Greece Is Stuck With the Euro, and Vice Versa

APR 29, 2015 12:01 AM EDT

Bloomberg

By The Editors

“…Changing currencies is no small matter. It requires organization on a military scale, from both elected officials and civil servants. Neither group, to put it kindly, has shown that degree of competence. A lasting recovery would require precisely the kind of fiscal discipline and structural reforms that Tsipras is resisting.

…”

Greece prepares reform bill, lenders seek concessions

Wed Apr 29, 2015 6:39pm EDT Related: WORLD, GREECE

ATHENS/BRUSSELS | BY RENEE MALTEZOU AND JAN STRUPCZEWSKI(Reuters) - Euro zone officials sought to wring policy concessions from Greece on Wednesday to unlock urgently needed aid after Athens said it would present a list of reforms for legislation to show it is serious about implementing its promises.

The draft bill was not expected to include major novelties beyond measures already discussed with EU and IMF lenders, but Athens is hoping it will speed up slow-moving talks and permit at least an initial deal to ease its searing cash crunch.

Eurogroup's Dijsselbloem says Greece will not make it without aid

Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:58am EDT Related: WORLD, GREECE

AMSTERDAM | BY TOBY STERLING AND THOMAS ESCRITT

(Reuters) - The head of the Eurogroup said on Tuesday that a recent shakeup of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' negotiating team would not by itself resolve the impasse between Greece and its creditors, and Athens would need new loans to stay afloat.

The fast and the slow route to a ‘Grexit’

Published: Apr 28, 2015 5:09 a.m. ET

By SARA SJOLIN

MARKETS REPORTER

With the risk of Greece running out of cash looming larger by the day, investors are grappling with a key question — what are the consequences of a Greek default?

The fallout really depends on which bond, loan or interest the government fails to repay and to whom, leaving open an array of default scenarios, as UBS sketches out in a note published on Monday. The worst-case outcome has widely been described as a “Grexit”, shorthand for Greece leaving the eurozone, and according to the UBS economists there is a fast and slow path to exit.

Greece's finance minister (Sent off)

The Economist

Yanis Varoufakis is pushed out of the Eurogroup negotiations

Apr 28th 2015 | ATHENS | Europe

AT LAST, Greece may be about to step back from a potentially disastrous default. The sudden demotion of Yanis Varoufakis, the argumentative finance minister, suggests a last-minute policy switch by Alexis Tsipras, the Greece's left-wing prime minister—one which could re-invigorate fractious bail-out negotiations with the country's international creditors. A deal would unlock €7.2 billion ($7.9 billion) of much-needed bail-out aid. The government is already struggling to pay pensions and state subsidies for April (it has scratched together enough money for salaries) and has strong-armed local authorities to hand over €2 billion of spare cash to cover payments until mid-May. Without an agreement with its European creditors and the IMF, Greece faces a near-certain default in June.

BlackRock Sells Euro Bonds

Fund manager taking advantage of cheap borrowing costs, thanks to ECB’s quantitative-easing program

 The Wall Street Journal

By JOSIE COX

Updated April 28, 2015 3:00 p.m. ET

BlackRock Inc. has sold euro-denominated bonds for the first time ever, joining a wave of U.S. firms that have already taken advantage of rock-bottom borrowing costs in the region, thanks to the European Central Bank’s massive quantitative-easing program.

The New York-based fund manager, which has close to $5 trillion in assets under management, met with investors in several European cities last week and started marketing the new bonds in early European trade Tuesday.

Greece hopes keep euro near 3-week high vs stalling dollar

Tue Apr 28, 2015 4:07am EDT

LONDON | BY JEMIMA KELLY

(Reuters) - The euro hovered near a three-week peak on Tuesday, boosted by renewed hopes that cash-strapped Greece could secure extra funding and as the dollar remained weak ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that starts later in the day.

The euro rose late on Monday on news that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had reshuffled his team handling talks with European and IMF lenders. The move was widely seen as an effort to reduce embattled Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis's role in the negotiations.

Uncertainty Over Impact of a Default by Greece

By LANDON THOMAS Jr.

APRIL 27, 2015

The New York Times

When it comes to assessing the consequences of a messy Greek default on global markets, two views have vied for supremacy in the minds of investors.

First, there was the chaos theory of imploding European banks and a spreading bond market panic. Then, after aggressive action from the European Central Bank, a calamity in Greece — be it a default or an exit from the euro — came to be seen as manageable. Investors, hungry for yield, in turn piled into European stocks and bonds.

Greece Says It Is Changing Team That Negotiates With Creditors

By NIKI KITSANTONIS
APRIL 27, 2015

The New York Times

ATHENS — The Greek government on Monday announced a shake-up of its team negotiating with international creditors after the country’s finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, came under fierce criticism from his eurozone peers last week over a lack of progress in the talks.

The move comes as Greece’s finances are running perilously low, fueling speculation about the country’s defaulting on its debt and possibly being forced to leave the eurozone.

LONDON | BY NIGEL STEPHENSON

Mon Apr 27, 2015 4:40am EDT

(Reuters) - World shares hit a new high on Monday, led by China, though the global rally faded in Europe as investors looked ahead to central bank meetings in the United States and worried over Greece.

The dollar edged up but held close to Friday's 2 1/2-week lows, after weak U.S. data on Friday reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve would not raise interest rates any time soon.

3 Tough Choices for ECB on Greece

APR 27, 2015 2:00 AM EDT

By Mohamed A. El-Erian

Bloombergview

As another meeting of euro area finance ministers ended in acrimony Friday, the focus this week will turn to the resumption of -- it is to be hoped -- more constructive technical discussions between Greece and its European partners. Yet the most potentially decisive discussions will be taking place in a different venue: Decision makers at the European Central Bank’s will hold their weekly consideration of how much “emergency liquidity” they should extend to Greek banks and on what terms.

Greece debt talks to resume after Tsipras, Merkel call

AFP

APR. 26, 2015, 4:14 PM

Business Insider

Athens (AFP) - Athens will resume talks with its creditors Monday, a Greek government source said, after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spoke on the phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Speaking on Sunday, the two leaders "expressed their willingness to establish stable communication throughout the negotiations, in order to quickly reach an agreement that is good for both sides," the source said.

