ATHENS, Greece – The latest news on Greece’s financial woes , a day after the country’s bailout with European creditors expired and the country failed to pay a debt due to the International Monetary Fund (all times local):
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10.40 a.m.
Thousands of elderly Greeks thronged banks that were opened especially for pensioners who don’t have bank cards, to allow them some access to their money.
Withdrawals are limited to 120 euros ($133) per person for the week.
However, a seeming last minute decision to serve customers on an alphabetical basis, announced by some banks overnight and others in the morning, led to confusion and frustration.
Many pensioners waited in line from before dawn but were eventually told they would have to return Thursday or Friday.
Greek banks have been closed since Monday as the government imposed strict capital controls to prevent a bank run in the wake of its decision to call a referendum on creditor demands.
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10.30 a.m.
Markets took in stride Greece’s failure to pay the roughly 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) it owed the IMF with stock indexes across Europe posting solid gains. The Stoxx 50 index of leading European shares was up 0.7 percent while Germany’s DAX rose 0.9 percent.
There appear to be some hopes that Greece’s new proposals to the eurozone may meet with some support. Eurozone finance ministers are set to weigh Greece’s latest proposal for aid later, in a teleconference that’s been put off until 5.30 p.m. Brussels time, according to Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the eurozone’s top official.
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