While much of the world celebrated a bailout deal that would keep Greece from entering into bankruptcy and a forced exit from the Euro, the country’s Prime Minister found himself facing a hostile and combative Parliament.
Greece’s PM Alexis Tsipras spent all day Tuesday in contentious meetings with his own party’s members of parliament and the conflict was so severe it was possible he would need to form a new national unity government to get the bailout passed for the nation.
The deal is critical for the nation as they missed a second debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) putting them further behind in their debt load.
Over 2 million euro are owned to the IMF by Greece as of Monday.
The nation’s banks have been closed since June 29th and without the deal there is no indication when they could re-open. Heavy restrictions on ATM transactions remain in place.
The IMF surprised many observers today by releasing a report on the bailout agreement stating the country needs “massively more” debt relief than admitted by eurozone officials.
“The dramatic deterioration in debt sustainability points to the need for debt relief on a scale that would need to go well beyond what has been under consideration to date – and what has been proposed by the ESM,” the IMF stated.
Greece has until the end of the week.
That’s the message being sent by European leaders who are meeting to discuss the nation’s rejection of austerity measures and bailout terms to help the country out of their default to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The deadline comes after a heated meeting Tuesday among members of the European Union. If there is not an acceptable proposal on Sunday, Greece could be ejected from the Eurozone.
“The stark reality is that we only have five days to find the ultimate agreement,” said a visibly irritated Donald Tusk, the European Council president. “Until now I have avoided talking about deadlines. But tonight I have to say it loud and clear — the final deadline ends this week.”
“I’m strongly against Grexit (the nickname for a Greece exit from the Eurozone),” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said. “But I can’t prevent it if the Greek government is not doing what we expect the Greek government to do.”
Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had told Greek voters if they rejected the referendum he could make a deal with Europe “within 48 hours.” That time limit passed without a formal proposal and only some comments from the nation’s new finance minister reading off handwritten notes.
French President Francois Hollande said that the European Central Bank (ECB) would likely provide money Wednesday to keep Greek banks afloat through Sunday.
The ongoing crisis in the Eurozone has led the International Monetary Fund to call for more action to help increase bank lending.
The IMF commended steps taken by European leaders to stabilize financial markets and said their actions decreased the likelihood of a breakup of the Euro. However, the IMF report said that further cuts to interest rates by the European Central Bank would be needed to boost growth. Continue reading →
Chinese officials have caused concern in world markets with a surprise announcement that both imports and exports fell in June.
China had been trying to maintain that the country’s economy was not slowing down but a 3.1% downturn in exports from a year prior is leading economists to watch for a slowdown. Continue reading →
The Egyptian government is seeking a massive loan from the International Monetary Fund to help the country’s foundering economy.
The negotiations between government officials and IMF representatives in Cairo is contingent on proving that the nation is serious about economic reform.
The Egyptian pound has lost ten percent of its value since the beginning of 2013. Inflation has significantly risen and the lack of funds has caused the government to cut back on imports. Continue reading →
Eurozone finance ministers were holding unscheduled meetings trying to find a “plan B” for Cyprus as the country’s financial system is rapidly collapsing beyond their control.
The country’s banks have been shut until next week because of a run on savings accounts. Rumors that the European Union and the International Monetary Fund would require all Cyprus account holders to sacrifice a portion of their savings to obtain a bailout of the nation. Continue reading →
Admit outcry from citizens, the government of Cyprus has unanimously rejected a bailout measure from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund that would require seizing funds from every bank account in the nation.
After the vote the European Central Bank said they would move to assist Cyprus in any way they can under the currently approved banking systems. Continue reading →
Banks in Cyprus are closed through Thursday after citizens tried to withdraw all their funds ahead of a possible government seizure of funds.
The European Union and International Monetary Union have requested that Cyprus seize a portion of all bank accounts in the country before any bailout funds will be given to the nation. Continue reading →
The Greek government has invoked an emergency power act to order sailors and dock workers to end a six day strike that has crippled traffic to Greek islands.
Workers who defy the order will face jail terms of three months to five years. Continue reading →
The International Monetary Fund cut its projections for global economic growth by .3% and said that there are considerable possibilities of further deterioration in the world economic outlook.
One of the IMF’s biggest downgrades focused on the United Kingdom which had been forecasted to show very small growth through the rest of 2012. The revised forecast is calling for a .4% shrinkage. The Fund still believes that at least 1% growth for the UK is possible in 2013 but that forecast was also cut by .3%. Continue reading →
