Greece

No one can be sure how the Greek drama will end, not least because it is no longer clear who, if anyone, is in control, The Wall Street Journal reported. Both sides have been bombarded for months by well-meaning advice to show flexibility and compromise to avoid an economic calamity in Greece and a geopolitical disaster for the eurozone and the world. Instead, positions have hardened to the point where the scope for compromise now looks vanishingly small.

As it tries to negotiate a new bailout deal with creditors, Greece got some breathing room on Thursday by deferring a series of debt payments until the end of the month, the International New York Times reported. But the move, in the face of growing restiveness in Athens, amplifies the pressure on Greece and its creditors to work out their differences. While some progress has been made in recent days, Greece continues to resist certain conditions, particularly on politically difficult issues like pension cuts.

Another round of top-level talks failed to resolve the standoff between Greece and its creditors as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras rejected proposals that would facilitate the disbursement of bailout funds necessary to avert a default, Bloomberg News reported.

Greece’s international creditors are poised to present the country with the outlines of a bailout deal that amounts to a take-it-or-leave-it offer, a move aimed at breaking a monthslong stalemate but which risks a political backlash and even a government collapse in Athens, The Wall Street Journal reported. The plan marks a sharp shift in tactics by Germany, the IMF and other Greek creditors, who have lost patience with what they see as months of fruitless dialogue with the Athens government.

Greece’s international creditors late on Monday were preparing the final text of a bailout deal to present to the Athens government, in a sign that lenders are running out of patience after months of stalled talks, The Wall Street Journal reported. Officials from European institutions and the International Monetary Fund sent a draft text on the economic overhauls that Greece needs to implement to unlock bailout financing to a meeting in Berlin of key European leaders, according to people familiar with the matter.

Greece’s chances of striking a deal to access a much-needed €7.2bn in rescue aid looked even bleaker on Sunday after Alexis Tsipras, prime minister, accused bailout monitors of making “absurd” demands and seeking to impose “harsh punishment” on Athens, the Financial Times reported. Mr Tsipras’s accusations, made in Le Monde newspaper, came only days after his government claimed an agreement was imminent. They have increased the sense of chaos around negotiations in the week many believe a deal is needed to avoid a Greek default.

The latest episode in Greece’s long-running economic drama is coming to a head. Since the victory of the radical-left Syriza party in the election of late January, Greece’s creditors and the new government headed by Alexis Tsipras have been exchanging threats. A resolution of some kind must occur in June, and sooner rather than later in the month, The Economist reported. It could still be a disastrous falling-out that leads to Greece defaulting on official loans, imposing capital controls, freezing deposits and tumbling out of the euro.

Greek banks have seen deposit outflows accelerate over the past week as fears rise that the euro zone country will default on debt, two banking sources said on Wednesday. The spike follows a steady outflow of money from Greek lenders this year as Athens and its creditors struggle to agree an aid-for-reforms deal before Greece runs out of money. “The past week in May was more challenging compared to the previous ones in the month, with daily outflows of €200 to €300 million in the last few days,” a senior Greek banker said.

When the world’s top finance ministers and central-bank chiefs meet in Dresden this week, they may struggle to stick to an agenda set by their German hosts that doesn’t mention Greece, Bloomberg News reported. The Group of Seven meeting starting on Wednesday will officially focus on big-picture themes of economic growth, tax evasion and strengthening the global financial architecture. Yet the most pressing matter for many of the policy makers attending is whether Greece can stay in the euro, and whether the world can handle the consequences if it can’t.

Bulldozers lie abandoned on city streets. Exhausted surgeons operate through the night. And the wealthy bail out broke police departments. A nearly bankrupt Greece is taking desperate measures to preserve cash. Absent a last-minute deal with its creditors, the nation will run out of money early next month. Two weeks ago, Greece nearly defaulted on a debt payment of 750 million euros, or about $825 million, to the International Monetary Fund. For the rest of this month, Greece should be able to cover daily cash deficits of around 100 million euros, government ministers say.