Fearing euro exit, thousands of Greeks rally for 'Yes' vote

Tue Jun 30, 2015 2:53pm EDT Related: GREECE

ATHENS | BY DEEPA BABINGTON

Reuters

Thousands of Greeks worried about the prospect of crashing out of Europe's currency union rallied in Athens on Tuesday behind a "Yes" vote in a referendum on whether to accept tough terms demanded by creditors to keep the country afloat.

One banner read: "We will not become the last Soviet state". Many carried flags of the European Union. They chanted "Greece, Europe, democracy!"

As default looms, Merkel rules out more negotiations with Greece

Tue Jun 30, 2015 4:04pm EDT Related: GREECE

ATHENS | BY RENEE MALTEZOU AND LEFTERIS PAPADIMAS

Reuters

German Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out new negotiations with Greece until after it votes on a proposal from creditors, leaving virtually no hope left to avert a midnight default despite a plea from Athens for a last-minute bailout extension.

As the clock ticked down on Tuesday toward midnight, when billions of euros in locked-up bailout funds are due to expire, euro zone finance ministers called a conference call (1:00 a.m. EDT) to discuss the Greek request.

Greece’s Future, and the Euro’s

By THE EDITORIAL BOARDJUNE 29, 2015

The New York Times

The referendum called by Greece’s prime minister is a bad idea, but at this stage it’s about the best available. Greek banks have been shut down to avoid a meltdown; bailout talks with European creditors are frozen; Athens does not have the money to pay 1.6 billion euros due to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday, threatening default and withdrawal from the euro.

So, confronted with conditions from the lenders that he dismissed as “insulting,” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras made the surprise announcement on Saturday that he was putting the matter before Greek voters in a referendum to be held July 5.

Bank of America Strategist: Humanitarian Disaster Is Looming in Greece

by Hugh Son

June 29, 2015 — 10:47 PM EEST

Athanasios Vamvakidis, Bank of America Corp.’s head of European currency strategy, is in a difficult spot: He advises clients from London on how to make money -- or at least minimize losses -- as his homeland unravels.

His view: Greek banks will soon exhaust cash supplies, leading to shortages of imports including medicine unless the European Central Bank expands assistance, he said in an interview. A July 5 referendum on austerity measures probably will usher in August elections and a potential new government.

Greece Can Stay in Euro Even With ‘No’ Vote, Schaeuble Tells Lawmakers

by Brian ParkinBirgit JennenRainer Buergin

June 30, 2015 — 3:12 PM EEST

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told lawmakers in Berlin that Greece would stay in the euro for the time being if Greek voters reject austerity in a referendum scheduled this week, according to three people present.

Schaeuble also said the European Central Bank would do what’s needed to protect the euro if Greeks voted against the bailout terms in the July 5 referendum, according to the people, all of whom participated in the closed-door meeting on Tuesday. They asked not to be identified, citing the private nature of the discussion.

The German Finance Ministry declined to comment.

The Day The Euro Died

JUN 29, 2015 @ 12:34 PM

Frances Coppola

Forbes

On the evening of Friday June 26th, talks broke down between Greece and its creditors. The creditors had once more rejected Greece’s proposal and put forward their own version including tax and pension changes that Greece had already said it would not accept.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, June 27th, the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced that the people of Greece would be asked to decide whether they wished to accept the creditors’ proposal. A referendum will be held on July 5th.

How much Greece owes to international creditors

Sun Jun 28, 2015 3:02pm EDT Related: GERMANY, GREECE, IMF

BRUSSELS

Reuters

Greece, which may default on an International Monetary Fund debt repayment due on Tuesday after talks with creditors broke down, owes its official lenders 242.8 billion euros ($271 billion), according to a Reuters calculation based on official data, with Germany by far the largest creditor.

That figure includes loans made under two bailouts from European governments and the IMF since 2010 -- worth a nominal 220 billion euros so far, of which some has been repaid -- as well as Greek government bonds held by the European Central Bank and national central banks in the euro zone.

Greece Comes to a Sudden Stop. Now What?

JUN 29, 2015 2:00 AM EDT

By Mohamed A. El-Erian

Sadly, the “Graccident” has happened.

 Bloomberg

The Greek economy is now in intensive care, as its parts -- and notably its banking system -- grind to a halt. The economy that eventually comes out of intensive care will be smaller and uncomfortably different in form, but it will also have the potential to prosper over the longer term if some important decisions are made rapidly and consistently.

Greece Will Shut Banks in Fallout From Debt Crisis

By JIM YARDLEYJUNE 28, 2015

The New York Times

ATHENS — Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced Sunday night that Greece’s banks would be closed as of Monday, as the fallout from ruptured debt negotiations with the nation’s creditors began inflicting pain on ordinary people while raising alarm in Washington, Brussels and Berlin.

The emergency measures escalated the confused and unpredictable state of a crisis that some analysts say could ripple through global financial markets and undercut European unity. Most Asian markets opened lower on Monday.

Greece Will Close Banks to Stem Flood of Withdrawals

By LANDON THOMAS Jr. and NIKI KITSANTONISJUNE 28, 2015

New York Times

ATHENS — Greece will keep its banks and stock market closed on Monday and place restrictions on the withdrawal and transfer of money, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in a televised address on Sunday night, as Athens tries to avert a financial collapse.

The government’s decision to close banks temporarily and impose other so-called capital controls came hours after the European Central Bank said it would not expand an emergency loan program that has been propping up Greek banks in recent weeks while the government was trying to reach a new debt deal with international creditors.

Euro zone readies for Greek default after Tsipras referendum call

Sat Jun 27, 2015 1:22pm EDT Related: GERMANY, GREECE

ATHENS/BRUSSELS | BY KAROLINA TAGARIS AND ROBIN EMMOTT

Reuters

The euro zone got ready to deal with a Greek debt default next week after refusing to extend credit following Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's surprise announcement of a referendum on an offer from creditors that his leftist government rejected.

Athens asked for an extension of Greece's bailout program beyond Tuesday, the day it must pay 1.6 billion euros to the International Monetary Fund or go bust.

But the other 18 members of the euro zone unanimously rejected the request, freezing Greece out of further discussions with the European Central Bank and IMF on how to deal with the fallout from a historic breach in the EU's 16-year-old currency.

