Banks across Greece opened on Wednesday to allow pensioners without debit cards limited access to their fundsGreek pensioners began queuing before dawn at up to 1,000 banks around the country which opened on Wednesday to let them collect the €120 (£85) they will be allowed this week.Hours after Greece’s bailout programme with its creditors expired and the country became the first in the developed world to miss an IMF loan repayment, Greek pensioners without debit cards were at last able to withdraw some cash.Related: Greece debt crisis: Alexis Tsipras backs down – live Continue reading...

Pensioners queue outside Greece's national bank in Athens on Wednesday to collect their retirement cheques. The country has re-opened 1,000 branches for OAPs who do not have ATM cards. Banks are expected to remain closed for other purposes until 6 July, as part of capital controls imposed this week after the European Central Bank froze financial support needed to keep the Greek banks afloat Continue reading...

Bank vows to protect Britain from escalation of eurozone crisis and says it has been working on contingency plans with Treasury among othersThe precarious position of Greece could pose a risk to the financial system, the Bank of England has warned, as it pledged to intervene to insulate the UK from potential shockwaves caused by any escalation in the eurozone crisis.Setting out its half-yearly assessment of the risks to the UK financial system, the Bank said the outlook remained unchanged over the last six months until the last few days, when Greece closed its banks and then failed to repay a €1.5bn (£1.1bn) loan to the International Monetary Fund.Related: Greece debt crisis: Alexis Tsipras reportedly backs down – live Continue reading...

As the total heads towards a million euros, I am proud of the donors from around the world. This campaign is by the people, for the peopleYou know when you just have a little idea, have a laugh to yourself and then move on with your day? I do that a lot, only on Sunday night, I didn’t let it pass but decided to try it out for real.I wondered, could the people of Europe have a crack at fixing this? Less talk, more direct actionRelated: Briton launches crowdfunding campaign to pay off Greece debtRelated: Greece debt crisis: creditors consider next steps after IMF default – live Continue reading...

Athens scrambles to pay wages and pensions after becoming the first EU country to default on its debtsGreece is waiting to hear whether it will be granted emergency aid from the European Central Bank, as it scrambles to pay wages and pensions without the financial lifeline of an EU bailout.

Euro fades only a little to $1.1136 as Greece becomes first developed economy to default on International Monetary Fund loanAsian share markets were in a guarded mood on Wednesday as Greece became the first developed economy to default on a loan with the IMF, setting the scene for another day of uneasy action.Although an unwelcome milestone for Athens, it came as no surprise to investors after weeks of stop-start talks, and the euro faded only a little, to $1.1136.Related: Greek failure to make IMF payment deals historic blow to eurozone Continue reading...

Athens left without financial lifeline following fortnight of non-stop brinkmanship at highest level of EU leadership

The head of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, speaks to the press on Tuesday evening and says that it is too late to agree a deal to save Greece from defaulting at midnight. Appearing after an emergency conference call of the currency bloc's finance ministers, Dijsselbloem says that Greece's request to extend the current bailout package 'simply isn't possible' Continue reading...

Larry Elliott’s main argument in favour of HS2 (Why ‘build it, they will come’ might just work for HS2, 29 June) is a flimsy basis for spending £50bn of public money. If the key objective is to provide a catalyst for growth in the Midlands and the north, it is no less likely that HS2 will simply further increase the economic dominance of London and the south-east. The same £50bn really could be spent on transport projects that would benefit the north and the national economy with much greater certainty. And given Network Rail’s record in carrying out much more straightforward projects, how can one have any faith that HS2 can be built within budget or on schedule (whose timeline is already stretching into the 2030s)? If the government is determined to press ahead with this highly dubious scheme, it could at least save several billion pounds, greatly simplify and shorten its implementation, and – during the many years of planned construction – avoid the inevitable disruption of regular services into Euston and massive economic and social costs for the Euston and Camden Town communities, by switching the London terminus to Old Oak Common (OOC). With the completion of Crossrail, OOC also has the potential to provide much better connectivity for HS2 passengers into central London.

Thousands of Greeks rally in Athens on Tuesday in support of a Yes vote in the referendum to decide on a deal with the European Union. Greece will go to the polls on Sunday to vote on whether to accept a bailout package from Brussels which would save the country from defaulting on their loans. Police estimate over 20,000 protestors turned out to show their support for the reforms package Continue reading...