Greece’s Day of Reckoning Inches Closer as Payments Loomby Nikos Chrysoloras

12:01 AM EEST

April 27, 2015

Bloomberg

Greece is struggling to amass cash to pay its pensioners and employees this week, as the country and its creditors resume efforts to break the deadlock in bailout talks.

Europe’s most-indebted state is counting on deposits of local governments, cities and other funds to meet end-of month payments of over 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) after euro area finance ministers on Friday said they won’t disburse more aid until bailout terms are met. That may further strain liquidity buffers at banks, after households and companies withdrew almost 1.3 billion euros in savings last week, according to a person who’s not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The Rumble in Riga: How the EU Lost Patience With Varoufakis

by Radoslav TomekAlessandro SpecialeKarl Stagno Navarra

3:11 PM EEST

April 26, 2015

Bloomberg

When Yanis Varoufakis warned his fellow euro-area finance chiefs of the dangers of pushing his government in Athens too far, Peter Kazimir snapped.

Kazimir, Slovakia’s finance minister, launched a volley of criticism at his Greek counterpart, releasing months of pent-up frustrations among the group at the political novice. They’d had enough of what they called the economics professor’s lecturing style and his failure to make good on his pledges.

If Greece falls, no one wants their prints on the murder weapon

Sun Apr 26, 2015 4:08am EDT

BRUSSELS | BY PAUL TAYLOR

(Reuters) - "We're going bust." "No, you're not." "You're strangling us." "No we're not." "You owe us for World War Two." "We gave already."

The game of chicken between Greece and its international creditors is turning into a vicious blame game as Athens lurches closer to bankruptcy with no cash-for-reform agreement in sight.

Europe's political leaders and central bankers and Greek politicians agree on only one thing: if Greece goes down, they don't want their fingerprints on the murder weapon.

Greece’s finance minister

Absent professor

The immovable Yanis Varoufakis

Apr 25th 2015 | ATHENS |

The Economist

ALMOST every recent Greek finance minister has been an Athens university economics professor moonlighting as a politician. Yanis Varoufakis is no exception. But unlike his predecessors, Mr Varoufakis has become a global celebrity, to the annoyance of many in Syriza, the leftist party in power. To his critics, Mr Varoufakis’s lifestyle—riding a powerful motorbike, spending evenings in chic bars and weekends at a smart island villa belonging to his wife—is embarrassingly close to that of the rich Greeks he castigates for avoiding taxes by stashing cash abroad.

Eurozone Finance Ministers Contemplate ‘Plan B’ for Greece

Statements by Slovenia and German finance ministers break long-held taboo over possible exit of Greece from eurozone

By GABRIELE STEINHAUSER

April 25, 2015 8:08 a.m. ET

The Wall Street Journal

RIGA, Latvia—Some eurozone finance ministers on Saturday acknowledged for the first time that they are considering plans on what to do if no deal on Greece’s future financing can be reached by the end of June.

The statements by the finance ministers of Slovenia and Germany break a long-held taboo during eurozone crisis talks, where policy makers have been insisting that they are entirely focused on keeping Greece in the currency union with the help of more bailout loans. Yet, with the country’s existing €240 billion ($261 billion) bailout deal expiring at the end of June, and technical discussions on future support all but stuck despite big debt repayments looming in July and August, some politicians are starting to look at alternative scenarios.

Greece, lenders must reach deal by early May, Deputy PM tells paper

Sat Apr 25, 2015 2:25pm EDT Related: GREECE

ATHENS

(Reuters) - Greece and its lenders must reach a reform deal by early May to address Greece's need for cash, Deputy Prime Minister Yannis Dragasakis said in an interview with a Greek newspaper published on Saturday.

Shut out of international markets and locked in talks with its European Union and International Monetary Fund creditors over its proposed reform-for-cash deal, Greece risks running out of cash within weeks. But euro zone finance ministers warned its leftist government on Friday that it would get no fresh aid until it agrees to a complete economic reform plan.

Germany hints at preparations of a Plan B on Greece

RIGA | BY TOM KÖRKEMEIER

 Sat Apr 25, 2015 8:41am EDT Related: GREECE

(Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble hinted on Saturday that Berlin was preparing for a possible Greek default, drawing a parallel with the secrecy of German reunification plans in 1989.

Varoufakis Chided as EU Shuts Down Shortcut Bid for Aid

by Ian WishartCorina RuheKarl Stagno Navarra

12:52 PM EEST

April 24, 2015

Euro-area finance ministers hurled abuse at Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis behind closed doors as they shut down his bid to find a shortcut to releasing financial aid.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch chairman of the euro-zone finance chiefs’ group, categorically ruled out making a partial aid payment in exchange for a narrower program of reforms after a stormy meeting in Riga, Latvia, in which Varoufakis was heavily criticized by his euro-area colleagues over his failure to deliver economic reforms.

Euro-area finance chiefs said Varoufakis’s handling of the talks was irresponsible and accused him of being a time-waster, a gambler and an amateur, a person familiar with the conversations said, asking not to be named because the discussions were private.

EU Frustration Mounts as Greeks Try to Bypass Aid Process

by Ian WishartRainer Buergin

10:37 AM EEST

April 24, 2015

Euro-area finance ministers voiced their frustration with Greece after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras tried to bypass their veto on financial aid with an appeal to Angela Merkel.

With Greece running out of money and stalling over commitments to reform, euro-zone finance chiefs meeting in Riga, Latvia, Friday said the country’s authorities still haven’t shown sufficient progress on plans to revamp the economy to justify a loan payout.

Greeks Are Trapped in Financial Vise

by Ben Sills

2:01 AM EEST

April 24, 2015

Bloomberg

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-23/greeks-trapped-in-financial-vise-as-euro-region-turns-the-screws

As Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras follows an increasingly perilous financial path, his antagonists are just sitting tight.

Finance ministers from the euro region discuss in Riga on Friday where to go from here as talks on more rescue money for Greece enter a fourth month. Frustrated after fruitless calls on Tsipras to tackle his country’s problems, creditors can only withhold the support that would allow him to shield Greeks from financial reality while keeping the country in the currency.