Tsipras Overturns the Chessboard

7 JUN 27, 2015 11:32 AM EDT

By Leonid Bershidsky

Bloomberg

It's difficult to imagine a decision more irrational than Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's call for a referendum on whether Greece should accept its creditors' latest bailout proposal. Tsipras is attempting abdicate responsibility for what could have been the toughest decision of his career. One can only hope the Greek people will be more responsible on July 5, if the referendum goes ahead.

Tsipras told Greek citizens in a televised address Saturday that the creditors presented his government with an ultimatum Thursday that would add "new unbearable weight to the shoulders of the Greek people" and "undermine the recovery of the Greek economy and society -- not only by fueling uncertainty, but also by further exacerbating social inequalities." Therefore,

Greece's Choice of Disasters

34 JUN 27, 2015 10:15 AM EDT

By The Editors

Bloomberg

After months of confusion and indecision over Greece and its debts, a moment of clarity may finally be approaching. The referendum called for July 5 by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras promises some kind of resolution. For that, at least, one should be grateful.

There is little else to celebrate. Getting to next Sunday without a financial breakdown in Greece looks impossible; Greeks are already lining up at ATMs. And the choice confronting them when they vote will be between two very bleak alternatives. This mess is a textbook case of political shortsightedness and catastrophic mismanagement.

Greek Deal or No Deal: Investors Question Which Is Worse for Euro

Months of brinkmanship have tarnished the currency’s outlook, some money managers say

The Wall Street Journal

By TOMMY STUBBINGTON

June 26, 2015 7:30 a.m. ET

10 COMMENTS

Last time Greece headed for a potential departure from the eurozone, investors dumped the euro, betting that an exit would be a disaster for the currency. This time, they’re not so sure.

Even if Athens and its creditors cobble together a last-minute deal that keeps the country in the currency bloc, some money managers say that months of fraught negotiations and political brinkmanship have tarnished the euro.

Analysis: ‘Grexit’ Isn’t the Scary Prospect It Once Was

Many of eurozone’s powers-that-be now believe any contagion could be contained

The Wall Street Journal

By MATTHEW DALTON

June 25, 2015 4:03 p.m. ET

10 COMMENTS

When Greek voters were threatening to reject the country’s bailout program in June 2012 elections, skepticism rose in the German government about whether keeping Greece in the eurozone was worth the trouble—and the money.

Europe strikes back: It seems to be trying to push Greece out of the euro

By Matt O'Brien June 25 at 3:38 PM

The Washington Post

Europe is altering the deal, and Greece better pray it doesn't alter it any further.

That, at least, was the message Europe sent with it latest bailout proposal that was really just a restatement of its original one. If Greece wants to stay in the euro, it will have to accept austerity on Europe's terms and not its own. There will be no negotiation, not anymore.

Greece's lenders set deadline, threaten 'take it or leave it' choice: FT

Published: June 25, 2015 7:05 a.m. ET

Greece's creditors gave the country's leader, Alexis Tsipras, until 11 a.m. Brussels time, or 5 a.m. Eastern Time, to deliver an acceptable plan, the Financial Times reported Thursday. If a deal is not done by then, the lenders' own proposal will be presented to the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers as a "take it or leave it" choice for Greece, the FT reported, citing two senior eurozone officials. "The level of frustration is so high. I don't see a deal," one official said, the FT reported. An hour after the 11 a.m. deadline, it was still uncertain whether the Greek premier had submitted a new plan for economic overhauls. However, Tsipras's meeting with leaders of the lender institutions broke up around noon Brussels time, with market participants waiting to hear the outcome of the talks. Austria's finance minister, Hans Jörg Schelling, said the Eurogroup will look at new proposals on Greece, hoping to reach a compromise before 4 p.m. Brussels time, or 10 a.m. Eastern, according to media reports. That would be just in time for the EU summit of European leaders that kicks off in the late afternoon. Schelling stated that Sunday is the final deadline to reach an agreement on Greece's bailout.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/greeces-lenders-set-deadline-threaten-take-it-or-leave-it-choice-2015-06-25?dist=beforebell

Lack of Greek deal weighs on European stocks

Thu Jun 25, 2015 7:32am EDT Related: GREECE

LONDON | BY MARIUS ZAHARIA

Reuters

Persistent concerns of Greece leaving the euro weighed on European stocks on Thursday, with the lack of progress in negotiations on a cash-for-reform deal for Athens pushing investors towards safe-haven German Bunds.

The talks stumbled on Wednesday, with euro zone finance ministers accusing Greece of refusing to compromise ahead of a deadline next week when an International Monetary Fund loan tranche of 1.6 billion euros comes due.

Greek officials say without a deal the country does not have the money to pay the IMF. A default may trigger a bank run and may push the country out of the euro.

Creditors set bailout ultimatum for defiant Greeks: source

Jun 25, 2015 7:26am EDT Related: GREECE

BRUSSELS | BY JAN STRUPCZEWSKI AND RENEE MALTEZOU

Reurers

Greece's international creditors will put their own final proposal for a cash-for-reform deal to avert a Greek default to euro zone finance ministers for approval on Thursday after Athens let a deadline pass, euro zone officials said.

"If Greece says 'no go' now, it could be the final straw," one senior European official said.

The lenders had given leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras an ultimatum to come up with a credible reform plan by mid-morning (5 a.m. EDT), saying they would otherwise send their own version to Eurogroup ministers.

Will It Be A 'Grexit', EUxt Or Just Bust For Greece?

JUN 23, 2015 @ 9:16 PM

Forbes

With Eurozone and Greek finance ministers embroiled in a crisis summit and a ‘final’ showdown yesterday, will this on-going Greek drama ever get resolved? It is amazing that the situation has persisted for so long and I’ve lost count of how many times the markets sold off before a last-minute deal was struck and a sharp rebound ensued.

While many might see these last ditch efforts – despite Greece’s latest offer on Monday constituting “some progress” according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel – is this simply yet another opportunity for more political fudging in an eleventh hour deal? There is growing concern that we now need to start preparing for the worst. This is not that Greece will finally exit out of the Euro, but about more heightened concerns that the Eurozone project could itself fail.

Europe is destroying Greece’s economy for no reason at all

The Washington Post

By Matt O'Brien June 23 at 2:32 PM

History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce, and finally as trolling. That, at least, is the case in Greece, where its lenders want it to cut its pensions rather than hike its business taxes, because they're afraid those increases would, as the Financial Times's Peter Spiegel reports, "crimp economic growth."

Oh, so now they're worried that austerity hurts the economy. Too bad they weren't a little more concerned about that before it made Greece's economy shrink 25 percent.

