MacroPolis

Bailout talks resume with key issues pending and contingency measures emerging

18/04/2016 - 12:27

The International Monetary Fund spring meetings and the discussions of Greek authorities with eurozone and IMF top officials on the sidelines did not yield any meaningful results apart from a proposal apparently made by the institutions for contingent measures of up to 2 percent of GDP (3.6 billion euros) to bridge the difference between the IMF and the eurozone partners on the fiscal gap to 2018.

Banks’ EFSF bonds QE eligible but with little impact on liquidity

18/04/2016 - 09:46

A European Stability Mechanism (ESM) spokesman confirmed on Friday that the restrictions on outright selling of EFSF bonds held by Greek banks have been lifted.

Banks lead Friday rebound to take Greek stocks up by 2.3 pct during week

15/04/2016 - 22:17

The Greek equity market rebounded by 4.9 percent on Friday, leading to weekly gains of 2.3 percent as earlier losses were eclipsed.

Budget primary surplus of 2.68 bln in first quarter, but March trims outperformance

15/04/2016 - 17:58

Greece’s budget primary surplus climbed to 2.68 billion in the first quarter of 2016 from 1.73 billion last year, the Finance Ministry (MoF) preliminary budget bulletin showed on Friday.

Eurosystem funding drops by another 2.8 bln to 101.4 bln in March

15/04/2016 - 10:09

Greek banks’ Eurosystem funding fell for the ninth successive month in March at an accelerating pace of 2.78 billion euros after dropping by 1.86 billion in February, Bank of Greece's (BoG) monthly financial statement showed on Wednesday.

S&P highlights risks for Greek banking sector

14/04/2016 - 09:41

Greek banks still face higher economic risks than most banking sectors globally, while the country’s economic prospects remain highly uncertain, S&P notes in its latest report on local lenders released on Wednesday evening.

IMF sees 0.6 pct primary deficit in 2015, lowers debt forecast below 180 pct

13/04/2016 - 17:40

In its latest Fiscal Monitor report, the IMF refrained from providing its estimates on Greece’s public finances for 2016 onwards due to ongoing negotiations with the Greek government and the European partners.

Greek tax wedge remained far above OECD average in 2015

13/04/2016 - 10:45

The tax wedge in Greece remained well above the OECD average in 2015, according to the OECD Taxing Wages 2016 report released on Tuesday.

Greek ministers still hopeful of reaching deal with creditors this month

12/04/2016 - 20:26

Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, Labour Minister Giorgos Karougalos and Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis gave a joint press briefing on Tuesday afternoon to provide an update on the state of negotiations with the institutions.

IMF sees contraction of 0.6 pct this year before strong rebound in 2017

12/04/2016 - 16:11

The International Monetary Fund has provided its latest macro forecasts for Greece in the World Economic Outlook (WEO) published on Tuesday.