“This is the next stage of the negotiation,” said James Nixon, chief European economist at Oxford Economics in London. “They’ll see how the political situation develops in Greece if they apply the thumbscrews.”

Greek finance minister tells magazine: Grexit no bluff if more austerity imposed

Markets | Thu Apr 23, 2015 3:39pm EDT Related: WORLD, GREECE

PARIS

(Reuters) - The risk that Greece would have to leave the euro if it has to accept more austerity is no bluff, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis told a French magazine, saying that no one could predict what the consequences of such an exit would be.

In a conversation with philosopher Jon Elster conducted at the end of March and published in France's Philosophie Magazine, Varoufakis, a specialist in game theory, said this was not the time to bluff over Greece's debt talks.

"We cannot bluff anymore. When I say that we'll end up leaving the euro, if we have to accept more unsustainable austerity, this is no bluff," Varoufakis is quoted as saying.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for a speeding up of work to conclude a reform-for-cash deal with euro zone creditors to keep his country afloat after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday.

The leftist Greek premier met the conservative German leader a day before euro zone finance ministers meet in Riga to review progress - or the lack of it - in slow-moving negotiations between Athens and its international lenders.

The Greek government has insisted it will remain a euro zone member, and its currency bloc partners have said they want it to stay.

However, in contrast to the height of the debt crisis in 2012, when Grexit fears spurred panic selling of other weak euro zone sovereigns, investors now seem relaxed about the fate of Greece, which accounts for just 2 percent of the region's economy.

Asked what would happen if Greece was to leave the euro, Varoufakis mentioned comments made by European policymakers who say any contagion effect could be avoided and added that, on the contrary, he believed the consequences would be unpredictable. ‎

"Anyone who pretends they know what would happen the day we'll be pushed over the cliff is talking nonsense and is working against Europe," he said.

(Reporting by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Merkel: must prevent Greece running out of cash before deal

Markets | Thu Apr 23, 2015 5:58pm EDT Related: WORLD, GREECE

BRUSSELS | BY PAUL TAYLOR

(Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday everything must be done to prevent Greece running out of money before it reaches a cash-for-reform deal with its international creditors, amid heightened concern that Athens is nearing the brink.

Merkel, Europe's pre-eminent leader, was speaking after a meeting she called "constructive" with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on the sidelines of a European Union summit in Brussels. She said they had agreed to keep the contents of their discussion confidential.

On the Gredge

The Economist

A Greek exit from the euro may soon become inevitable

Apr 25th 2015

EVENTUALLY every long-running drama, from “Downton Abbey” to “Dr Who”, feels formulaic. So it is with Greece’s debt saga. For five years it has followed a wearily familiar script of unpayable debts, aborted reforms and 11th-hour compromises that let the country stagger on inside the single currency. That history has lulled many into expecting the usual denouement in the latest wrangling between Greece’s Syriza government and its European creditors. But this is looking ever less likely. Unless Syriza suddenly capitulates—and a meeting of euro-zone finance ministers on April 24th is one of its last chances to do so—Greece will fail to pay its creditors. If that happens, its exit from the euro will be just a step away.

Greece won't present reform list at Riga, top Eurogroup official says

Wed Apr 22, 2015 4:35am EDT Related: GREECE

VIENNA

(Reuters) - Greece will not present a list of economic reforms to euro zone finance ministers on Friday, a senior EU official said, adding the country should be able to stay solvent until June.

Thomas Wieser, who heads the Eurogroup Working Group that prepares the decisions for the ministers' meetings, said Greece would in any case need to provide the list in the coming month.

Why Greece May Be the New Lehman

Here we go again. This time it’s Europe’s fault, and the crisis could be worse than last time, at least politically.

By BILL EMMOTT

April 22, 2015

POLITICO

Remember when in 2008 Hank Paulson’s U.S. Treasury Department decided to let Lehman Brothers go down, pour encourager les autres, and then found that it brought les autres crashing down too? Well, Germany and the other euro-zone members are now trying to repeat that brilliant trick with Greece. If you were looking for where the next big financial meltdown might begin, you need look no further. Chances are, it is about to happen in Europe.

Opinion: The ‘Grexit’ issue and the problem of free trade

Published: Apr 22, 2015 10:55 a.m. ET

Market Watch

By

GEORGE

FRIEDMAN

The Greek crisis is moving toward a climax.

The issue is actually quite simple. The Greek government owes a great deal of money to European institutions and the International Monetary Fund. It has accumulated this debt over time, but it has become increasingly difficult for Greece to meet its payments. If Greece doesn’t meet these payments, the IMF and European institutions have said they will not extend any more loans to Greece. Greece must make a calculation. If it pays the loans on time and receives additional funding, will it be better off than not paying the loans and being cut off from more?

Europe's Collision Course With Greece

17 APR 22, 2015 2:00 AM EDT

By Clive Crook

Bloomberg

The brinkmanship over Greece and its debts continues. A meeting of finance ministers in Riga on Friday is likely to pass, like many previous make-or-break moments, without resolution. The European Union isn't deviating, and neither is Athens. Before much longer, though, something really will have to give -- and it seems ever more probable that, when it does, the news will be bad.

Επικοινωνία και Αλήθεια.

