IMF warns Greece needs debt extension, may require writedown

I would imagine Greek voters are pretty confused as well.

“We are committed to avoid a catastrophe for Greece and difficulties for Europe and France”. “It’s up to the Greeks to respond”. With customers still yanking money out of their accounts – the ATM limit is €60 ($83) a day – a full-blown banking crisis is still possible, especially if the referendum rejects the creditors’ bailout offer.

In Athens, crowds of anxious elderly Greeks thronged banks for hours from before dawn, struggling to be allowed to withdraw their maximum of 120 euros ($134) for the week after the government reopened some banks to help pensioners who don’t have bank cards.

Hollande said it was the responsibility of other countries that use the shared currency to keep Greece in the eurozone. “If it’s a “no” vote on Sunday we’ll look a bit silly”, Paddy Power told United States of America TODAY.

The hastily called referendum is based on creditor reform proposals made last week as part of a negotiation with the Greek government.

But that particular proposal is no longer on the table.

Greece’s plight was underlined when on Tuesday it became the first advanced economy to default on an worldwide Monetary Fund (IMF) repayment. Creditors would also be hesitant to lend it more money so the government would be forced to print money, which in turn would lead to high inflation levels, and opening up the country to more problems. But European officials have said they can not negotiate until after Sunday’s vote.

“That suggestion is simply wrong”, Dijsselbloem told lawmakers in the Netherlands.

A No vote in the July 5 referendum would not endanger Greece’s place in the eurozone or in the European Union (EU), but would instead exert pressure on the country’s global lenders to provide Athens with an economically viable agreement, Tsipras said in a televised address to the nation on Wednesday.

THE Greek government vowed Wednesday to go ahead with plans to have the people decide whether they want more austerity measures in exchange for a rescue deal. “The queues are nothing next to all the suicides, the soup kitchens and the homeless on the streets of Athens”.

Responding to a question on whether he would still be finance minister on Monday if the “yes” vote won, Varoufakis said, “I will not”, during an interview on Bloomberg TV. Tsipras has implied he could do the same.

Wolfgang Schaeuble, the powerful German finance minister who lost patience with Greece months ago, was the most critical of Greece’s on-again, off-again proposals to reach a compromise that would take the edge off austerity while ensuring a fresh flow of bailout funds.

Mr Schwarzman said he expected contagion from a Greek exit from the Eurozone would be contained.

Sapin had been pushing for an agreement before Sunday, but after a fruitless meeting of European finance ministers Wednesday, he conceded there was no point negotiating until after the vote.

The prime minister added: “Without debt restructuring, no program will be viable”.

European officials say Greece walked out of negotiations last week when the two sides were relatively close to a deal.

“The future demands a proud Greece within the Eurozone and at the heart of Europe”, wrote Varoufakis.

He continued: “There are also reports that the referendum would be cancelled”.

The Council of Europe, a pan-European human rights body, has criticized the vote, saying it was being organized too quickly and that the question was not clear.