All the latest business and financial news, as concerns grow that Greece won’t reach a deal with its creditors in timeLatest: Athens hopes for agreement in RigaGreek stock market fallsSpanish minister still optimisticIntroduction: Weekend leaks fuel fears over Greece 11.18am BST Greek government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis added that Athens won’t implement a “Cyprus-style” solution, such as imposing losses on bank depositors.Govt spokesman Sakellaridis: Government won't sign 3rd bailout or agree to Cyprus-style solution #Greece pic.twitter.com/7uTaxnXEOF*GREECE WON'T IMPOSE DEPOSITOR BAIL-IN, GOVT SPOKESMAN SAYS 11.08am BST Newsflashes are coming in from Athens, showing that the Greek government hopes to reach a deal by the end of May.But spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis also insisted that Greece is still sticking to its “red lines”.GREECE HOPES FOR POLITICAL AGREEMENT AT RIGA SUMMIT: SPOKESMANhow do you say "wishful thinking" in Greek? or it is mere day-dreaming? https://t.co/aY0iDgWi01 10.56am BST The price of gold has hit a three-month high this morning, touching $1,230 per ounce for the first time since mid-February.Demand for gold has risen after last week’s disappointing economic data, showing US consumer confidence and industrial production had dipped. Gold will take a hit when the Fed eventually raises interest rates later this year.” 10.20am BST Two issues are looming over the UK this morning; Britain’s position in Europe, and the new government’s fiscal plans. Related: JCB boss says EU exit could lift burden of bureaucracy on UK businesses Related: Tories may axe 100,000 civil service jobs over next half-decade, union warns Related: Thorntons' boss quits after supermarket sales fall 9.57am BST A group of influential members of the Syriza coalition have called a meeting tomorrow to discuss whether Greece should split from its creditors, rather than swallow fresh austerity.Eurocrisis expert @GreekAnalyst reports that the gathering on Tuesday night will be attended by several “prominent” members of the left-wing group which won power in January, including: Antonis Davellos (SYRIZA Political Secretariat), John Millios (SYRIZA Central Committee), Sofi Papadogianni (SYRIZA Political Secretariat), Panos Lambrou (SYRIZA Political Secretariat), George Sapounas (SYRIZA Central Committee).We need to choose between the signing of the looming austerity agreement and the rupture with the lenders. SYRIZA cannot be turned into a party of austerity; neither can the government implement the Memorandum. This is the reason why, both domestically and abroad, proposals for the internal “cleansing” of SYRIZA and governmental solutions for “national unity” are put on the table.For all those reasons, the only way out is the choice of rupture with the lenders.Call for "rupture now" by the Political Secretariat & Central Committee of #Syriza http://t.co/cGcxZlGExD #Greece 9.39am BST June is going to be a tense month, unless a deal does come soon.Here's an update on Greece's repayment schedule h/t @SocieteGenerale pic.twitter.com/6AZFIUF5WX 9.33am BST Greece’s short-dated bonds are also weakening this morning:Greek yields this morning: 2y +110bps 4y +106bps 10y +26bps 9.26am BST Robin Bew of the Economist Intelligence Unit reckons a Greek breakthrough will come in time, but it’s going to be a nailbiter....Rumours that #Greece told #IMF it would miss last weeks payment, it was so tight. Think 60% chance of deal by end June. But 40% Grexit 9.15am BST The Athens stock market has fallen by 1.5% in early trading, as traders fret about the slow pace of progress.Financial shares are leading the fallers; the main banks are down at least 3%.Greek 5yr default probability jumps as #Greece gets crunched on two fronts. http://t.co/Y4hTpTtCBr pic.twitter.com/dWowgqiVTI 8.51am BST Greece’s finance minister, Yanis Varouvakis, will give his views on the crisis tonight when he’s interviewed on Greek TV.Enikos will be providing a simultaneous translation into English (they reckon it doesn’t start until 11.30pm local time, alas)#Varoufakis live interview on Monday with simultaneous interpretation #Greece #enikos - http://t.co/2uJoqfyWg6 pic.twitter.com/nP7q7b17wQ 8.41am BST De Guindos added that Europe does not have a “Plan B” for Greece - it wants the country to stay in the eurozone, and meet its commitments.Spain’s Finmin Guindos: There is no wriggle room in bailout talks for Greece; there is no Plan B 8.35am BST Spain’s finance minister, Luis de Guindos, hasn’t given up hope over Greece.He just told reporters in Madrid that an agreement can be reached in the coming days, despite so much time having been frittered away.Guindos says he's 'optimistic' about greece, says deal can be achieved within days although a lot of time has been wasted 8.27am BST Greek fears appear to be weighing on the euro this morning. The single currency has lost half a cent against the US dollar in early trading, to $1.1398.Greece will be front and centre this week as the country looks to secure a deal with its creditors while avoiding harsh austerity. 8.19am BST Greece’s government remains optimistic of a deal soon, perhaps at a summit meeting of EU leaders in Riga on Thursday and Friday.Nikos Filis, spokesman for the parliamentary group of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s Syriza party, told the Mega TV that:“We’re striving for a mutually beneficial agreement by Friday.“Our mandate from the Greek people is to reach an agreement where we stay in the euro area without harsh austerity measures.” 8.08am BST Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financal markets, the eurozone and business.Leaked #IMF confidential memo on #Greece. /via @paulmasonnews pic.twitter.com/UFeqGKlWahGreece came so close to defaulting on last week’s €750m International Monetary Fund repayment that the prime minister warned IMF chief Christine Lagarde he could not pay it without EU aid.Athens ultimately made the payment without financial assistance from the bloc but only by tapping a rarely used emergency account Greece holds at the fund — an unorthodox transaction that amounted to borrowing IMF funds to pay the IMF.How long can #Greece carry on? There’s not much left over to make even small(ish) payments due to #IMF in June. (BBG) pic.twitter.com/mDESz6Xoge Continue reading...
 |
| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com |
