Markit

While Greek consumers and enterprises still foresee an economic rebound, their expectations have cooled somewhat, as considerable uncertainties concerning the course of the economy remain, particularly as regards when the country emerges from its bailout program this summer.

There will be competition this year to find a punchy way to sum up this transitional, and potentially transformative, year for Greece. "Clean exit" is one of the terms that has been thrown about a lot recently, while even the "Grecovery" mantra of 2014 has been repeated in the past few months by those expecting to reap the benefits of Greece completing its third bailout this summer.

The revenues of the Islamic State terrorist group have fallen five times in two years, according to the Italian newspaper La Stampa, quoted by BGNES.

The soaring of the Greek-owned merchant fleet's numbers since 2010 confirms that the nation is consolidating its position at the top of the global shipping industry.

All estimates for 2017 had pointed to an economic expansion in Greece, but data since the start of the year have revealed the opposite, with manufacturing, economic sentiment and consumer confidence all heading south.

The climate in manufacturing slumped to a new 16-month low in January, as the Purchasing Managers Index compiled by Markit showed on Wednesday a decline to 46.6 points from 49.3 points in December 2016.

The prolonged recession in the sector - a result of the strong decline in output and new orders - has led companies to reduce employee numbers.

The heavy atmosphere on the Greek bond market was severely aggravated on Tuesday not only by the German Finance Ministry's statement in favor of the International Monetary Fund's participation in the Greek program, but also by SYRIZA MP Nikos Xydakis's reference to a return to the drachma.

The cost of insuring Greek government debt against default rose on Tuesday as uncertainty lingered over the International Monetary Fund's role in a third bailout for Greece.

Greek manufacturing activity shrank for the fourth month in a row in May as a big drop in new orders was accompanied by job losses and a fall in production, a survey showed on Wednesday.

British manufacturing output unexpectedly shrank to hit its lowest level in three years in April, a survey showed on May 4, suggesting the economy will slow further before next month's in-out European Union membership referendum.