Φοβάμαι ότι όλα όσα προβάλει η κυβέρνηση για να υπερασπίσει το έργο της, δεν είναι επικοινωνιακή μαεστρία. Πιστεύουν στ' αλήθεια στον ΣΥΡΙΖΑ, ότι υπάρχει σχέδιο για την υποταγή της κυβέρνησης, ότι οι Ευρωπαίοι είναι συνεννοημένοι εχθροί και θα στραγγαλίσουν την Αριστερά και ότι η ντόπια ολιγαρχία έχει βάλει το χεράκι της. Το τέλος αυτού του δρόμου οδηγεί στην Δραχμή. Εκτός κι αν περιμένουν να νικήσουν όταν θα είναι ετοιμοθάνατη η οικονομία μετά από τα δανεικά που θα έχει πληρώσει η χώρα συν τρέχουσες δαπάνες του κράτους (μισθοί συντάξεις κλπ). Θα υποχωρήσουν σίγουρα οι Ευρωπαίοι; Το Ευρώ μπορεί να κινδυνεύσει και με την παραμονή της Ελλάδας, αν αυτή γίνει με τους όρους του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ. Τότε μάλιστα εκτός από το Ευρώ θα κινδυνεύσουν και οι συντηρητικές κυβερνήσεις που σήμερα καλούνται να δεχθούν την εκταμίευση της τελευταίας δόσης. Μήπως ο στρατηγικός στόχος του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ είναι, οι υπόλοιπες ευρωπαϊκές κυβερνήσεις να διακινδυνεύσουν την τύχη του Ευρώ και να αυτοκτονήσουν πολιτικά δίνοντας στον ΣΥΡΙΖΑ τα 7,2 δις της τελευταίας δόσης; Όσο για τον κίνδυνο μετάδοσης της κρίσης στην παγκόσμια οικονομία, αυτό σίγουρα θα κινητοποιούσε τις μεγάλες οικονομίες του πλανήτη για να παρέμβουν προς όφελος ενός συμβιβασμού έστω κι αν κάτι τέτοιο θα έβλαπτε πολιτικά κάποιες Ευρωπαϊκές κυβερνήσεις. Και πράγματι (όπως και το 2010) οι ΗΠΑ έπαιξαν αυτό τον ρόλο. Τι έκανε η κυβέρνηση για να επενδύσει σε αυτή την ωφέλιμη στάση των ΗΠΑ; Αποφάσισε ότι η Ελλάδα δεν εκβιάζεται, δεν γονατίζει και απελευθερώνει τον Σ Ξηρό! Ο καλόπιστος πολίτης δεν μπορεί να μην αναρωτηθεί πως αυτό εξυπηρετεί την διαπραγμάτευση και τα συμφέροντα της χώρας. Η αλήθεια είναι πως δεν τα εξυπηρετεί. Η αλήθεια είναι ότι η διαπραγμάτευση του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ δεν εξυπηρετεί κανένα εθνικό συμφέρον. Τα μέτρα που ζητάνε οι δανειστές έχουν κόστος 2-3 δις. Η δόση είναι 7,2 δις. Έχουμε χάσει το 25% του ΑΕΠ μας. Είχαμε άλλα 2-3 δις μέτρα την στιγμή ακριβώς που άρχιζε η οικονομία να αναπτύσσεται η ανεργία να πέφτει, τα κόκκινα δάνεια να μειώνονται. Όταν κάποιος που μόλις ανάρρωσε από ίωση ξαναρρωστήσει κινδυνεύει με πνευμονία. Αυτό παθαίνει η χώρα σήμερα. Βιώνουμε τα πρώτα συμπτώματα. Οι μαέστροι του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ να έχουν υπ’ όψιν τους ότι τα επικοινωνιακά τους χαρίσματα δεν θα βοηθήσουν σε τίποτε όταν η χώρα συντριβεί, γιατί ακριβώς εκεί την πάνε. Αυτοί που τους πιστέψανε δεν είναι μαέστροι και αυτό που θα κρατάνε δεν θα είναι μπαγκέτα…

On Greece, Europe Bluffs Itself

How different is Greece really from France, Italy and Spain?

The Wall Street Journal

By HOLMAN W. JENKINS, JR.

April 21, 2015 7:31 p.m. ET

Greece’s new leader and his ministers are behaving like fools in their debt showdown with the European union. So claims much of the punditry and you won’t find an argument here. They’ve taunted Germany about war reparations, threatened to open their borders to jihadists trying to enter Europe and cozied up to Vladimir Putin.

They also haven’t presented a compelling alternative plan for Greece’s recovery because, as socialists, they must oppose many things that would do the Greek economy long-term good, such as privatization and deregulation. “There will not be the slightest privatization in the country, particularly of strategic sectors of the economy,” says a key member of the government.

Let Greece Stumble Out of the Euro

34 APR 20, 2015 11:19 AM EDT

By Mark Gilbert

Bloomberg 

As the weeks since the Greek election have rolled into months, the government elected in January seems no closer to resolving the dichotomy between its anti-austerity inclinations and the reforms its creditors demand as the cost of handing over more money. Today's news that the government has seized the cash of the nation's local governments, citing "extremely urgent and unforeseen needs," suggests the money really is running out. And none of the likely scenarios for what happens next seems compatible with Greece staying in the euro.

Greece's fate hangs in balance amid contagion fear

Holly Ellyatt   | @HollyEllyatt

20-4-2015

 CNBC

As negotiations between Greece and its international lenders drag on, and the country's much-needed financial aid hangs in the balance, euro zone finance ministers told CNBC that the outcome of ongoing discussions was uncertain.

This tiny European state may trigger a Grexit

Dhara Ranasinghe       | @DharaCNBC

20-4-2015

CNBC

Finland's rigid stance over euro zone bailouts could become even more hardline after the weekend's election, in what would be a further blow to beleaguered Greece as it tries to avert a default.

A parliamentary election on Sunday in the small, northern euro zone state was won by the opposition Centre Party's Juha Sipila.

Euro Area Seeks Greece Roadmap to May Agreement

 Bloomberg

by Rebecca Christie

12:21 AM EEST

April 20, 2015

Greece needs to show euro-area nations what it could deliver by mid-May to unlock new aid payments and avoid default, the European commissioner in charge of euro matters said.

Finance ministry deputies will hold a conference call April 22, followed by the April 24 meeting of ministers from the currency bloc. The gathering in Riga, Latvia’s capital, is a chance to lay out a path to a May agreement, European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said in an interview in Washington.

Notes on Greece

 APRIL 19, 2015 5:05 AM

The New York Times

By Paul Krugman

OK, that was intense. I’ll write more about my visit, but right now (from Frankfurt, where I’m laying over for a couple of hours) I want to make a data point. about just how much adjustment Greece has done.

Greece wants EU/IMF deal but impasse could bring referendum: deputy PM

Sat Apr 18, 2015 10:57pm EDT Related: WORLD, GREECE

ATHENS

(Reuters) - Greece aims for a deal with its creditors over a reforms package but will not retreat from its red lines, the country's deputy prime minister told the Sunday newspaper To Vima, not ruling out a referendum or early polls if talks reach an impasse.

