STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Thursday, 9 April 2015

[mother earth]

18. Greece Meets Deadline to Repay IMF Bailout Loan

Demonstration organized to protest Athens’ decision to pay $494 million installment

http://www.wsj.com/articles/greece-pays-imf-loan-1428570520?mod=rss_whats_news_us
ATHENS—Greece has met the deadline for repaying part of its loan from the International Monetary Fund, a senior finance ministry official said Thursday, as the country’s cash reserves continue to dry up.

The installment, which was due Thursday, was worth some €460 million ($494 million).

The repayment comes after Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said Sunday at a meeting with IMF head Christine Lagarde in Washington that his government would meet “all obligations to all its creditors.” His comments were seen as an effort to end speculation—fueled partly by other Greek officials in the past week—that Athens might delay the payment.

Freeing up money to repay the IMF and other creditors, while also prioritizing the payment of pensions and public-sector wages, is forcing Greece to delay other domestic spending to make ends meet.

Greece’s Syriza-led government has been locked in negotiations with its international creditors since coming to power in late January, but progress has so far been very slow.

A more detailed plan for revising Athens’ bailout program was discussed during a meeting of eurozone finance ministry officials in Brussels late Wednesday, aiming to end a standoff and unlock a slice of much-needed financial aid.

An informal meeting of eurozone finance ministers is scheduled for April 24, when the Greek government hopes that an agreement will be reached.

But the overhauls that creditors want, including further cuts to pensions and tax increases, in a country reeling from years of drastic austerity, could split or bring down the government of left wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, which was elected in January on an antiausterity ticket.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Thursday that his government is no longer prepared to sign to any economic overhaul just to receive a tranche of its bailout from international creditors.

“We are not going to sign on the dotted line just to get the next loan tranche,” Mr. Varoufakis said at an economics conference in Paris.

Among its near-term debt burdens, Greece must repay IMF loans of about €770 million on May 12, while maturing treasury bills in the next two months also create a challenge, as foreign investors are increasingly unwilling to buy new issuance and Greek banks have been ordered by the eurozone banking supervisory authority not to increase their exposure.

A demonstration has been organized Thursday afternoon in central Athens to protest against the government’s decision to pay the IMF.

The protest has been organized through a social media community called “Write Off Debt Now” and the public sector umbrella union ADEDY has also called on their members to participate.

The IMF repayment has become a contentious issue among Greeks in recent days, with everyone from taxi-drivers to students arguing whether the government took the right decision or not.