European Central Bank

Eurozone bond yields held at record lows on Tuesday with financial markets lulled by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's vow to lift inflation from near-zero level by whatever means necessary.

By Yiannis Papadoyiannis

Greek banks will be able to draw additional liquidity from the European Central Bank after Frankfurt issued a guideline on Friday that revises the “haircut” applying to securities issued or fully guaranteed by the Greek state.

Greece and the troika are not expected to break the deadlock in their negotiations over the next few days, sources told Kathimerini after another day of tension-filled talks between the two sides.

Expectations of a deal between Greece and its creditors and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s statements for further support to the economy if necessary, which were well received across the eurozone, sent the Greek bourse benchmark mighty close to the 1,000-point mark on Friday, a rather unlikely outcome to the week considering the miserable series of sessions leading up to the ral

The leaking of documents on the rescue of Cyprus’s second-biggest bank distorts the truth about the country’s bailout and may damage confidence in the euro, former European Central Bank Governing Council member Panicos Demetriades (photo) said.

Greece submitted its 2015 budget to parliament without prior sign-off from its international creditors as talks with them remained stalled.

The leaking of documents on the rescue of Cyprus’s second-biggest bank distorts the truth about the country’s bailout and may damage confidence in the euro, former European Central Bank Governing Council member Panicos Demetriades said.

Greece's creditors are testing the country's endurance - again. If they keep pressing, they could split the euro area apart, which would be a disaster for them as much as for Greece. They need to stop insisting on the impossible, and find a way to relieve the country's debts.

A teleconference conference between Greek Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis and representatives of Greece’s creditors, collectively known as the troika, was scheduled to take place on Thursday afternoon, Kathimerini understands.

The meeting’s agenda was expected to focus on proposals forwarded to the troika by the Greek government late on Wednesday.

European stocks extended a seven- week high, led by equities from the region’s periphery. US index futures were little changed before the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting.