Economy of Greece

Hungarian economist Zsolt Darvas of the “Bruegel Institute” said Greece would have to accept a 4th bailout program (memorandum), during a speech in Thessaloniki. Speaking at the “Thessaloniki Summit” event, the Hungarian economist stressed  expressed the view that Greece would fail to borrow from the markets in 2018 and would be forced to receive a 4th package of financial aid.

It took just a day of losses for the Greek bourse benchmark to see the gains earned in the previous four sessions wiped out.

The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed on Thursday at 576.58 points, shedding 1.65 percent from Wednesday's 586.24 points. The FTSE 25 index contracted 2.31 percent to end at 1,524.14 points.

Workers at Greece's largest telecoms group OTE oppose a government plan to sell a minority stake in the firm, fearing the state will lose control of a strategically important company.

Greece has agreed to a privatization scheme aimed at raising 14 billion euros in proceeds by 2022, including the sale of a stake in OTE.

European lawmakers supportive of Greece's left-wing government are urging the European Commission to act swiftly on debt relief for the bailed out eurozone member, warning that delays would produce 'devastating results' for its economy.

The benchmark on the Greek bourse on Wednesday edged up for a fourth straight day to reach levels unseen since the British referendum on its departure from the European Union on June 23. Yet a drop among small-caps meant that the majority of stocks in the market registered losses and trading volume returned to below 30 million euros, as traders remain in search of a new direction.

Ten years after the Greek state green-lighted the construction of a mosque in Athens, the Infrastructure Ministry signed a deal this week with a consortium of the country's biggest construction firms to begin the project on a plot in Votanikos, near central Athens.

Greek stocks had a mixed day on Tuesday as banks and small-caps declined while mid-caps and the majority of blue chips enjoyed gains, a day after a worse-than-expected result from the Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg.

The completion of management changes in Greek banks - a critical issue that was supposed to have closed weeks ago - remains open and it appears that it will take several more weeks before new administrations are appointed.

International market euphoria over the rise of oil prices to a year-high, coupled with domestic certainty over the disbursement of the long-overdue bailout sub-tranche brought gains of over 1 percent to the Greek bourse's benchmark on Monday.

"Carrot and stick from the IMF" read one headline in Greece this week after the International Monetary Fund provided its forecasts for the Greek economy in its World Economic Outlook (WEO) and Fiscal Monitor reports.