Greece's Punishing Deal

JUN 23, 2015 9:25 AM EDT

By Marc Champion

On Monday, the Greek government put before its euro-area partners (I use the term loosely) the first serious proposal for a deal on renewing its aid package since coming to power in January. Amid the general optimism that an agreement may now be in sight, thus avoiding the uncertainties of a Greek default and exit from the euro, there was also a strain of barely suppressed fury among some of Greece's peers.

Greece Given 48 Hours to Reach Deal as EU Weighs Debt

by Mark DeenArne DelfsChristos Ziotis

June 22, 2015 — 10:29 PM EEST Updated on June 23, 2015 — 10:57 AM EEST

Bloomberg

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has 48 hours to bring a deal with his country’s creditors to the finish line and end a five-month standoff over aid that risks splitting the euro.

After a day of marathon talks on Monday, leaders from Greece’s 18 fellow euro-zone countries agreed that Tsipras’s government was finally getting serious about striking a deal after it submitted a set of reform measures that began to converge with the terms demanded by creditors.

As the political discussions continue, the European Central Bank on Tuesday raised the limit on emergency funding available to Greek banks, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the decisions are private.

Signs of last-minute Greece deal lift optimism

Mon Jun 22, 2015 4:12am EDT Related: GREECE

LONDON | BY JAMIE MCGEEVER

Reuters

Global stocks, the euro and peripheral euro zone bonds all rose on Monday, lifted by a wave of optimism that Greece and its international creditors will strike a last-minute deal that will see Athens avert default.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will meet the heads of the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund on Monday ahead of a summit of euro zone leaders later in the day aimed at reaching a deal over debt talks.

Weekend of Fear in Greece as Banks, People Live Day To Day

by Mehul SrivastavaMaria Petrakis

June 20, 2015 — 12:30 PM EEST Updated on June 21, 2015 — 11:20 AM EEST

Bloomberg

Dorothea Lambros stood outside an HSBC branch in central Athens on Friday afternoon, an envelope stuffed with cash in one hand and a 38,000 euro ($43,000) cashier’s check in the other.

She was a few minutes too late to make her deposit at the London-based bank. She was too scared to take her life-savings back to her Greek bank. She worried it wouldn’t survive the weekend.

“I don’t know what happens on Monday,” said Lambros, a 58-year-old government employee.

Nobody does. Every shifting deadline, every last-gasp effort has built up to this: a nation that went to sleep on Friday not knowing what Monday will bring. A deal, or more brinkmanship. Shuttered banks and empty cash machines, or a few more days of euros in their pockets and drachmas in their past - - and maybe their future.

Greece and Germany Agree the Euro Can't Work

51 JUN 21, 2015 11:00 AM EDT

By Clive Crook

Bloomberg

Ahead of Monday's European Union summit, the only thing you can rule out is a happy ending. Whatever happens at the leaders' meeting -- even if a deal of some sort emerges -- the EU has suffered lasting and perhaps irreparable damage. The available choices run from bad to terrible.

The costs to Greece and to the EU of a default followed by Greece's ejection from the euro system could be huge. But even if the worst doesn't happen, Europe has suffered a total breakdown of trust and goodwill. That can't easily be undone -- and it's a dagger pointed at the heart of the entire project.

Paul Krugman Is Right; Greece Should Leave The Euro

JUN 20, 2015 @ 6:40 PM

Forbes

Tim Worstall ,

What with the nearing denouement of the Greek debt crisis the real question is, well, what actually should be done? And that in turn means that we’ve got to decide whose interests should be paramount. There’s perhaps three groups that we should be thinking about and how we weight their interests is going to tell us what should in fact happen.

Weekend of Fear in Greece as Banks, People Live Day To Day

by Mehul SrivastavaMaria Petrakis

June 20, 2015 — 12:30 PM EEST Updated on June 21, 2015 — 11:20 AM EEST

Bloomberg

Dorothea Lambros stood outside an HSBC branch in central Athens on Friday afternoon, an envelope stuffed with cash in one hand and a 38,000 euro ($43,000) cashier’s check in the other.

She was a few minutes too late to make her deposit at the London-based bank. She was too scared to take her life-savings back to her Greek bank. She worried it wouldn’t survive the weekend.

“I don’t know what happens on Monday,” said Lambros, a 58-year-old government employee.

Nobody does. Every shifting deadline, every last-gasp effort has built up to this: a nation that went to sleep on Friday not knowing what Monday will bring. A deal, or more brinkmanship. Shuttered banks and empty cash machines, or a few more days of euros in their pockets and drachmas in their past - - and maybe their future.

Everything you need to know about why Greece might leave the euro

The Washington Post

By Matt O'Brien June 20 at 8:00 AM

Greece's government doesn't have enough money to pay back what it owes, but the bigger problem is that Greece's banks might not either. And that's the real reason Greece might be forced out of the euro.

The consequences of Greece’s impending breakdown

By Lawrence Summers June 20 at 12:45 PM

The Washington Post

Lawrence Summers is a professor at and past president of Harvard University. He was treasury secretary from 1999 to 2001 and an economic adviser to President Obama from 2009 through 2010.

When, as now appears likely, Greece financially separates from Europe, it will at one level be no one’s fault. The Greek leaders will rightly explain that having imposed more austerity on themselves than any industrial country has suffered since the Depression, they could not do more without light at the end of tunnel in the form of a clear commitment to debt relief. European leaders will rightly explain that they adjusted their positions repeatedly to accommodate the Greeks. They will stress that their publics would not permit Greece to play by different rules than the rest of Europe. And the International Monetary Fund will rightly explain that it would have blessed any plan agreed to by Greece and Europe that added up.

The Endgame in Greece

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

JUNE 19, 2015

The New York Times

A meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Thursday, which was billed as the last chance to stave off a Greek default and a Greek exit from the euro, collapsed in rancor and recriminations less than an hour after it started. Eurozone leaders then promptly scheduled a summit meeting for Monday to deal with the crisis. After five years of this, the world can be forgiven for not heeding the serial cries of “wolf.” Only this time, there really is a wolf at the door.

Greece Stares Into Unknown as Tsipras Insists a Deal Can Be Done

by Corina RuheStephanie BodoniNikos Chrysoloras

June 19, 2015 — 11:32 AM EEST Updated on June 19, 2015 — 1:40 PM EEST

Bloomberg

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras insisted a deal to avert a default can be reached at an emergency summit of European leaders on Monday as his country clings to the euro after almost five months of brinkmanship.