Greek bailout: the IMF’s reputation has been dented with its overly optimistic projections and wishy-washy stance on debt write-downsOne big loser from Greece’s (likely) default is the reputation of the International Monetary Fund. The IMF, we used to believe, only stepped in when a country’s path to debt sustainability was clear and economic revival could be plotted with reasonable confidence. The organisation’s standing as a global lender of last resort relied on the even-handed application of that principle.In Greece, it’s hard to say the debt was ever sustainable in the world after the global financial crisis of 2007-09. In 2010, when the IMF contributed €30bn to the first bailout programme, Greece hadn’t yet experienced its deep recession. But the risk of deep spending cuts making the position worse was obvious: the unpromising backdrop was a weak eurozone in which banks remained under-capitalised. Continue reading...

With EU leaders refusing to consider a sudden new bailout demand from Alexis Tsipras prior to Sunday’s referendum, Greece looks set to defaultGreece is on the brink of default and insolvency as €240bn of bailout funding comes to an end, with the country either unable or refusing to make a €1.6bn payment to the International Monetary Fund. The failure to resolve the crisis by Tuesday night’s deadline could be a devastating psychological blow to the European project.Related: The Guardian view on the Greek crisis: the European project itself is at stake | EditorialAthens and Brussels buzz with rumours that Tsipras is about to get on a plane to EU headquartersRelated: We're not traitors, insist Greek's yes campaignersRelated: Greece's euro-referendum: 100 Greeks give their view Continue reading...

Yes supporters flood Syntagma Square tonight, as eurozone finance ministers ponder Athens surprise request for a third bailout

Thom Feeney offers postcards of Alexis Tsipras for €3 and has raised €250,000, as ‘while politicians are dithering, the crisis is affecting real people’As the Greek government and its creditors are locked in talks ahead of a deadline for the country to meet a £1.6bn debt repayment, an online crowdfunding campaign started by a London shoe shop worker is aiming to break the impasse by collecting a Greek bailout fund of his own.

Burgeoning citizens’ group – with backing from academics and media magnates – warns of dangers of leaving European Union and euro

Greek prime minister understands that the next few days are a matter of winning hearts and minds and that he needs to rally support for a no voteAlexis Tsipras chose his moment well. What better way to shift attention from the fact that Greece was about to miss a debt payment to the International Monetary Fund and lose its financial lifeline from its creditors than to come up with a new crisis-resolution plan?It little mattered that the new blueprint from Athens had a shelf life of only a couple of hours before Angela Merkel said there could be no fresh negotiations until after Greece’s referendum on Sunday.Related: Greece debt crisis: Thousands of Yes supporters protest, as Tsipras seeks new bailout - live updates Continue reading...

Walmart-owned chain’s sales fall 3.5% after Tesco and Sainsbury’s cut pricesAsda is continuing to bear the brunt of Britain’s bitter supermarket price war, according to an industry survey that showed sales falling sharply at the Walmart-owned grocer.In the 12 weeks to 21 June, Asda’s sales fell 3.5%, making it the worst performer in the sector, according to figures from Kantar Worldpanel. Its performance has deteriorated from last month when the three-month decline was 2.2%.Related: Supermarkets behaving badly – how suppliers can get a fairer deal Continue reading...

Secret documents show creditors’ baseline estimate puts debt at 118% of GDP in 2030, even if it signs up to all tax and spending reforms demanded by troikaGreece would face an unsustainable level of debt by 2030 even if it signs up to the full package of tax and spending reforms demanded of it, according to unpublished documents compiled by its three main creditors.The documents, drawn up by the so-called troika of lenders, support Greece’s argument that it needs substantial debt relief for a lasting economic recovery. They show that, even after 15 years of sustained strong growth, the country would face a level of debt that the International Monetary Fund deems unsustainable. Continue reading...

EU leaders warning about a Greek exit risk hardening support for a no vote. Time to abandon austerity economics and offer a credible recovery planReferendums are the ultimate expression of democracy – I know that from our own recent experience in Scotland. But, unlike that vote and the one that will face the UK as a whole some time in the next 18 months, the vote to be held in Greece this Sunday is a snap plebiscite which doesn’t allow for much campaigning or time for the repercussions of yes or no to be fully understood.Sunday’s vote is also far more than a national question. The effects of this referendum may well be profound and long-lasting, not just for the Greek people, but for the whole European continent. Continue reading...

Much good work already is underway, but there are far more opportunities to ensure that trade helps everyoneOver the past 25 years, an astounding one billion people have lifted themselves out of extreme poverty, reducing by more than half the number of those living in such deplorable conditions.This is great work but we can do even better. In the next 15 years, we believe that international trade, which has boosted economic growth and improved access to new technologies and innovations, has played a significant role in reducing extreme poverty in the past, and it can do so in the future. Continue reading...

