Greek poll points to no vote in referendum

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is maintaining a defiance stance urging voters to reject proposals made by creditors last week when they vote in Sunday’s referendum.

As indicated by Tsipras, the country’s creditors offered a better deal after the referendum call.

Traders responded positively to the letter published by FT, thinking that it could form the basis of a new deal between Greece and its creditors that would prevent a messy Greek exit from the euro.

This has led to the Council of Europe, the continent’s human rights watchdog, to condemn the proposed vote as falling below global standards.

Addressing Dutch parliament, Dijsselbloem, who is also the Netherlands’ finance minister, said that the referendum referred to documents that had “no relevance” since Greece’s bailout program expired on June 30.

But European leaders have made it clear they believe a “No” vote would set Greece firmly on the path to leaving the eurozone.

At a news conference to outline the Bank of England’s latest Financial Stability Report, its governor Mark Carney warned the outlook for United Kingdom Financial Stability had “worsened” because of the crisis in Greece.

If the offer were accepted, the euro zone finance ministers could adopt a statement saying that a 2012 pledge to consider stretching out loan maturities, lowering interest rates and extending an interest payment moratorium on euro zone loans to Greece would be implemented in October.

The Tsipras letter contained only a single sketchy reference to labour market reform, which was one of the creditors’ demands to make the Greek economy more competitive.

The Greek proposal was sent by Tsipras to heads of the institutions that have overseen Greece’s two bailouts worth 240 billion euros since 2010, just as the European part of the EU-IMF bailout expired.

But German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble was quick to pour cold water on any hopes for an agreement by saying that he had not even read Athens’ latest proposals, stressing that a deal would not be struck before Sunday’s referendum. The European Union leaders, he added, were “extremist conservative forces” who had forced the shutdown of Greece’s banks because the country had dared to call the referendum.

With many elderly Greeks unable to access any money without bank cards, the government said about 1,000 bank branches across the country would open for three days starting Wednesday to give them access to some cash.

The uncertainty has created surreal scenes in Greece, with lineups continuing at bank machines, employers uncertain they can pay their staff’s wages, and everyone from cab drivers to factory workers and students debating Syriza’s tactics.

The “No” vote share was down compared to before capital controls were introduced Sunday. His plea comes as Greece is hours away from defaulting on an approximately $1.8 billion loan payment to the global Monetary Fund.