Markets swayed as investors parsed each new twist for signs of a possible accord. Banks stocks reversed gains and led the Athens Stock Exchange lower on Friday as the European Central Bank prepared to discuss whether to maintain a lifeline at an emergency session. Greece’s existing bailout agreement expires on June 30, the day it’s due to make a payment to the International Monetary Fund.

EU Leaders Need an Emergency Plan B for Greece

JUN 19, 2015 2:00 AM EDT

By Mohamed A. El-Erian

Bloomberg

After finance officials failed to reach an agreement on Greece on Thursday, European leaders wisely decided to hold an emergency summit Monday. Although the main objective is to break the deadlock opposing Greece and its creditors, this gathering should have a second important goal: unifyimg 18 euro-zone members around a Plan B if efforts to salvage the 19th member, Greece, falter again.

The primary aim of the summit is to deliver the long-sought accord that would keep Greece solvent, and within the currency union. Without such an agreement on both policies and emergency financing, it would be a matter of days before Greece's banking system imploded. Then the government would have to impose capital controls, default on debt and supplier obligations, and issue IOUs to meet domestic payments.

Still Deadlocked With Greece, Europe Sets Emergency Summit Meeting

By JAMES KANTERJUNE 18, 2015

The New York Times

LUXEMBOURG — European leaders will try again in an emergency summit meeting on Monday to break the deadlock between Greece and its international creditors after a meeting of eurozone finance ministers ended on Thursday with no deal on Greece’s bailout.

Without additional aid, Greece faces the prospect of effectively going bankrupt by the end of June, when it owes a payment of 1.6 billion euros, or about $1.8 billion, to the International Monetary Fund, and when the European part of its bailout program ends.

Greek Central Bank Issues Dire Warning on Bailout Talks

Report warns of ‘uncontrollable crisis’ without a deal; ECB drawn into fray

By STELIOS BOURAS And  BRIAN BLACKSTONE

Updated June 17, 2015 6:54 p.m. ET

81 COMMENTS

ATHENS—Greece’s central bank, in unusually stark language that angered the ruling party, warned Wednesday that failure to clinch a deal with international creditors on desperately needed funding could “snowball into an uncontrollable crisis” for the country.

Η αξιολόγηση που δεν έκλεισε ποτέ

ΕΛΕΝΗ ΒΑΡΒΙΤΣΙΩΤΗ, TΑΣΟΣ ΤΕΛΛΟΓΛΟΥ

Καθημερινή

Το ηλιόλουστο πρωινό της 7ης Νοεμβρίου 2014 στις Βρυξέλλες, ο τότε Ελληνας υπουργός Οικονομικών Γκίκας Χαρδούβελης βρίσκει στο κινητό του τηλέφωνο ένα email–ορόσημο, όπως θα φανεί αργότερα, από την τρόικα. Ηταν για πρώτη φορά τόσο σαφές ότι η αξιολόγηση δεν θα έκλεινε, καθώς η τρόικα φαινόταν να σκληραίνει τη στάση της ζητώντας την εφαρμογή όλων των συμφωνηθέντων χωρίς καμία απολύτως ευελιξία.

GREXIT: END OF THE ILLUSION

Pieria

http://www.pieria.co.uk/articles/grexit_end_of_the_illusion

Posted by John Weeks on Jun 15th 2015,

That is the real story. It is very simple - force the Greek government to withdraw in circumstances that allow the Troika to deny culpability. Without knowing it, we have been following the manoeuvres by the Troika to achieve that end. The drawn-out nature of the conflict is a Troika strategy, to drain the Greek government of money until it must accept what Prime Minister called "absurd" demands or choose an increasingly costly exit from the euro zone.

What Happens if Greece Misses Payments?

The Wall Street Journal

7:05 pm ET

Jun 15, 2015

By  MATTHEW DALTON and  GABRIELE STEINHAUSER

With little sign of progress in talks on Greece’s international bailout, some European policy makers are considering whether Athens could default but stay in the eurozone. The whole situation is fraught with unknowns, however. Here are some of the complications:

Greece, Eurozone Seek to Resolve Differences as Deadline Looms

Finance ministers to meet in Luxembourg in effort to reach agreement on Greek bailout

The Wall Street Journal

By VIKTORIA DENDRINOU

June 18, 2015 2:27 a.m. ET

LUXEMBOURG—Eurozone finance ministers have another chance to break the deadlock in talks over Greece’s international bailout Thursday, but neither side has shown any sign of shifting its position, even as warnings grow of the potential impact of a Greek default and exit from the euro.

The Endgame in Greece

JUN 16, 2015 30

Project Syndicate

Jeffrey D. Sachs

Jeffrey D. Sachs, Professor of Sustainable Development, Professor of Health Policy and Management, and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, is also Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals. His books include The End of Poverty, Common Wealth, and, most recently, The Age of Sustainable Development.

Read more at http://www.project-syndicate.org/columnist/jeffrey-d-sachs#wqrkiiQVKEBjoR1A.99

Opinion: How to know when Greece is about to exit the euro

MATTHEW LYNN'S LONDON EYE GET EMAIL ALERTS

Published: June 17, 2015 3:00 a.m. ET

Market Watch

Crunch talks in Athens. The IMF flying home in a huff. German ministers leaking that the eurozone can survive a Greek exit, and Greek ministers insisting that austerity can’t be tolerated any more.

If it is Wednesday, at least one of those factors must be threatening to dump Greece out of the euro EURUSD, +0.4234%   by the weekend. Or Monday. Or the end of the month.

Merkel Tries to Get Greek Talks Back on Track

by Marcus BensassonNikos Chrysoloras

June 17, 2015 — 12:28 PM EEST Updated on June 18, 2015 — 3:26 AM EEST

Bloomberg

With Greece’s fate in the balance, European finance ministers converge on Luxembourg with little hope for a deal as German Chancellor Angela Merkel seeks to restore calm to increasingly rancorous exchanges.

Ο ΣΥΡΙΖΑ που ξέρατε τελειώνει εδώ!

Δημοσιεύθηκε: 10 Ιουνίου 2015 - 07:45

http://m.euro2day.gr/1340079/article.aspx

Απειρία, ιδεολογία, λαϊκισμός και εξουσιομανία είναι τα κύρια χαρακτηριστικά του κυβερνητικού σχήματος. Το θλιβερό και καταστροφικό για τη χώρα παιχνίδι των ψευδαισθήσεων φθάνει στο τέλος του. Είναι η ώρα των αποφάσεων.

