ATHENS: Angela Merkel and Barack Obama have urged Greece and its creditors to agree a deal as debt standoff becomes an international priority
Greek stocks have taken another hit as the embattled country and its creditors have failed to make progress, despite pressure from world leaders to strike a deal. Athens-listed equities fell by a further 2.7pc on Monday, as the Greek economy moved closer to debt obligations it appeared unable or unwilling to meet.The tumble followed a 5pc fall on the Athens Stock Exchange last Friday, its largest since January.
The slide came before Yanis Varoufakis, the Greek finance minister, said that the country’s creditors were demanding austerity so severe that Greece would be unable to grow. Speaking in Berlin after stock market trading hours, Mr Varoufakis said that the primary surpluses Greece was instructed to produce would require him to reach “into the guts, into the heart, into the substance of the private sector and extract so much out of it, that the private sector can not produce the growth”.