The chancellor is not nearly as worried about the trade deficit as he is about the budget deficit – and not nearly as worried as he should beBritain’s balance of payments has never been more deeply in the red. There have been some monster external deficits down the years but the one notched up in 2014 trumped them all.Little is said in official circles about the nation’s current account. George Osborne talks about boosting exports and rebalancing the economy, but, the chancellor is not nearly as worried about the trade deficit as he is about the budget deficit. And not nearly as worried as he should be.Related: UK economy grows faster than first forecast Continue reading...

The IMF may not want to classify any Athens’ failure to pay up on time as a default - but it would be first case of arrears by an advanced economyIf it looks like a default, swims like a default, and quacks like a default, then it’s probably a default.

A rise in the US dollar would spell market turbulence for many developing countries but no widespread crisesThe prospect that the US Federal Reserve will start exiting zero policy rates later this year has fuelled growing fear of renewed volatility in emerging economies’ currency, bond, and stock markets. The concern is understandable: when the Fed signalled in 2013 that the end of its quantitative-easing (QE) policy was forthcoming, the resulting “taper tantrum” sent shockwaves through many emerging countries’ financial markets and economies.Indeed, rising interest rates in the US and the ensuing likely rise in the value of the dollar could, it is feared, wreak havoc among emerging markets’ governments, financial institutions, corporations, and even households. Because all have borrowed trillions of dollars in the last few years, they will now face an increase in the real local-currency value of these debts, while rising US rates will push emerging markets’ domestic interest rates higher, thus increasing debt-service costs further.Related: Joseph Stiglitz: how I would vote in the Greek referendum Continue reading...

GDP rose 0.4% in the first three months of the year as the sharp drop initially predicted for construction sector failed to materialiseBritain’s economy grew faster than initially thought in the opening months of this year but still suffered a marked slowdown compared to the end of 2014.The Office for National Statistics said GDP rose 0.4% in the first quarter from the previous three months. That was in line with City economists’ forecasts after a recent revision to official construction figures showed the sector did not suffer the sharp drop first pencilled in.

The Greek government’s success was built on the lie that it could avert austerity – in the upcoming referendum, it seeks to evade all responsibilityThere is a punchy but elegant Greek phrase that summarises the moment when delusion and deception are exposed: telos pia ta psemmata, the end of lies. You might have thought that point would have arrived on Sunday when it was announced that banks would not be opening the next morning. It did not. It will not arrive with the queues for petrol; or when Greek merchants refuse card payments; or even when supermarkets begin to run out of imported basics.As I drove through the streets of Athens watching worried lines form at every cashpoint, radio bulletins were interrupted by commercial breaks offering cheerful suggestions on how to spend your summer euros. It felt like listening to a voicemail message from a dead relative.Bankruptcy, rupture and isolation will be welcomed with unfathomably foolish prideRelated: This referendum is a fight between the Greeks and Europe’s cruel capitalism | Aditya ChakraborttyRelated: Greece's euro-referendum: 100 Greeks give their view Continue reading...

Talk of a last-minute deal look over-optimistic as Greece hours away from becoming the first developed nation to default on IMF

With hours before the IMF loan runs out, and a popular vote due on Sunday, this is how events will unfoldGreece managed to put off big payments due to the IMF this month by bundling them together. But time runs out at 11pm BST, when June’s grand total of €1.6bn is due. Greece does not have the money to cover the payment, and that may well mean it defaults on its debt. But the IMF may conceivably agree to a grace period to tide everyone over to Sunday’s referendum.Related: Where did the Greek bailout money go? Continue reading...

After five years, three elections, two bailouts worth $240bn and one ever deepening crisis, Greece is heading for a crunch point on Sunday with a referendum on its future in Europe. We asked Greeks for their view on the troika, the tumult - and whether they want to stay in the euro-zone Continue reading...

Post-election poll of consumer sentiment, showing dramatic uptick in confidence, provides encouraging news for retailers

Germany, France and Italy joined the European commission in insisting that Sunday’s poll is about continued eurozone membershipThe eurozone’s three biggest countries have raised the stakes in next Sunday’s Greek referendum with an orchestrated warning to voters that a no vote would mean exit from the single currency and the return of the drachma.As the Greek economy suffered on its first day of stringent capital controls, politicians from Germany, France and Italy joined the European commission in insisting that the poll was not about whether Athens could secure more favourable bailout terms but was about continued euro membership.Related: Greece in chaos: will Syriza’s last desperate gamble pay off?Related: Greece fiercely divided as referendum campaign gets under wayRelated: Alexis Tsipras must be stopped: the underlying message of Europe's leaders Continue reading...