Με απόφαση τεσσάρων Ελλήνων στους δέκα η χώρα, ελέω ενός απίθανου και αντιδημοκρατικού εκλογικού συστήματος, έχει σήμερα μία κυβέρνηση άπειρων, απαίδευτων και ιδεολογικά καθυστερημένων καιροσκόπων της πολιτικής, οι οποίοι καλούνται να διαχειριστούν το μέλλον πολλών γενεών Ελλήνων.

Greece's future in EU in doubt if talks fail, central bank warns

 Jun 17, 2015 2:59pm EDT Related: GREECE

ATHENS | BY GEORGE GEORGIOPOULOS AND MATTHIAS WILLIAMS

Reuters

The Greek central bank warned on Wednesday that the country risked a painful exit from the euro and ultimately even the European Union if Athens and its creditors do not strike a swift aid-for-reforms deal.

A top Greek negotiator told Reuters that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' leftist government was ready to make unspecified concessions but he once again ruled out any cuts to pensions - a major sticking point in the negotiations.

Greek PM tears into lenders as euro zone prepares for 'Grexit'

Tue Jun 16, 2015 4:42pm EDT Related: GREECE

ATHENS/BERLIN | BY LEFTERIS PAPADIMAS AND ERIK KIRSCHBAUM

Reuters

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accused Greece's creditors on Tuesday of trying to "humiliate" Greeks with more cuts as he defied a growing drumbeat of warnings that Europe was preparing for his country to leave the euro.

The unrepentant address to lawmakers after the collapse of talks with European and IMF lenders at the weekend was the clearest sign yet that the leftist leader has no intention of making a last-minute U-turn and accepting austerity cuts needed to unlock frozen aid and avoid a debt default within two weeks.

Greek PM tears into lenders, euro zone prepares for 'Grexit'

Tue Jun 16, 2015 1:46pm EDT Related: GREECE

ATHENS/BERLIN | BY LEFTERIS PAPADIMAS AND ERIK KIRSCHBAUM

Reuters

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras lashed out at Greece's creditors on Tuesday, accusing them of trying to "humiliate" Greeks, as he defied a drumbeat of warnings that Europe is preparing for his country to leave the euro.

The unrepentant address to lawmakers after the collapse of talks with European and IMF lenders at the weekend was the clearest sign yet that the leftist leader has no intention of making a last-minute U-turn and accepting austerity cuts needed to unlock frozen aid and avoid a debt default within two weeks.

How to Defend a Post-Greece Euro

5 JUN 16, 2015 2:00 AM EDT

By Mark Gilbert

Bloomberg

With bailout talks between Greece and its creditors collapsing, it seems sensible to start reflecting on what defenses the euro might need against the fallout of a nation leaving the common-currency project. Once euro membership is proven to be anything but irrevocable, the remaining members will need to reassert their unity. And one way to do that would be to resurrect, in slightly modified form, the concept of euro bonds.

Greek Showdown Puts Merkel's Teflon Legacy at Risk

by Patrick Donahue

June 16, 2015 — 1:14 AM EEST

Bloomberg

The Teflon chancellor may be vulnerable after all.

The specter of insolvency in Greece poses the biggest threat to the legacy of German Chancellor Angela Merkel whose political longevity rests on her crisis-fighting diplomacy.

From the threat of the U.K. leaving the European Union to the festering conflict in Ukraine, Merkel’s credibility as the continent’s most powerful leader and her guiding philosophy of a more united, competitive Europe risks unraveling.

And it might just be Greece, an economy a fraction the size of Germany’s, that could deal the most painful blow.

Greece Won’t Present New Proposal to Eurogroup to Unlock Aid

by Nikos ChrysolorasEleni Chrepa

June 15, 2015 — 4:17 PM EEST Updated on June 16, 2015 — 1:11 PM EEST

Bloomberg

Greece snubbed European pleas to submit a proposal to avert a default, dimming chances of a compromise at a key meeting this week.

Greek stocks fell for a third day on Tuesday on concern time is running out. The country needs to seal an accord or get an extension before the euro area’s bailout expires on June 30, or risk missing payments on its debt of about 313 billion ($354 billion) euros.

“The overwhelming sense of Greece’s creditors is that the government does not fully understand the institutional constraints it faces, the level of reform detail necessary for a deal and that is massively underestimating the risk and impact of capital controls,” Eurasia Group analysts Mujtaba Rahman and Federico Santi wrote in a note on Tuesday. “Even if a Euro summit is called, it may prove too late.”

Europe Stocks Close Down, Euro Pressured as Greek Talks Stumble

European officials dismissed the Greek government’s latest proposals as ‘vague and repetitive’

The Wall Street Journal

By JOSIE COX

Updated June 15, 2015 7:34 p.m. ET

Global markets were rocked after talks between Greece and its European creditors collapsed over the weekend, sparking fresh fears of an imminent default.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 1.6%, led lower by a 4.7% slide by Greece’s Athex Composite index. In the U.S., the S&P 500 dropped 0.5%.

Δηλώσεις της κ. Annika Breidthardt, Εκπροσώπου Τύπου της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής σχετικά με τη δέσμη μέτρων που περιλαμβάνονται στην πρόταση των θεσμών

Η δέσμη μέτρων που προτείνουν οι θεσμοί είναι ουσιαστική, ισορροπημένη και λογικότατη από οικονομική άποψη. Οι προτάσεις ανταποκρίνονται στις ανάγκες του ελληνικού λαού, της ελληνικής κυβέρνησης αλλά και των 18 κρατών μελών τα οποία επίσης λογοδοτούν στα κοινοβούλια τους.

15/6/2015

Υπάρχουν πέντε κύριοι πυλώνες.

Μια σημαντική και αξιόπιστη δημοσιονομική προσαρμογή: η Ελλάδα θα δεσμευόταν να επιτύχει στόχο πρωτογενούς πλεονάσματος 2 % του ΑΕΠ το 2016 που να ανέλθει σε 3,5 % του ΑΕΠ το 2018.

Σημαντικά μέτρα για τη βελτίωση της φορολογικής διοίκησης (για παράδειγμα μέσω της ίδρυσης μιας ανεξάρτητης φορολογικής και τελωνειακής διοίκησης, καθώς και μέσω της καταπολέμησης της φοροδιαφυγής).