Greece Remains Defiant as Creditors Step Up Pressure for a Deal

Apr 19, 2015 3:23 PM EEST

Bloomberg

Greece said it won’t renege on election pledges to end austerity measures as creditors pressed for a compromise to free financing and avert a widening crisis.

U.S. President Barack Obama and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi both called on the Greek government to do more to resolve the standoff amid depleting cash reserves. Greek officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Yannis Dragasakis, stood their ground.

Draghi Says Urgent Need for Greece to Strike Bailout Deal

by Stefan RiecherMark Deen

8:06 PM EEST

April 18, 2015

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi urged Greece to work quickly toward an agreement with its creditors to curb a deepening financial crisis and quash doubts over its membership of the euro.

Even as he warned investors against dumping the single currency, Draghi said Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s government must do “much more work” to show it can satisfy the terms of its 240 billion-euro ($259 billion) bailout program.

“It’s urgent,” Draghi told reporters in Washington on Saturday during meetings of the International Monetary Fund. “We all want Greece to succeed. The answer is in the hands of the Greek government.”

ECB’s Draghi Rejects Talk of Greek Euro Exit

At IMF meetings in Washington, European Central Bank chief reiterates euro is irrevocable

The Wall Street Journal

By BRIAN BLACKSTONE And  IAN TALLEY

Updated April 18, 2015 4:37 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON—European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Saturday rejected speculation that Greece may be forced to abandon the euro, reiterating that Europe’s single currency is irrevocable.

ECB's Mario Draghi Makes A Dreadful Mistake Over Greece And The Euro

APR 19, 2015 @ 1:32 PM 2,697 VIEWS

Forbes

By Tim Worstall

At least this is the way that I am reading this, when Mario Draghi said that the euro is irreversible, a one way street only. Therefore no one should be speculating about Greece leaving the single currency. The reason why that’s such a dreadful mistake to my mind is that it takes away the Great Big Bargaining Cluebat that the Eurogroup has over Greece.

IMF Official Sees Greek Bailout Needing Several More Weeks of Talks

Comments come as U.S. privately urges Greek officials to reach a deal that would satisfy creditors

By IAN TALLEY and  GABRIELE STEINHAUSER

Updated April 17, 2015 8:14 p.m. ET

11 COMMENTS

WASHINGTON—Negotiations over fresh emergency financing for Greece are likely to take several more weeks, even though the cash-needy government in Athens requires a deal to help it meet a big increase in debt payments due in June, a senior International Monetary Fund official said Friday.

Greece's Main Creditors Said to Be Unwilling to Allow Euro Exit

by Nikos ChrysolorasArne Delfs

6:55 PM EEST

April 17, 2015

Bloomberg 

Greece’s major creditors are not ready to let the country drop out of the euro as long as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras shows willingness to meet at least some key demands, according to two people familiar with the discussions.

Greece Enters Twilight Zone as Visions of Euro Exit Take Shape

by Nikos ChrysolorasJames Hertling

11:37 AM EEST

April 17, 2015

With Greek officials hinting they could be forced from the euro and the country’s creditors growing frustrated with the government’s foot-dragging, analysts are asking what might happen if talks break down.

German officials are “taking just about everything into consideration,” Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in an interview this week as he urged Greek leader Alexis Tsipras to stop offering his people false hopes. Economists such as UniCredit Bank AG’s Erik Nielsen say it may be just a matter of time before Tsipras’s cash supplies run out and he’s forced to print a new currency.

Grexit Threat Returns as Investors Bet on Greek Default

The Forbes

APR 16, 2015 @ 3:46 PM 671 VIEWS

Dollar bulls are retreating on Thursday after the greenback struggled for traction against several currencies, and investors are increasingly betting on Greece exiting the eurozone in the not-too-distant future.

Don’t Blame Germany for Greece’s Profligacy

Greece would have faced far greater austerity had Germany and the rest of the EU not come to its rescue.

The Wall Street Journal

By JEREMY BULOW And  KENNETH ROGOFF

Updated April 16, 2015 7:19 p.m. ET

In the court of world opinion, a large majority seems to believe that even if the Greeks may have been a tad fiscally irresponsible, it is the Germans who have driven Greece into depression through cruel insistence on austerity and debt repayments.

Greece Creditors Grim on Prospects of Deal

Government bond prices plummet as lenders voice dismay on lack of progress in talks

The Wall Street Journal

By MARCUS WALKER

April 16, 2015 10:56 p.m. ET

Greece’s international creditors signaled they are losing hope that Athens will do what is needed to unlock bailout funds before it runs out of money, and Greek government bond prices plunged as concerns rose about default and an exit from the eurozone.

IMF's Lagarde To Greece; Pay Us Or Else

APR 17, 2015 @ 11:44 AM 1,865 VIEWS

Opinion

FORBES

Tim Worstall

CONTRIBUTOR

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/04/17/imfs-lagarde-to-greece-pay-us-or-else/

It’s long been true that welshing on debts to the International Monetary fund is just something that a civilised country just doesn’t do. Thus there’s little surprise when Christine Lagarde, the head of the IMF, points out to Greece that there’s really no mileage in that country thinking about not paying the IMF back the money it’s owed. Because, you know, that’s just not something that civilised countries do.

Greece Finance Minister Varoufakis refuses Grexit as well as targets economy cannot meet

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has rejected both an exit from the eurozone and an agreement on its debt with unreachable economic targets. Meanwhile, the IMF refused a delay in Greek debt repayments.

http://www.dw.de/greece-finance-minister-varoufakis-refuses-grexit-as-well-as-targets-economy-cannot-meet/a-18388771

Following comments from the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, that the IMF would not agree to let Greece delay a scheduled bailout payment, Varoufakis said, "Our only rational pro-European response is to spend every waking hour... trying to reach an honorable agreement."

