Eurozone crisis

European Central Bank policymaker Ewald Nowotny thinks that a Greek exit from the eurozone would be a disaster for Greece, he said on Monday.

"For Greece it would a catastrophe, for the other euro countries a massive problem," Nowotny said an event in Vienna.

The head of the group of eurozone finance ministers promised Tuesday to work with the winner of the upcoming Greek election, but urged Athens to stick with austerity.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the president of the Eurogroup who also serves as the Dutch finance minister, also stressed that the region could offer more help should Greece keep its promise to reform.

Amid uncertainty about Greece's political future, tourism chief Andreas Andreadis insists that the country's tourism sector is on course for another strong year.

A budget of 45 million euros has been approved for the general elections on January 25 ? which is 10 percent less than for the May 2012 polls ? following tough negotiations between the Interior Ministry and the Finance Ministry, Kathimerini understands.

Greek exports and industrial output posted a significant increase in November, the month before political uncertainty began to mount in the country, according to data released on Friday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).

Greek 10-year bond yields dropped to 10.08 percent on Friday after climbing as high as 10.8 percent on Thursday, the most since September 2013.

Investor concern that Greece will miss debt payments is reflected in three-year yields that are more than three percentage points more than those on 10-year debt.

Greece will sell 625 million euros ($739 million) of three-month treasury bills on January 14 to refinance a maturing issue, the country's debt agency PDMA said on Friday.

The settlement date will be January 16. Only primary dealers will be allowed to participate and no commission will be paid.

Prime Minister Victor Ponta on Thursday said Romania could negotiate a new type of arrangement with the International Monetary Fund once its standby aid deal expires this year.

"First of all, we want to conclude the current agreement. After that, there are two options: to have no arrangement, or to agree on a flexible credit line, as Poland has," Ponta said.

The German government is not planning for a Greek exit from the eurozone, Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said on Wednesday, after Germany's Bild newspaper reported Berlin was working on contingency plans for an exit and possible run on banks.

Any political turmoil in Greece following this month?s election is no longer a threat to the wider stability of the euro area, said Michael Fuchs, a senior lawmaker from Chancellor Angela Merkel?s party.