Giorgos Stathakis, were back at the negotiating table with the ECB, the International Monetary Fund and the European Stability Mechanism at 2:00 pm (1100 GMT) Sunday and were still talking eight hours later. They are finalising the draft of a crucial new bailout of up to 86 billion euros (USD 94 billion) in exchange for further reforms before the debt-ridden country must repay 3.4 billion euros to the European Central Bank on August 20. Talks were going well and could be wrapped up tomorrow, an EU source told AFP, adding that discussions had narrowed down the list of priority actions that Athens must commit to. "We need to have an agreement here on Tuesday and all the parties are working towards it," the source added. A speedy accord

Greece seeks resolution to aid deal

The indebted nation needs a quick release of about Euro 20 billion to create a buffer for its banks and to make loan payments

Greece hopes to seal bailout deal next week

Athens is negotiating with EU institutions and IMF for up to Euro 86 billion in fresh loans to stave off economic collapse and stay in the euro zone

Progress in Greek bailout talks, deal possible next week

Greece is on track to complete a draft deal on a third bailout by Tuesday and possibly get a first disbursement by Aug. 20 to meet a key payment, sources familiar with a conference call of senior EU finance officials late on Friday said.

Kenneth Rogoff: A new deal for debt overhangs?

Europe's experience ought to spur a full rethink of the global system for administering sovereign bankruptcies

Greece in 'final stretch' for deal with creditors: PM

Greece is in the "final stretch" of talks for a deal with creditors on a new bailout, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said today as Athens faces another daunting debt deadline in two weeks. "We are in the final stretch to conclude an agreement with the institutions," Tsipras said in televised remarks. "Despite the difficulties, we hope this agreement can end uncertainty over the future of Greece and the eurozone," he added. Greece needs a deal that will unlock bailout funds by August 20, when it must repay some 3.4 billion euros (USD 3.7 billion) due to the European Central Bank. The Greek economy is also suffering from the effects of capital controls imposed last month to avert a bank run, a procedure that has badly disrupted trade. The Athens stock exchange, which opened with a record drop on Monday after a five-week shutdown, was shedding 4.23 per cent in afternoon trade today. Bank shares have been the hardest hit, trading near the maximum allowed drop of 30 per cent for three

Greek stock market tumbles after 5-week shutdown

Greece's stock market fell sharply on Monday after being shut down for five weeks under capital controls imposed by the government in Athens to stop a flight of euros from the country.

Greek bailout talks with auditors begin

Senior EU-IMF auditors has held their first meetings with Greek ministers to finalise a new three-year bailout as the Athens stock market prepares to reopen after being shut down for over a month by the debt crisis. Greece's main stock exchange in Athens will resume operations, which were halted on June 26 as the crisis-hit government imposed capital controls, on Monday, a finance ministry source told AFP. Meanwhile as the bailout talks got under way, the International Monetary Fund set its terms saying it would only join a "comprehensive" financial rescue programme that included debt relief and economic reforms. "In order to ensure medium-term sustainability, there is a need for difficult decisions on both sides... Difficult decisions in Greece regarding reforms, and difficult decisions among Greece's European partners about debt relief," a senior IMF official said. The European Union agreed that this position was "fully compatible" with its own agenda on a Greek bailout, which ..

Denials fly in war of nerves over Greek debt talks

Conflicting statements and denials flew between Athens and Brussels on Tuesday in a war of nerves highlighting the depth of mutual mistrust over a new round of negotiations on an 86 billion euro bailout that started this week.

Barry Eichengreen, Peter T Allen & Gary Evans: Escaping the Greek debt trap

Greece and the EU should contractually link changes in the terms of the country's EU loans to milestones in structural reform. There is precedent for this kind of arrrangement - with Poland in 1991

Tsipras under pressure over covert Syriza drachma plan

Around a quarter of the party's 149 lawmakers rebelled over the plan to pass sweeping austerity measures in exchange for up to Euro 86 billion in fresh loans

IMF confirms receiving Greek request for new loan

Energy Minister Panos Skourletis said Greece will look to alternatives to privatising its power grid operator

Greece loosens capital restrictions on businesses

Greece started loosening restrictions on foreign transfers by businesses on Friday, unblocking imports held up after the country introduced capital controls last month.

"Grexit" struggle tests Germany's power duo

On July 17th, her 61st birthday, Angela Merkel stepped to the podium in the Bundestag and urged German lawmakers to approve a new round of bailout negotiations with Greece, warning of "chaos and violence" if Athens were pushed out of the euro zone.

On reform, Europe asks Greece to go where many fear to tread

Greece's new bail-out deal imposes a stiff dose of budget rigour and market deregulation which critics say few leaders of Western Europe's biggest nations have dared serve their own voters.

Greek PM Tsipras rallies Syriza backing before bailout vote

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras tried to rally his Syriza party on Tuesday before a vote in parliament on the second package of measures demanded by international creditors to open talks on a new bailout deal.

William Pesek: Lessons for Europe from Asia's crisis

Things will end badly for the euro zone if Greece doesn't address its underlying problems. The country cannot hope to remain competitive or relevant by defending the status quo. Asia's experience is proof that denial and ill-timed austerity fix nothing

Greece submits bill needed to start rescue talks

The Greek government submitted legislation to parliament on Tuesday required by its international lenders to start talks on a multi-billion euro rescue package.

Greek govt has 'no intention' of calling early election

Greece's government has "no intention" of calling early elections while in the throes of finalising a deal with its eurozone partners on a new bailout, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has said. "Elections are not useful at the moment and the government has no intention of organising any," spokeswoman Olga Gerovassili told state news agency ANA. "The goal is to finalise the deal (with Europe) and restore normality and stability," she said. Tsipras was dealt a blow by his own camp during last week's parliamentary vote on the first batch of austerity measures demanded by lenders in return for a new 82-billion-euro rescue package. Around one fifth of Syriza lawmakers, including three ministers, rejected the deal -- leaving Tsipras relying on opposition support to push through the unpopular reforms. He faces another test tomorrow when a second batch of measures, relating to banking and justice, are put to a vote. Tsipras has himself expressed serious misgivings over ..

Warren Buffett, Johnny Depp buy Greek islands

US tycoon Warren Buffett and Hollywood actor Johnny Depp are the latest adds to a long line of wealthy businessmen and stars who have purchased Greek islands, the London-based real estate firm Proto Organization Ltd said.