White House Calls on Greece, European Union to Find Compromise

After an initial plunge, the Dow Jones industrial average was down just 0.1 percent at midday.

The administration continued to “take heart” in the fact that, despite the differences between the sides, all parties recognise the need for a package that will allow Greece to remain in the eurozone, he said. “Agreeing on a program with the current Greek government will be extremely hard for euro-area leaders, given the Greek rejection of the last deal offered, and will be a hard sell at home”. Societe Generale SA put it at 65 percent.

There was a more muted response to Sunday’s vote from financial markets while some other economists were also more sanguine.

Still, a Grexit won’t happen tomorrow and there will be further uncertainty, volatility and delay in store. “We would rather deal with corrupt but obedient leaders, than honest ones with ideas of sovereignty”, Greek publicist Alex Andreou says.

Before the referendum, Obama was in talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, while United States Treasury Secretary Jack Lew spoke with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Managing Director of the worldwide Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde.

Teneo Intelligence, a London-based consultancy, gave the probability of Greece leaving the euro at 75 percent after the vote, while Evercore ISI in Washington saw it at about 67 percent in the next six months to a year.

According to Sachs the “Oxi” result, will force Greek banks to remain closed and the economic situation will deteriorate, ultimately triggering political change as the economy seizes up.

Erik Nielsen, group chief economist at UniCredit, was even more forceful.

Secondly we can not have an outcome of this process which damages our credibility. The process may start within days or weeks, but it won’t be a smooth ride into a new currency.