Grexit: Two Sides Of The Drachma

JUN 15, 2015 @ 5:30 PM

Forbes

By Clem Chambers,CONTRIBUTOR

I wrote a few weeks ago that everyone should relax about a Grexit, where Greece leaves the European currency and gets its drachma back. I maintained Greece was small and its impact on Europe as a whole would be, in the medium term, negligible.

However, if Greece was bailed out in the extreme manner the Greek government was demanding, then the other heavily indebted countries like Spain, Portugal and even Italy, would vote in reneging left wing governments to disavow their debt. This would risk destroying the euro and Europe itself as such an economic revolt would be unsustainable.

E.U. Urged to Plan for Greece to Default

By JAMES KANTER, ALISON SMALE and NIKI KITSANTONISJUNE 15, 2015

The New York Times

BRUSSELS — A chorus of voices on Monday called on European Union authorities to plan for Greece to default on its huge pile of debt after bailout talks between Athens and its creditors deteriorated over the weekend.

But while European leaders dialed up the sense of urgency, they did little to offer a way to break the deadlock. They instead put the onus on the government in Athens to prevent Greece from becoming the first to quit the eurozone in what would be a major setback to the nearly seven-decade project to unify the Continent.

EU preparing for 'state of emergency' after Greek talks collapse

Mon Jun 15, 2015 8:19am EDT Related: WORLD, GERMANY, GREECE

ATHENS/BERLIN | BY GEORGE GEORGIOPOULOS AND ANDREAS RINKE

Reuters

Germany's EU commissioner said on Monday it was time to prepare for a "state of emergency" after talks collapsed at the weekend to rescue Greece from default and ejection from the euro.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras ignored a litany of pleas from European leaders to act fast and instead blamed creditors for the collapse in aid-for-austerity talks, the biggest setback yet in long-running talks to secure more aid for Greece.

Greece contagion sweeps euro zone bond markets, hits shares

Mon Jun 15, 2015 7:15am EDT Related: GREECE

LONDON | BY NIGEL STEPHENSON

Reuters

Global financial markets suffered their first bout of significant contagion from the Greek crisis this year on Monday after 11th hour talks between the near bankrupt country and its creditors collapsed.

After weeks of minor ebbs and flows on the stop-start negotiations, bond markets across the euro zone signaled alarm that a deal may not be reached by mid-year, when Athens must repay 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) to the International Monetary Fund.

The premium investors demand to hold Spanish, Italian and Portuguese government bonds over low-risk German Bunds hit 2015 highs, with the 10-year yield gap between Spanish and German debt at its widest since August.

Greek talks failure hits shares, buoys low-risk debt

Mon Jun 15, 2015 4:29am EDT Related: GREECE

LONDON | BY NIGEL STEPHENSON

Failure in the latest talks aimed at averting a Greek default hurt shares in Europe and Asia on Monday, drove investors into the safety of low-risk government bonds and weighed on the euro.

As contagion from the collapse of Sunday's talks spread across markets, the premium investors demand to hold Spanish 10-year bonds ES10YT=TWEB over German Bunds DE10YT=TWEB hit its highest since August.

Out of Options and Time, Tsipras Faces Greece’s Moment of Truth

by Ben SillsFlavia Krause-Jackson

June 15, 2015 — 11:30 AM EEST

Bloomberg

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has four days to capitulate to demands to keep Greece in the euro -- or prepare for a messy divorce.

The collapse of talks in Brussels on Sunday has made Thursday’s meeting of euro-area finance ministers the next deadline in the saga that opened in 2009. Bills are piling up and the aid spigot, shut for 10 months, is about to be withdrawn.

Greece Enters Fateful Week as Brussels Talks End Fruitlessly

by Jonathan StearnsMarcus Bensasson

Bloomberg

Greece enters what could be a defining week after last-ditch negotiations between representatives of the Greek government and its creditors collapsed on Sunday.

The euro dropped as the European Commission said the talks in Brussels had broken up after just 45 minutes with the divide between what creditors asked of Greece and what its government was prepared to do unbridged. The focus now shifts to a June 18 meeting in Luxembourg of euro-area finance ministers, known collectively as the Eurogroup, that may become a make-or-break session deciding Greece’s ability to avert default and its continued membership in the 19-nation euro area.

“While some progress was made, the talks did not succeed as there remains a significant gap,” the commission said in a text message. “On this basis, further discussion will now have to take place in the Eurogroup.”

Why Everybody’s in the Dark on Greece

Does Alexis Tsipras actually want to keep Greece in the eurozone?

By SIMON NIXON

June 14, 2015 7:41 p.m. ET

7 COMMENTS

Does Alexis Tsipras actually want to keep Greece in the eurozone?

Until recently, the answer seemed clear. The Greek prime minister fought an election promising to keep Greece in the single currency. Every survey of Greek voters showed strong support for euro membership. No one seriously doubts that a euro exit would be catastrophic for the Greek economy in the short term—and most likely in the long term too, given the potential for social and political turmoil. Sure, his Syriza party has been anti-euro as recently as 2012 and some of its leading figures have continued to argue for exit, but the bulk of the party seemed to have reconciled itself to membership.

Greece and creditors fail in 'last attempt' to reach deal

Sun Jun 14, 2015 4:25pm EDT Related: WORLD, GREECE

BRUSSELS/ATHENS | BY JAN STRUPCZEWSKI AND RENEE MALTEZOU

Reuters

Talks on ending a deadlock between Greece and its international creditors broke up in failure on Sunday, with European leaders venting their frustration as Athens stumbled closer toward a debt default that threatens its future in the euro.

European Union officials blamed the collapse on Athens, saying it had failed to offer anything new to secure the funding it needs to repay 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) to the International Monetary Fund by the end of this month.

'No deal' with Greece as talks in Brussels fail

BBC

A European Commission spokesman said while that progress was made on Sunday, "significant gaps" remained.

Europe wants Greece to make spending cuts worth €2bn (£1.44bn), to secure a deal that will unlock bailout funds.

Greek deputy prime minister Yannis Dragasakis said that Athens was still ready to negotiate with its lenders.

He said Greek government proposals submitted on Sunday had fully covered the fiscal deficit as demanded.

Greece Talks End After 45 Minutes as Focus Shifts to Eurogroup

by Jonathan StearnsMarcus Bensasson

June 14, 2015 — 8:15 PM EEST Updated on June 14, 2015 — 10:02 PM EEST

Bloomberg

Last-ditch negotiations in Brussels between Greece and its creditors collapsed after just 45 minutes on Sunday.

