Greece ’48 Hours Away From Unrest’
(Worthy News) – Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras probably has 48 hours to resolve a standoff with creditors before civil unrest breaks out and ATMs run out of cash, hedge fund Balyasny Asset Management said.
Fund managers are questioning how the International Monetary Fund and Europe’s leaders can seal a deal with Athens following the “no” vote in a Greek referendum on Sunday. Sixty-one percent of voters rejected austerity, increasing the likelihood of an exit from the euro area.
“I don’t see a good resolution any time soon,” Colin Lancaster, senior managing director with Balyasny, a $9 billion fund based in Chicago, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “The big question is whether the EU adopts a strategy of waiting them out. The hope would be that the unrest leads to a unity government or change in government.” [ Source ]
ECB keeps Greek banks on tight leash
The European Central Bank (ECB) on Monday added to the pressure on Greece’s feeble financial state, as council members in Frankfurt decided not to raise the level of emergency credit available to the country’s cash-strapped banks, while at the same time tightening access to such loans.
In a highly anticipated conference call, the 25-member Governing Council agreed to leave in place the liquidity cap at 88.6 billion euros ($98 billion).
“The Governing Council of the European Central Bank decided today to maintain the provision of emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) to Greek banks at the level decided on 26 June 2015 after discussing a proposal from the Bank of Greece,” the group said in a statement. [ Source ]