Greece

President of the Hellenic Bank Association and National Bank Governor Louka Katseli said that capital controls will probably be lifted from banks at the end of 2015 or early 2016. She stressed the importance of money returning to banks after the 118 billion euros taken out from 2008 through to 2015.

Greece’s population decreased by 21,592 in 2014, according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (EL.STAT). More specifically, there was a decline in birth rates and a rise in deaths for 2014, according to the service’s data.

The World Economic Forum report released on Wednesday ranks Greece as 81st in the Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016.

The report states:

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras held meetings with the heads of several Greek-American organizations in a reception held in New York.

Tsipras said that Greeks of the Diaspora were the best ambassadors of Hellenism in the US, “a country which plays a very important role in the world and in all the important decisions that concern the future of our country.”

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras talked to The Wall Street Journal about the future goal of Greece which is to return to bond markets soon.

Greek Deputy Labor and Social Security Minister Tassos Petropoulos left open the possiblity of lifting the retirement age in Greece to over 67 years in a circular that outlines a number of changes for those retiring after July 1, 2015.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met with his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York. During this meeting, they agreed to tighten Greek-Turkish collaboration on the refugees issue.

Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis was a guest on French satirical TV show ‘Petit Journal’ to promote his new book, entitled ‘Another world is possible’.

We do not know whether his decision to appear on that show was the wisest as he apparently is not fluent in French, while the live audience knew little English.

The Vice President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis warned that the salvage of Greek banks could be delayed. In an interview to financial site ‘Bloomberg’ Dombrovskis underlined the urgency of implementing the rescue plan for Greece and its banking system, stressing that the review of the 4 major Greek banks was linked to the country’s bailout plan.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has a busy day on Tuesday, his third in New York. On the sidelines of the 70th UN General Assembly he is scheduled to have a number of meetings: