Greece Enters Uncharted Territory With Overwhelming Referendum ‘No’
(Worthy News) – Greece lurched into uncharted territory and an uncertain future in Europe’s common currency Sunday after voters overwhelmingly rejected demands by international creditors for more austerity measures in exchange for a bailout of its bankrupt economy, NewsMax reported.
Results showed about 61 percent voted “no,” compared with 39 percent for “yes,” with 100 percent of the vote counted. The referendum — Greece’s first in more than four decades — came amid severe restrictions on financial transactions in the country, imposed last week to stem a bank run that accelerated after the vote was called.
Thousands of jubilant government supporters celebrated in Syntagma Square in front of Parliament, waving Greek flags and chanting “No, no, no!” [ Source ]
After Greece’s “no” vote, Athens and eurozone ponder next move
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called the Sunday’s result against the austerity proposals from the European Union and International Monetary Fund (EU-IMF) a “victory of democracy.” But he also tweeted that Athens would continue its “national effort to reach an agreement” with its creditors.
The European Central Bank (ECB) is to hold a conference call on Monday morning on the issue of maintaining emergency funding for Greek banks at their current restricted level. Without more emergency funding from the ECB, Greece’s banks could run out of cash within days. [ Source ]
How Bad Is ‘No’ for Greek Banks? Analysts Split on ECB Lifeline
“We expect the central bank to continue providing liquidity to Greece’s financial sector, although the small chance of the ECB increasing the cap on the Emergency Liquidity Assistance this week has disappeared with the referendum result.”
“This significantly raises the probability of banks running out of cash over the coming days. We estimate it is very likely banks will not reopen on 7 July as currently expected. Moreover, the limit on bank withdrawals, currently at 60 euros ($66), may also need to be reduced.” [ Source ]
Sugar, flour, rice: panicked Greeks stock up on essentials
Greeks were hoarding cash and food Saturday amid mounting fears the economy could collapse, cracking open their wallets only to stock up on essentials and stripping supermarket shelves in the process.
Mothers, elderly men and university students were spotted pushing heavily overloaded trolleys or coming out of shops weighed down by bags of food, with essentials such as sugar, flour and pasta top of the list. [ Source ]