The latest failure to find a formula to unlock as much as 7.2 billion euros ($8.1 billion) in aid for the anti-austerity Greek government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras comes amid growing warnings about the risk of Greece’s exit from the 19-nation euro.

Greece, a Financial Zombie State

By THE EDITORIAL BOARDJUNE 12, 2015

The New  York Times

Greece and the other countries in the eurozone are once again at an impasse days ahead of a crucial deadline. If the two sides do not reach an agreement on how to extend a 240 billion euro ($270 billion) loan program beyond June 30, Greece will most likely default on its debts and would probably be forced to abandon the euro.

A Greek Suicide?

JUN 11, 2015 21

By Anatole Kaletsky

Project Syndicate

LONDON – The good news is that a Greek default, which has become more likely after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ provocative rejection of what he described as the “absurd” bailout offer by Greece’s creditors, no longer poses a serious threat to the rest of Europe. The bad news is that Tsipras does not seem to understand this.

Greece Told to Stop Fighting Creditors' Demands as Deadline Nears

by Karl Stagno NavarraCorina Ruhe

June 11, 2015 — 3:02 PM EEST Updated on June 12, 2015 — 11:43 AM EEST

Bloomberg

Greece was told to stop fighting creditors’ demands and sign a deal that will avert a default as officials plan for a worsening of the crisis.

El-Erian sounds alarm over crisis in Greece

Published: June 11, 2015 11:26 a.m. ET

Market Watch

By SARA SJOLIN MARKETS REPORTER

“…unemployment rate in the Hellenic Republic rose to 26.6% in the first quarter of the year, up from 26.1% in October-December…”

Keeping Greece in the Euro May Have Nothing to Do With Finances

by Maria Petrakis

June 12, 2015 — 2:01 AM EEST

 Bloomberg

A bronze statue of Harry S. Truman stands unguarded along a busy Athens road, a reminder of Greece’s post-World War II position as a strategic bulwark for the U.S. and Europe.

If euro-area policy makers overcome their frustration over Greek financial brinkmanship and cough up more aid, it will be in no small part because of that role.

“Greece’s geopolitical potential has been used as a promise, but mostly as a threat,” said Eirini Karamouzi, lecturer in contemporary history at Sheffield University and author of a book on Greece’s relationship with Europe during the Cold War. “There’s always been the threat of a catastrophic spillover effect if Greece was left to its own devices or, worse, turn into a failed state in Europe’s backyard.”

Despite IMF walkout, Greece hopes for deal on June 18

Fri Jun 12, 2015 2:53am EDT Related: GREECE

ATHENS

Greece hopes to clinch a deal with its lenders at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers on June 18, the state minister said on Friday, as time runs short for the country to stave off default at the end of the month.

The statement by Alekos Flabouraris came a day after the International Monetary Fund walked away from negotiations in Brussels, citing major differences, and a top EU leader bluntly told Athens to stop "gambling" with its future.

Greece at the Cliff’s Edge

Creditors warn Athens not to expect a better offer.

June 11, 2015 6:52 p.m. ET

The Wall Street Journal

Greece’s talks with creditors entered a new stage Thursday as the International Monetary Fund withdrew from bailout talks. This is the bluntest in a series of increasingly impatient statements from creditors that all make the same point: Athens won’t get a better deal.

I.M.F. Recalls Negotiators as Deadline Looms for Greek Deal

By LIZ ALDERMAN and LANDON THOMAS Jr.JUNE 11, 2015

The New York Times

PARIS — The plotline is familiar by now in Greece’s long-running debt crisis, as bailout talks once again hit a major snag. But at this stage just weeks before the bailout expires, the latest twist could have more serious repercussions.

On Thursday, the International Monetary Fund sent its negotiators on the Greek rescue program back to Washington, in the starkest sign yet that Athens may be forced to default on its debts at the end of the month.

Tusk Says Greece Must Bow to Reality as Gambling Now Over

by James G Neuger

June 11, 2015 — 3:02 PM EEST Updated on June 11, 2015 — 3:31 PM EEST

Bloomberg

European Union President Donald Tusk accused Greece of playing games with its future in the euro zone and pressed Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s government to make concessions in order to escape economic ruin.

As Greece lurches toward default, businesses hit the wall

Wed Jun 10, 2015 9:32am EDT Related: GREECE

ATHENS | BY ANGELIKI KOUTANTOU

Reuters

When construction of four 6.5 billion euro toll roads across Greece resumed last year, Greek and foreign businesses rejoiced.

Greece Is the Crisis Club’s Odd Man Out

Stunted export sector makes eurozone’s weakest link less responsive to bailout medicine

 The Wall Street Journal

By GREG IP

Updated June 10, 2015 2:06 p.m. ET

53 COMMENTS

Odds are Greece and its international creditors will strike some sort of deal to avoid default before a deadline looming at the end of June.

The bigger question is whether Greece will emerge from a new bailout any better able to grow, and thus support its debts, than it did from prior deals.

What Game Is Greece Playing?

15 JUN 10, 2015 2:00 AM EDT

By Mark Buchanan

 Bloomberg

The repeated willingness of Greece and its creditors to bring the entire euro area to the brink of disaster presents a difficult and fascinating question for economic theorists: What game are they really playing?

On the surface, it seems like a classic game of chicken, in which each side tries to look determined enough to make the other crumble. The creditors, including the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank, insist that they can't provide any more debt relief or loosen their austerity demands any further. Greece pushes for more, suggesting that it is willing to default on its debts, possibly triggering an unraveling of the monetary union, if it doesn't get its way.

Grexit: Will Greece Leave The Euro And What Will Happen If It Does?

Clem Chambers, CONTRIBUTOR

Forbes

Will Greece leave the euro? Surely not. Europe must muddle through. There will be a deal and both sides will claim victory and clasped hands will be raised.

Everyone knows there will be no Grexit, only more grandstanding for the gullible home audiences of Europe.

But wait, what if there is a Greek exit from the euro? Leaving the euro is not leaving Europe. It is not even close. And what happens if Greece stays in, what more misery follows for all?

Grexit would be 'start of the end for the eurozone,' says Tsipras

Greek PM Alexis Tsipras has warned in an interview of the costs to EU taxpayers if his country left the eurozone. Athens has meanwhile finally submitted a promised reform plan to its creditors.

http://www.dw.de/grexit-would-be-start-of-the-end-for-the-eurozone-says-tsipras/a-18504543

In the interview in the Tuesday edition of Italy's Corriere della Sera, Tsipras said that if Greece were forced out of the eurozone after failing to make a deal on managing its debt, Spain or Italy could soon follow, precipitating the collapse of the currency bloc.