Greece's debt crunch

The Economist

Sorry, no extensions

The IMF turns down a Greek request to postpone next month's payments

Apr 16th 2015 | Europe

Greece in talks with Russia to buy missiles for S-300 systems: RIA

MOSCOW

(Reuters) - Greece is negotiating with Russia for the purchase of missiles for its S-300 anti-missile systems and for their maintenance, Russia's RIA news agency quoted Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos as saying on Wednesday.

EU Says Talks With Greece Over Bailout are Nowhere Near Resolution

European Commission’s vice president plays down possibility of major advances at upcoming eurozone meeting

The Wall Street Journal

By VALENTINA POP and  STEPHEN FIDLER

Updated April 15, 2015 8:21 a.m. ET

BRUSSELS—Greece’s negotiations with international creditors are going very slowly and are nowhere near the point where bailout money can be disbursed, a senior European Union official said.

The Greek government has complained that it will soon run out of cash if no bailout money is disbursed, a development that would raise the prospect of a default on its debt and even an exit from the euro.

Greece’s poor are back to where they were in 1980

The Washington Post

By Matt O'Brien April 10

In the last seven years, Greece's economic collapse has wiped out all the progress its poor had made in the 28 years before that.

Now there are a lot of ways to think about how historic Greece's recession has been. Its economy has fallen about as much as the U.S.'s did during the Great Depression. Its unemployment rate peaked at 28 percent. And, as Derek Thompson points out, its cities have become filled with smog during the winters, because its people can't afford to heat their homes any other way than burning whatever they can get their hands on. But think about this last one. It probably gets us the closest to having a real idea what it's been like to live through Greece's slump.

Russia's Gazprom Counting On...Greece?

APR 12, 2015 @ 7:14 PM 11,100 VIEWS

Kenneth Rapoza

CONTRIBUTOR

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2015/04/12/russias-gazprom-counting-on-greece/

Greece’s prime minister Alexis Tsipras has stepped up to help Turkey be the new Ukraine.  Tsipras and his Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis reportedly signed a “memorandum of cooperation” with Gazprom and the Russian government to help with a pipeline to Turkey that will diversify natural gas shipments to Europe away from Ukraine.  Greece will be a transit hub.

Germany and Greece Locked in a Mutual Obsession

By ALISON SMALEAPRIL 14, 2015

The New York Times

BERLIN — Lest Greeks forget, the Germans are watching. Closely.

When the leftist Syriza-led government was elected in Greece on Jan. 25, public broadcasters broke into Germany’s favorite crime series to announce the result. Television stations went live to Athens several times that night.

What a Difference a Year Makes for Greece Left Stranded by Funds

Bloomberg 

by Max JuliusStefania Spezzati

2:01 AM EEST

April 15, 2015

As Greece once again flirts with default, the country’s bonds are trapped in no-man’s land, too risky for most mutual funds and not cheap enough for other investors.

A year ago, money managers championed Greece’s return to international markets from a four-year exile by lapping up an offer of five-year debt. Signs of economic recovery under a government supporting budget cuts drew investors like Invesco Asset Management Ltd. and BlackRock Inc. toward the bonds.

IMF close to giving up on Greece after official admits bail-out negotiations are ‘not working’ and the country ‘prepares to default on next debt repayment’

By CALLUM PATON FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 13:42 GMT, 14 April 2015 | UPDATED: 14:03 GMT, 14 April 2015

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

IMF Europe head says bail-out negotiations with Athens are 'not working'

Some Greek officials appear to be preparing themselves for a default

Eurozone member is beginning to run out of time for making fiscal reforms

Finance Minister said country was committed to changes at last repayment

REPORT: Greece is getting ready to default

MIKE BIRD

APR. 14, 2015, 2:52 AM

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Greece is getting ready to default on at least some of its debt payments, according to the Financial Times.

The country has entered a pretty dire fiscal situation. It desperately needs to unlock bailout funds from its creditors, but progress negotiating that cash is shaky at best.

Reforms Aren’t Going to Save Greece

The Wall Street Journal

Greece has never been a self-sustaining country. Since modern Greece was founded in 1832, the Greek Government has defaulted six times (this will be the seventh).

April 12, 2015 2:04 p.m. ET

Your editorial on Greece assumes that Greece can be saved by “reforms” (“The Case for Letting Greece Go,” April 9). A look at history would show that this isn’t true; Greece has never been a self-sustaining country. Since modern Greece was founded in 1832, the Greek government has defaulted six times (this will be the seventh), and for half of these years was either in default or in reconstruction.

Greece May Have Ruined Its Best Chance

APRIL 13, 2015

Inside Europe

Also published in The New York Times

By PAUL TAYLOR | REUTERS

BRUSSELS — Even if it survives the next three months teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, Greece may have blown its best chance of a long-term debt deal by alienating its eurozone partners when it most needed their support.

National Bank of Greece (ADR): Investigating The Grexit

Weakening talks with creditors raise the possibility of a Grexit

NBG

By: TROY KUHN

Published: Apr 9, 2015 at 9:23 am EST

Greece’s top banks, including National Bank of Greece (ADR) (NYSE:NBG) brace themselves for the battle against default as the $484 million repayment to the International Monetary Fund reaches its deadline today. Despite having promised to meet the IMF obligation, Greece realizes that it could default on a number of payments coming due soon. Failure to reach a compromise over economic reforms and a consequent bailout extension could eventually throw the country out of the EU. While a Grexit is more often dubbed as the last straw for Greece, it could in fact be the most suitable plan of action to recover the country’s economy from contagion.

Tsipras Tells Russia Greece Helped Prevent Broader EU Sanctions

Greek prime minister is on a two-day visit to Moscow

The Wall Street Journal

By LAURA MILLS

Updated April 9, 2015 1:57 p.m. ET

MOSCOW—Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told senior Russian lawmakers here that Athens had played an active role in preventing an expansion of European Union sanctions against Russia earlier this year.

The euro-zone revival

Don’t get europhoric

The Economist

Investors are becoming excited about Europe again—too excited

Apr 11th 2015 |

RECOVERY (noun): restoration to a former or better condition. The euro zone is at last enjoying an upturn. Economists are savouring the unaccustomed pleasure of revising their growth forecasts up, rather than down. Surveys of business activity have reached a four-year high and euro-area consumers are feeling a lot more confident. Investors are excited, too. Money is rushing into the region’s stockmarkets. In March European equity funds notched up record inflows.