Less than 10% of the money was used by the government for reforming its economy and safeguarding weaker members of society

Dow, Nasdaq and S&P suffer heavy losses and follows even bigger falls across Europe as debt drama intensifiesUS stock markets on Monday suffered their biggest fall in two years as fears that Greece could drop out of the eurozone spread across the world.The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day down 2% to 17,597 points – the biggest one-day fall since June 2013 and wiping out all of the gains made so far in 2015. The Nasdaq andS&P 500 also suffered heavy losses, closing down 2.4% and 2.1%, respectively. Financial and consumer-focused businesses suffered the largest losses. Continue reading...

Greece's prime minister Alexis Tsipras appears in an interview for the country's ERT TV station on Monday, appealing to the Greek people to vote 'no' in the upcoming referendum on Sunday. Tsipras says he does not believe the country's creditors want Greece to leave the eurozone, mainly because the cost of such action would be huge. He adds that the higher the proportion of 'no' votes, the stronger Greece's negotiating hand will become Continue reading...

Protesters acknowledge Greece has a lot to lose if it crashes out of the eurozone, but say it will be worth it if that is what it takes to recover its dignityThe word they all used, without exception, was dignity. Rallying in front of the Greek parliament on Monday night, supporters of the Syriza-led government of prime minister Alexis Tsipras demanded an end to the “economic asphyxia” and “social catastrophe” of austerity – and the return of dignity.Related: Polarising effects of Greece bank closures felt by businesses Continue reading...

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Caught between a history of resistance and defiance and fears of being cast out of the eurozone, Greeks are facing a dilemma of immense proportionsGreece’s fate hangs in the balance, its government is on the line and its people face a dilemma that no nation would want to confront.Did Alexis Tsipras, the firebrand leftist in power in Athens, really intend this? Was his decision to call a referendum impetuous or even bone-headed? Or was Europe’s first democratically elected anti-austerian playing at such dark arts when he decided to put the terms of further financial assistance to the popular vote, that he will ultimately go down as a master tactician?Related: Joseph Stiglitz: how I would vote in the Greek referendumRelated: Alexis Tsipras must be stopped: the underlying message of Europe's leaders Continue reading...

Over the past five years, the EU and the IMF have imposed unprecedented austerity on Greece. It has failed badly. The economy has shrunk by 26%, unemployment has risen to 27%, youth unemployment to 60% and the debt-to-GDP ratio jumped from 120% to 180%. The economic catastrophe has led to a humanitarian crisis, with more than 3 million people on or below the poverty line (The moral crusade against Greece must be opposed, Opinion, 29 June).Against this background, the Greek people elected the Syriza-led government on 25 January with a clear mandate to put an end to austerity. In the ensuing negotiations, the government made it clear that the future of Greece is in the eurozone and the EU. The lenders, however, insisted on the continuation of their failed recipe, refused to discuss a writedown of the debt – which the IMF is on record as considering unviable – and finally, on 26 June, issued an ultimatum to Greece by means of a non-negotiable package that would entrench austerity. This was followed by a suspension of liquidity to the Greek banks and the imposition of capital controls. Continue reading...

While shopkeepers, bar and restaurant owners struggle to make ends meet before banks reopen, supermarkets and petrol station owners see roaring trade“It’s been crazy today,” said the attendant reaching for the dispenser nozzle, as yet another car pulled into the forecourt of the little petrol station in the backstreets of northern Athens. “We haven’t stopped working. It’s been worse even than on Saturday.”Her problem on Monday may have been too many customers. But for Giorgos Chronopoulos, owner of the Eiyo sushi bar in well-off Erythrea, it was just the opposite. “So far today, my profits are down 30%,” he said. “On Sunday, they were 50% down and on Saturday 40%.” Continue reading...

