Tsakalotos

Greece plans to further loosen capital controls soon and is on track to lift all restrictions imposed three years ago, its finance minister said on Saturday.

"We will have new easing (of capital controls) very soon," Euclid Tsakalotos was quoted as saying in an interview with Naftemporiki newspaper, without specifying when.

A decision on whether or not Greece will be obliged to implement fresh pension cuts in January will not be taken until a summit of eurozone finance ministers in November, it emerged yesterday as representatives of Greece's creditors met with government officials in Athens.

The issue of the pension cuts scheduled for January will dominate Wednesday's meeting between the creditors' mission chiefs and Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos in Athens, with senior officials stressing that the eurozone expects Athens to implement the fiscal commitments and the reforms it has pledged.

The union of public university professors, POSDEP, will be on strike on Monday and Tuesday, the first two days of the September exam period, in what it says is a warning of more possible action to come if professors' demands are not addressed.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras gave his cabinet a light reshuffle on Tuesday, promoting certain close associates and bringing in some new faces while keeping key ministry posts untouched.

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and Defense Minister Panos Kammenos all kept their jobs, as had been widely expected.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reshuffled his cabinet on Monday, keeping key ministers in place while bringing in some new faces. 

As expected, Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, Tsipras's coalition partner, kept their posts.

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos on Tuesday sought to quell concerns over a possible spillover effect from Turkey's deepening economic crisis, saying problems in the neighboring country will not affect Greece's "clean exit" from its third bailout program on August 21.

The Finance Ministry is monitoring the reaction of capital markets to the estimates of the International Monetary Fund, as after last week's release of the Greek Debt Sustainability Analysis there was notable activity in the Greek bond market, with yields showing a strong rise and the benchmark 10-year bond climbing above 4 percent.

A legislative amendment submitted in Parliament on Wednesday stipulates the financial relief that will go towards victims of last week's catastrophic wildfires in Attica.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is said to be planning a "corrective" reshuffle, as soon as early September, in a bid to send markets a positive message as Greece exits its bailouts and enters a pre-election period.

According to sources, the changes will be mainly cosmetic, with three key cabinet members expected to keep their jobs.