Greece makes IMF payment, gets bank funds, but doubts remain

BRUSSELS/ATHENS | BY JAN STRUPCZEWSKI AND GEORGE GEORGIOPOULOS

(Reuters) - Greece made a crucial payment to the International Monetary Fund and won extra emergency lending for its banks on Thursday but it remained unclear whether Athens can satisfy skeptical creditors on economic reforms before it runs out of money.

Euro zone partners gave Greece six working days to improve a package of proposed reforms in time for finance ministers of the currency bloc to consider whether to release more funds to keep the country afloat when they meet on April 24.

Swiss, Mexican Bond Deals Represent Milestones for Debt

Switzerland is first with 10-year bond at negative yield as Mexico lines up 100-year euro bond

 The Wall Street Journal

By EMESE BARTHA in Frankfurt, CHIARA ALBANESE in London and ANTHONY HARRUP in Mexico City

Updated April 8, 2015 9:10 p.m. ET

62 COMMENTS

Until Wednesday, no country had ever sold 10-year debt that gives investors a yield of below 0%. And no country had ever issued a 100-year bond denominated in euros.

Piketty Says EU Politics Risks Driving Greece Out of Euro

by Mark DeenManus Cranny

10:14 PM EEST

April 8, 2015

 Bloomberg

Thomas Piketty, the French economist whose 2013 book on wealth inequality became an international bestseller, said he sees a risk of politicians in the European Union forcing Greece out of the euro area.

The Case for Letting Greece Go

The risk now is political contagion from rewarding non-reform.

The Wall Street Journal

April 8, 2015 7:31 p.m. ET

"...What’s not sustainable is allowing euro members to bully their way into deals in which they reap the rewards of a currency union without living by its rules...."

Thursday marks another deadline in Greece’s struggle to avoid default, as a €450 million payment to the International Monetary Fund comes due. Athens says it will meet this obligation, but sooner or later Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his government will miss a payment to someone if it doesn’t agree with creditors on a new bailout. An exit from the euro would then be a real possibility.

Greek leader courts Russia but seeks no direct aid

MOSCOW | BY RENEE MALTEZOU AND DENIS PINCHUK

(Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras won pledges of closer cooperation from Russia at talks in the Kremlin on Wednesday but President Vladimir Putin said Athens had not asked for money to ease its debt crisis.

The visit, as Athens seeks funds to make debt repayments, caused concern in some European Union states that Greece could break ranks over economic sanctions on Russia to secure aid or use the trip to pressure its EU allies to release financing.

Greece Should Be Wary of Mr. Putin

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

APRIL 7, 2015

The New York Times

The Greek government is facing a series of daunting challenges. It has to come up with money to pay off maturing debts, revive its devastated economy and renegotiate its loan agreements with other countries in the eurozone. Given those difficulties, it might be tempting — though misguided — for Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to seek financial or other support from President Vladimir Putin of Russia, whom he is scheduled to meet in Moscow on Wednesday.

Mr Tsipras goes to Moscow

Greece and Russia

The Economist

Playing the Russia card cannot solve Greece's euro zone woes

Apr 7th 2015 | Europe

ALEXIS TSIPRAS, Greece's prime minister (pictured), heads to Moscow this week with his country's future in the euro zone hanging in the balance. Greece's negotiations with its creditors over the release of €7.2 billion ($7.8 billion) of bail-out money are still going nowhere, even as its coffers run dry. The government is raiding state kitties and delaying payments to suppliers in order to meet its obligations to creditors, most urgently a €458m payment due to the IMF on April 9th and €700m in treasury bills held by foreign investors, which are unlikely to be rolled over at maturity next week. But before long it will need a proper financing strategy.

Greece is probably already defaulting on its debt. Here’s why

Forbes 

by Geoffrey Smith  @Geoffreytsmith 

APRIL 7, 2015, 12:53 PM EDT

Avoiding a ‘hard’ default doesn’t rule out the softer forms, and there seems little reason to suppose that they won’t become visible soon.

The bad news is that Greece is already (probably) defaulting.

The good news is that it’s not going to be on you, dear taxpayer (and indirect contributor to the International Monetary Fund).

Could Greece Pivot To Russia And China?

Raoul Ruparel Contributor

Forbes

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras heads to Moscow tomorrow amongst significant noise around a potential Greek pivot towards Russia and China. But how realistic a proposition is this? The short answer is, not very. Most of the noise is precisely that, just noise. But it is worth exploring in more detail just why this is the case and what it means for the current negotiations around Greece’s position in the Eurozone and EU-Russia relations.

Greece’s Worst Option: IMF Default

APR 6, 2015 3:00 AM EDT

By Mohamed A. El-Erian

Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis's surprise decision to meet with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde in Washington on Sunday added to the suspense over whether Greece would make its April 9 debt payment to the fund.

This is a consequential question because defaults on loans from the IMF, one of the world’s few “preferred creditors,” are extremely rare. When they have occurred, the debtors have tended to be fragile or failed states in the developing world and not advanced countries, let alone members of the euro zone, one of the world’s elite economic groups.

Greece Must Walk the Talk, and Soon

APRIL 6, 2015

The New  York Times

By HUGO DIXON | REUTERS

Greece has two weeks to produce some red meat.

The prospect of a default is off the table for the time being after Yanis Varoufakis, the country’s finance minister, confirmed that Greece would meet a payment to the International Monetary Fund on Thursday. But, with more payments looming, the fear of bankruptcy will be back by the end of April if Greece doesn’t come up with some serious overhauls by then.

Greece needs deal with lenders on April 24 -finance minister to paper

Mon Apr 6, 2015 7:53am EDT Related: WORLD, GREECE

(Reuters) - Greece must reach an outline funding agreement with its lenders at a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on April 24, its finance minister told a Greek newspaper on Monday.

"At the Eurogroup (meeting) of April 24 there must be a preliminary conclusion (of the talks), as per the Eurogroup accord on Feb. 20," Yanis Varoufakis told daily Naftemporiki.

