Greece creditors News

"Nobody needs luxury items right now, even people who can buy would feel insane with guilt if they did."

Euro zone countries tried in vain to stop the IMF publishing a gloomy analysis of Greece`s debt burden which the leftist government says vindicates its call to voters to reject bailout terms, sources familiar with the situation said on Friday.

Tens of thousands of Greeks took to the streets on Friday in rival rallies that laid bare the deep divide heading into a referendum that may decide the country’s future in Europe’s single currency.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras`s plan to hold a referendum on Sunday on creditors` demands for austerity has prompted a breakdown in talks with lenders, forced Greece to shut banks and left its future in the euro in doubt.

Greece`s beleaguered agriculture sector may take another hit as the uncertainty over the crisis-stricken country`s fate threatens to disrupt the food and wine trade, experts have said.

India`s exposure to cash-strapped Greece was very limited and the central government was in talks with the central bank on providing additional capital to public sector banks, a top Reserve Bank of India (RBI) official said on Thursday.

Eurozone finance ministers will resume talks on the Greek crisis on Wednesday later than planned after declining the country`s request for a two-year financial aid package, a spokesman said.

A majority of Greeks would vote `No` to the terms of a proposed bailout deal by foreign lenders but the lead narrowed significantly after banks were closed this week, according to an opinion poll published on Wednesday.

Greece appeared set Tuesday to default on a key IMF repayment, fanning fears of a chaotic eurozone exit on the day the country`s international bailout also expires.

With Greece`s creditors refusing to extend its bailout, attention has turned swiftly to preventing massive capital flight as worried Greek citizens pull cash from ATMs.

Greece's international creditors on Friday offered Athens a five-month, 12-billion-euro (USD 13.4-billion) extension of its bailout programme but said it must seal a deal this weekend to avoid an IMF default next week.

Greece`s creditors are ready to disburse 1.8 billion euros in financial aid to help it meet a crucial IMF payment if parliament votes in favour of a reform deal, a negotiating document seen by AFP said Friday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday a deal between Greece and its creditors was still possible if Athens showed the necessary will, amid mounting pessimism that the austerity-hit country might crash out of the euro zone.

The EU warned Monday that Greece and its creditors had yet to hammer out a new list of reforms despite talks lasting all weekend aimed at staving off bankruptcy and a euro exit.