Greece crisis News

The International Monetary Fund does not wish to slap "draconian measures" on hard-up Greece but wants more government progress on pension reform, IMF chief Christine Lagarde has said.

A form of debt restructuring rather than outright forgiveness should enable Greece to handle its "unviable" debt burden, the head of the International Monetary Fund was quoted as telling a Swiss newspaper.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was Saturday battling a major revolt amongst members of his radical-left party who oppose the third huge bailout for the crisis-hit country.

Greece and its creditors continued marathon talks into Sunday night with both sides indicating that the terms of a third bailout were close to being finalised.

Standard & Poor`s has changed the outlook for the European Union from stable to negative after the bloc`s support for Greece and following Britain`s decision to vote on leaving the EU, S&P reported Monday.

Greece's talks with its international creditors on a third bailout worth 85 billion euros (USD 93 billion) shifted into a higher gear on Friday, with lead negotiators from the European Union and International Monetary Fund meeting key ministers in Athens.

The European Central Bank decided Wednesday to leave its stopgap credit lifeline for Greece unchanged, said a source close to the decision who asked not to be identified.

Greek banks, which have remained shut since June 29, are due to re-open on Monday, after the ECB raised the level of emergency funding available.

Greece on Wednesday geared up for a parliamentary vote on draconian reforms demanded by eurozone creditors in exchange for a huge new bailout, just hours after a bombshell report from the International Monetary Fund criticised the deal.

Greece won conditional agreement to receive a possible $95 billion over three years.

Eurozone finance ministers on Saturday were to give their verdict on Greece`s last-chance bid for a third bailout to keep its ship-wrecked economy afloat and prevent its exit from the single European currency.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras however faced a rebellion in his own party that could threaten his majority in parliament.

Lawmakers in Greece will vote as early as Friday whether to back a last-ditch reform plan the government submitted to creditors overnight in a bid to stave off financial collapse and exit from the eurozone.

Country's largest software services firm TCS has said the economic situation in Greece and China will not "cause any issue" for it.

The heads of the EU, IMF, European Central Bank and the eurozone on Friday will discuss a last-ditch reform plan that Greece submitted in a bid to avert financial collapse and exit from the eurozone, EU sources said.

Gold held above a four-month low on Friday, spurred by a firmer euro on signs of progress in debt-hit Greece`s efforts to secure fresh funding.

Government on Wednesday said it was closely monitoring the Greek crisis and prepared to face any situation in view of its 'comfortable' foreign exchange reserves.

European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said Tuesday he was against an exit by Greece from the euro, even though Greeks massively rejected bailout terms in a referendum this weekend.

Greeks have their own leaders to blame for the crisis in their country, and not "mean Germans", Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Tuesday.

The global crisis bank is anxious to craft a compromise, but also under pressure to recover the billions it has lent to the country.