Ex-Bank of England boss sees a way to a ‘rapidly growing’ Greece

Published: Apr 3, 2015 1:19 p.m. ET

By SILVIA ASCARELLI SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

NEW YORK (MarketWatch)—If Greece were to leave the eurozone, it would face “pretty horrendous” times in the short term, a former head of the Bank of England said.

But after 2 1/2 to three years, it would have a “rapidly growing” economy and falling unemployment, said Meryvn King, who ran the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013. He spoke before an audience of mostly Princeton University professors and students Thursday.

Greece moves to quell default fears, pledges to meet 'all obligations'

WASHINGTON | BY ANNA YUKHANANOV

(Reuters) - Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Sunday that Greece "intends to meet all obligations to all its creditors, ad infinitum," seeking to quell default fears ahead of a big loan payment Athens owes the IMF later this week.

Following a meeting with the head of the International Monetary Fund, Varoufakis told reporters the government plans to "reform Greece deeply" and would seek to improve the "efficacy of negotiations" with its creditors.

Greece Debt Default: German Intransigence Raises Spectre for ‘Grexit’

By Nile Bowie

Global Research, April 05, 2015

New Eastern Outlook

Greece’s newly elected government, led by the leftist Syriza coalition that swept into power in January on an anti-austerity platform, finds itself in a highly unenviable position. Athens is burdened by colossal debt, imminent liquidity problems and a looming banking collapse. What is at stake for Greece now is its very ability to survive economically within the euro-zone.

The Syriza coalition emerged from various offshoots of the Greek radical left, which set itself apart from the political mainstream by taking an anti-capitalist position emphasizing wealth redistribution and class struggle, while allying itself with alter-globalization movements and trade unions. The ascension of Syriza represents the most leftward shift in European politics in decades.

Buffett not alone in failing to grasp Grexit dangers

If Mr Buffett seriously thinks that the euro would be strengthened by a Greek exit, which is what he said, then he needs his head examined.

The Telegraph

By Jeremy Warner7:30PM BST 04 Apr 2015

It is hard to think of a nicer and wiser capitalist than Warren Buffett, but every man has his day, and the time may finally have come for the Sage of Omaha to spend more time with his ukulele.

I say this because last week he demonstrably broke one of his first rules of investment, which is never get involved in things you don’t fully understand.

Both sides are playing a risky game over Greece. Are we approaching the end?

The Greek negotiations have resembled Zeno’s dichotomy paradox, with the two sides halving the distance between each other but never meeting

 The Telegraph

By Ben Wright8:18PM BST 02 Apr 2015

Is this it? Are we reaching the event horizon beyond which the gravitational pull of Greece’s debts becomes so great that escape is rendered impossible?

Time and money are both dwindling. No one knows precisely when the Athenian coffers will contain nothing but moths and lint.

What To Buy If Greece Exits The Euro Zone

 4/03/2015 @ 7:41μμ

 \By Henry To

 The Forbes

Earlier last month, we discussed why the chance of a long-term solution to keep Greece in the Euro Zone was slim, due to three reasons:

Greece's Syriza Confronts Reality

11 APR 2, 2015 10:15 AM EDT

By Leonid Bershidsky

Reality does depressing things to dreams. It kills them off quickly and mercilessly, and because people have short memories and dreams are short-lived, we often forget what they were like when they began. This is why it's worthwhile to compare Greece's first "full summary" of reforms, released today, to be undertaken so the country can unlock financing from international creditors, with the election program that the ruling Syriza party announced last September.

Exclusive: Greece tells creditors it will run out of cash on April 9

Markets | Thu Apr 2, 2015 12:45pm EDT

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/02/us-eurozone-greece-liquidity-idUSKBN0MT1HB20150402

(Reuters) - Greece has told its creditors it will run out of money on April 9, making an appeal for more loans before reforms on which new disbursements hinge are agreed and implemented, but the request was rejected, euro zone officials said.

The appeal was made by Athens at a teleconference of euro zone deputy finance ministers on Wednesday organized to assess how far Greece still was from meeting the conditions for unlocking new financial aid.

Greece draws up drachma plans, prepares to miss IMF payment

'We are a Left-wing government. If we have to choose between a default to the IMF or a default to our own people, it is a no-brainer,' says senior Greek official

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, & Mehreen Khan9:22PM BST 02 Apr 2015

The Telegraph

Greece is drawing up drastic plans to nationalise the country's banking system and introduce a parallel currency to pay bills unless the eurozone takes steps to defuse the simmering crisis and soften its demands.

Greece comes kicking and screaming to reform table

By Neil Unmack APRIL 2, 2015

Reuters

Greece is coming kicking and screaming to the reform table. The Syriza government’s latest proposals include some concessions to its public creditors. The plan still lacks detail, and reneges on past promises. The risk of an accidental euro zone exit is rising.

Samaras Says He’d Join Alliance to Keep Greece in Euro

by James HertlingNikos Chrysoloras

5:00 AM EEST

April 2, 2015

 Bloomberg

As Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras struggles to secure a financial bailout to stay in the euro, his chief rival said he’s open to offering a political rescue.

Opposition leader Antonis Samaras, who was ousted by Tsipras in January elections, signaled his willingness to join a unity government if the concessions required to win emergency loans drive a wedge through the ruling anti-austerity coalition.

Running out of room

The Economist

Greece looks to China and Russia for help but cannot get around its euro zone partners

Apr 1st 2015

ALEXIS TSIPRAS, the Greek prime minister, and his radical Syriza party are beginning to feel the heat. Two months of bluster by Greece’s first left-wing government have failed to produce the results it wanted. Those include an injection of fresh cash from the country’s current €172 billion ($185 billion) bail-out programme, and a new deal with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that would allow Athens, not its creditors, to decide on future economic reforms.

ECB lifts ceiling on Greek emergency loans

Published: Apr 2, 2015 2:58 a.m. ET

By NEKTARIA STAMOULI

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ecb-lifts-ceiling-on-greek-emergency-loans-2015-04-02

ATHENS--The European Central Bank on Wednesday increased the amount of money Greek banks can borrow under an emergency lending program, extending a lifeline for the country's banks as its government continues tense negotiations with its creditors over its bailout program.