Ahead of the referendum, the fear is not just of collapse, but of a return to the nightmare of the nation’s violent historyBack in the autumn of 2011, I sat in an Athens restaurant with an old acquaintance, a cosmopolitan man who works in the arts. The crisis had begun to bite, though we had no idea then how bad it was going to get. We could hear chanting from Syntagma Square: there was a general strike against the first bailout memorandum. “I don’t feel close to those people,” my dinner companion said. “There’s a civil war going on. It’s not fighting in the streets – yet. But it will become like that. I don’t recognise those people as my compatriots.”Greeks are preparing to vote in a referendum ostensibly on whether to accept the creditors’ latest conditions for extending the country’s bailout. But in these lurching, seasick days, everything is uncertain. Greek banks are closed; the markets are plummeting; Jean-Claude Juncker has declared his love for the Greek people. The bailout programme expires tomorrow; it’s not clear if the offer will even be on the table after that. And assuming we get to this vote on a no-longer-valid document, nobody knows what happens next if the country says no – or yes.Joining the EU in 1981 sealed the end of those terrible years. It meant democracy, enlightenment values, human rights Continue reading...

Pier Carlo Padoan assures nation they are in a stronger position than their eurozone counterparts thanks to their ‘huge but sustainable public debt’Italy’s finance minister has sought to reassure Italians that they would not be following in Greece’s footsteps, saying that the European Central Bank (ECB) would stop any contagion in its tracks.“Let me remind you that we are not in 2011 anymore,” said Pier Carlo Padoan, in an interview on Monday in Corriere della Sera, Italy’s largest daily newspaper.The point is: greek referendum won’t be a derby EU Commission vs Tsipras, but euro vs dracma. This is the choice.I hope the Greek people call Mr. Juncker's bluff. Continue reading...

The banks are closed, the bailout referendum is looming – and Europe’s only far-left government is struggling to hold on to its mass support. In less than a week, it will either be triumphant or finishedIf it all ends on Monday, with the Greeks voting for austerity in order to keep the euro, the first far-left party to hold office in modern Europe will be judged by its critics a failure.By calling a referendum, Syriza has gambled that it can strengthen its hand in negotiations with its lenders. But with no extension to its bailout programme, and emergency funds from the European Central Bank (ECB) on a knife-edge, the move has prompted this week’s “bank holiday” and the rationing of cash at ATMs. Continue reading...

Germany’s vice-chancellor has become the first senior EU politician to voice the private views of many - that the Greek PM is a threat to the European orderOne day before Greece’s bailout ends and the country’s financial lifeline melts away, Europe’s big guns have lined up one after another to tell the Greeks unequivocally that voting no in Sunday’s referendum means saying goodbye to the euro.There was no mistaking the gravity of the situation now facing both Greece and Europe on Monday. Leaders were by turns ashen-faced, resigned, desperate and pleading with Athens to think again and pull back from the abyss.Related: Joseph Stiglitz: how I would vote in the Greek referendumRelated: 'Like a bad dream' – Greeks awake to no money and no certainty Continue reading...

Neither alternative – approval or rejection of the troika’s terms – will be easy, and both carry huge risksThe rising crescendo of bickering and acrimony within Europe might seem to outsiders to be the inevitable result of the bitter endgame playing out between Greece and its creditors. In fact, European leaders are finally beginning to reveal the true nature of the ongoing debt dispute, and the answer is not pleasant: it is about power and democracy much more than money and economics.Related: Greece debt crisis: Europe says referendum is euro vs drachma - live Continue reading...

Stock markets tumble around the world as Athens closes banks for a week and orders capital controlsShare prices have slumped across Europe as Greece shuttered its banks and severely limited cash withdrawals ahead of a referendum on 5 July.

On Friday eurozone officials were still hopeful of a weekend deal - on Sunday night the Greek government closed the banks for a weekGreeks woke on Monday to closed banks after a weekend that has shaken Europe’s single currency and pushed down stock markets.How did it come to this? We look back over the events of the last three days.Related: Greece debt crisis: Europe says referendum is euro vs drachma - liveCapital controls within a monetary union are a contradiction in terms. The Greek government opposes the very concept. Continue reading...

Party leadership contender among 19 Labour MPs to write to David Cameron asking him to show banks ‘we won’t keep bailing them out for reckless lending’The Labour leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn is among 19 Labour MPs who have called on David Cameron to take steps with other European leaders to cancel Greece’s debt as a “signal to the banks and financiers that we won’t keep bailing them out for reckless lending”.A letter, published in the Guardian, was also signed by the Trades Union Congress and Unite general secretaries and MPs including Diane Abbott, who is standing for the party’s nomination to be London mayor, Michael Meacher and John McDonnell.Related: Shares slide as deepening Greek crisis shakes global marketsRelated: Greek crisis brings eurozone to a crossroads | Letters Continue reading...