American Billionaire Makes Risky Bet on Greece Debt Deal

By JACK EWING
JUNE 9, 2015

The New York Times

FRANKFURT — The contrarian American billionaire Wilbur L. Ross Jr. made a bundle betting on the Irish banking system when it was down and out, and a similar wager on Cyprus now looks promising. But Greece may prove to be the toughest test yet of his knack for cashing in on eurozone crisis spots.

The economics of bluffing

Buttonwood

When political leaders turn into option-writers

May 30th 2015 |

The Economist

WILL Greece default on its debts and leave the euro? Will Britain decide to leave the European Union? Politicians in the two countries have threatened, implicitly or explicitly, to take these drastic steps if their European colleagues do not offer them inducements to stay.

Greece delivers reform plan to EU, warns on cost of failure

Tue Jun 9, 2015 7:15am EDT Related: ITALY, GREECE

ATHENS/BRUSSELS | BY RENEE MALTEZOU AND JAN STRUPCZEWSKI

Reuters

Greece handed its creditors new proposals on unlocking funds to keep the country from default, with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras offering hope for a deal and warning the cost of failure would be enormous.

The reform proposals mark a further attempt by Tsipras to compromise with lenders as time runs out to reach a deal to prevent his country going bankrupt.

Greece Said to Submit Revised Budget Plan in Bid for Funding

by Nikos Chrysoloras

June 9, 2015 — 10:53 AM EEST Updated on June 9, 2015 — 11:59 AM EEST

Bloomberg

The Greek government submitted a three-page budget proposal to its creditors in Brussels in a bid to unlock bailout funds, two international officials with direct knowledge of the discussions said.

The document covered only fiscal targets, one of the people said. Greece gave its creditors a separate note, also three pages long, on how to address the country’s financing needs, in which the government asked to use funds from the European Stability Mechanism to repay about 6.7 billions euros ($7.6 billion) of bonds held by the European Central Bank that come due in July and August, the people said.

Merkel-Schaeuble Differences Over Greece Talks Said to Widen

by Birgit JennenRainer BuerginBrian Parkin

June 8, 2015 — 7:16 PM EEST Updated on June 9, 2015 — 12:40 PM EEST

Bloomberg

A split between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is widening over Greece as the funding standoff goes down to the wire, said people familiar with the matter.

Merkel is ready to make concessions to keep Greece in the euro because of geopolitical concerns, while Schaeuble is willing to let the country exit the euro unless its government takes measures to ensure the country’s long-term survival in the monetary union, said the people, who asked not be identified speaking about internal party discussions.

Εδώ, οι καλές διαπραγματεύσεις...

ΠΟΛΙΤΙΚΗ 07.06.2015 : 18:43

Από τον Πάσχο Μανδραβέλη

Εφημερίδα Καθημερινή

Και σε ποιον ακριβώς πλανήτη ζούσε μέχρι πρότινος ο αναπληρωτής υπουργός Οικονομικών κ. Ευκλείδης Τσακαλώτος, που δήλωσε «σοκαρισμένος από το τελεσίγραφο των δανειστών»; Δεν διάβαζε εφημερίδες; Δεν είχε ακούσει τίποτε για τη σθεναρή τους στάση απέναντι στην κυβέρνηση Σαμαρά; Δεν πήρε χαμπάρι τίποτε στις «διαπραγματεύσεις» όπου συμμετείχε ως πρωταγωνιστής; Μήπως βρισκόταν σ’ έναν άλλο κόσμο τον οποίο θεωρούσε εφικτό; Και επιπλέον: τι εμπιστοσύνη μπορούμε να έχουμε σε μια διαπραγματευτική ομάδα, όταν ο επικεφαλής της δεν μπορεί να προβλέψει και «σοκάρεται» από τις εξελίξεις;

Greece talks of compromise as Merkel warns time is short

Mon Jun 8, 2015 5:03pm EDT Related: GREECE

ATHENS/KRUEN, GERMANY | BY RENEE MALTEZOU AND NOAH BARKIN

Reuters

Greece proclaimed a new willingness to compromise with its international creditors on Monday, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that time was running out for a reform-for-aid deal to keep the country in the euro.

Three days after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told his parliament the latest proposal from the EU and IMF was "absurd", the Greek government said it was ready to negotiate a settlement acceptable to both sides by the end of this month - when Greece's bailout program expires and it faces the prospect of default on its debts.

Pensions in Greece Feel the Pinch of Debt Negotiations

By SUZANNE DALEYJUNE 8, 2015

The New York Times

ATHENS — Vasiliki Meliou did not want to retire at 53, but she had little choice, she said, after the state-owned bank she worked for was sold three years ago.

To stay at the bank carried the risk of being laid off, and with Greece’s unemployment rate above 25 percent, she doubted she would ever find another job.

GREECE: 'Fasten your seat belts'

By MIKE BIRD

Market Watch

JUN. 8, 2015, 2:51 AM

The deadline for a deal to resolve Greece's ongoing drama seemed to be pushed back last week. But new stresses could appear as early as this week if there is no noticeable progress on the talks.

Last week Greece decided to combine the four debt payments it owed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in June — worth about €1.5 billion ($1.66 billion, £1.09 billion) collectively — into one, which will be due at the end of the month.

Scientists Drop Science Bomb on Climate-Change Skeptics

By Jonathan Chait

The New York Times

Over the last couple of years, the conservative movement, which loves science, has had a completely scientific-based reason for skepticism about climate change. The Earth’s temperature seemed to be rising at a slower rate than scientists had predicted. The global warming “pause,” as it was inaccurately called — it was actually “getting warmer at a slower-than-expected rate,” rather than an actual pause — served as grist for a massive flow of coverage expressing skepticism about scientific models and climate change.

European Leaders Voice Frustration With Greece in Debt Crisis

By ALISON SMALEJUNE 7, 2015

The New York Times

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany — World leaders on Sunday increased the pressure on Europe to resolve the crisis over Greek debt, hours after one of the chief European negotiators expressed exasperation with the way the Greek leader was handling the talks.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, host of the Group of 7 summit meeting in the Bavarian Alps, told the public broadcaster ZDF that she and the French president, François Hollande, had spoken to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece by telephone late Saturday and had briefed other leaders attending the gathering on the conversation.