Here we go again: Greek stocks rally on aid rumors
Holly Ellyatt | @HollyEllyatt
52 Mins AgoCNBC.com
Greek stocks rallied 7 percent Thursday on reports that Germany could be prepared to offer Greece some kind of staggered aid deal – a development swiftly denied by Berlin.
Media reports out late Wednesday suggested Germany could be considering some kind of staggered aid-for reforms deal for Greece, in which the cash-strapped country received aid for every reform it implemented. However, the German government denied the report by Bloomberg which cited two German officials.
Speaking to CNBC, a German government spokesperson said that "Germany will only accept the proposals on the institutions (overseeing Greece's bailout program) and everything else is not true," the spokesperson said, who wished not to be named due to the sensitive nature of discussions between Greece and its creditors.
A man walks inside the Athens stock exchange February 3, 2015.
Yannis Behrakis | Reuters
A man walks inside the Athens stock exchange February 3, 2015.
After yet another round of late-night talks between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Holland Wednesday evening, Merkel told reporters gathered in Brussels on Thursday that Greece had said it was committed to "intense discussions."
"At the end of the talks, there was absolute unanimity that Greece will work intensively and with high pressure with the three institutions in the coming days to solve all open issues," Merkel said after arriving for a meeting between EU and Latin American leaders, Reuters reported.
Greece and its creditors keep telling the world that a deal is "close", that talks will "intensify" and that "time is running out" before Greece faces defaulting on its debt – leaving market analysts wondering whether any of the rhetoric means anything anymore.
Read MoreGreek shares gain on reports of new reform plan
Chief market analyst at CMC Markets, Michael Hewson, said he would treat the rally in Greek stocks with skepticism, saying that confidence that a deal was near was probably misplaced.
"This (rally) is a triumph of hope over experience," he told CNBC Thursday. "If I had a pound or euro every time I heard that we were near a solution in Greek debt talks I would be on a yacht in the Mediterranean right now."
Hewson conceded that the reports of reform-for-cash deal did seem to be gaining some traction, it would have to be approved by the German parliament and a long-time skeptic over Greece's commitment to reforms, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble. "There are an awful lot of obstacles in the way of a potential deal, Hewson noted.
Failure not an option
On Thursday, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was expected to meet the president of the European commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, around midday. The meeting could be awkward after acrimonious comments between the two figures earlier this week.
Read MoreGreece: Leaders lash out as tempers fray
Both Greece and the bodies overseeing its bailout program, the European Commission, European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF), have put forward proposals on reforms but both sides have found each other's suggestions inadequate with sticking points on pension reforms, tax changes and the primary budget surplus target.
Reuters cited an unnamed senior European official as saying that a deal was unlikely to be found today when Juncker and Tsipras meet but that an agreement could be reached before the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers meets on June 18.
These comments are not unusual and have been accompanied by European politicians urging Greece to press on with reforms before it's too late and a default really happens.
Earlier Thursday, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said that neither Greece nor its euro zone partners could afford to see the reforms-for-aid talks fail, telling reporters in Brussels that "time is pressing" and that "no one can afford failure," Reuters reported.
Read MoreTsipras fighting fires at home andabroad
No one is sure just how much money Greece has left but without more aid it could struggle to pay back billions of euros worth of debt to creditors this summer. Greece sparked more concerns when it asked to bundle its debt repayments due to the IMF in June into one big payment on June 30.
That move prompted ratings agency Standard and Poor's to cut Greece's sovereign credit rating from CCC+ to CCC Wednesday, saying that it showed Athens was "prioritizing pension and other domestic spending over its scheduled debt service obligations." It also warned that a Greek default on its commercial debt was likely within the next 12 months.
- By CNBC's Holly Ellyatt, follow her on Twitter @HollyEllyatt.Follow us on Twitter: @CNBCWorld
Holly Ellyatt | @HollyEllyatt
52 Mins AgoCNBC.com
Greek stocks rallied 7 percent Thursday on reports that Germany could be prepared to offer Greece some kind of staggered aid deal – a development swiftly denied by Berlin.
Media reports out late Wednesday suggested Germany could be considering some kind of staggered aid-for reforms deal for Greece, in which the cash-strapped country received aid for every reform it implemented. However, the German government denied the report by Bloomberg which cited two German officials.
Speaking to CNBC, a German government spokesperson said that "Germany will only accept the proposals on the institutions (overseeing Greece's bailout program) and everything else is not true," the spokesperson said, who wished not to be named due to the sensitive nature of discussions between Greece and its creditors.
A man walks inside the Athens stock exchange February 3, 2015.
Yannis Behrakis | Reuters
A man walks inside the Athens stock exchange February 3, 2015.
After yet another round of late-night talks between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Holland Wednesday evening, Merkel told reporters gathered in Brussels on Thursday that Greece had said it was committed to "intense discussions."
"At the end of the talks, there was absolute unanimity that Greece will work intensively and with high pressure with the three institutions in the coming days to solve all open issues," Merkel said after arriving for a meeting between EU and Latin American leaders, Reuters reported.
Greece and its creditors keep telling the world that a deal is "close", that talks will "intensify" and that "time is running out" before Greece faces defaulting on its debt – leaving market analysts wondering whether any of the rhetoric means anything anymore.
Read MoreGreek shares gain on reports of new reform plan
Chief market analyst at CMC Markets, Michael Hewson, said he would treat the rally in Greek stocks with skepticism, saying that confidence that a deal was near was probably misplaced.
"This (rally) is a triumph of hope over experience," he told CNBC Thursday. "If I had a pound or euro every time I heard that we were near a solution in Greek debt talks I would be on a yacht in the Mediterranean right now."
Hewson conceded that the reports of reform-for-cash deal did seem to be gaining some traction, it would have to be approved by the German parliament and a long-time skeptic over Greece's commitment to reforms, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble. "There are an awful lot of obstacles in the way of a potential deal, Hewson noted.
Failure not an option
On Thursday, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was expected to meet the president of the European commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, around midday. The meeting could be awkward after acrimonious comments between the two figures earlier this week.
Read MoreGreece: Leaders lash out as tempers fray
Both Greece and the bodies overseeing its bailout program, the European Commission, European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF), have put forward proposals on reforms but both sides have found each other's suggestions inadequate with sticking points on pension reforms, tax changes and the primary budget surplus target.
Reuters cited an unnamed senior European official as saying that a deal was unlikely to be found today when Juncker and Tsipras meet but that an agreement could be reached before the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers meets on June 18.
These comments are not unusual and have been accompanied by European politicians urging Greece to press on with reforms before it's too late and a default really happens.
Earlier Thursday, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said that neither Greece nor its euro zone partners could afford to see the reforms-for-aid talks fail, telling reporters in Brussels that "time is pressing" and that "no one can afford failure," Reuters reported.
Read MoreTsipras fighting fires at home andabroad
No one is sure just how much money Greece has left but without more aid it could struggle to pay back billions of euros worth of debt to creditors this summer. Greece sparked more concerns when it asked to bundle its debt repayments due to the IMF in June into one big payment on June 30.
That move prompted ratings agency Standard and Poor's to cut Greece's sovereign credit rating from CCC+ to CCC Wednesday, saying that it showed Athens was "prioritizing pension and other domestic spending over its scheduled debt service obligations." It also warned that a Greek default on its commercial debt was likely within the next 12 months.
- By CNBC's Holly Ellyatt, follow her on Twitter @HollyEllyatt.Follow us on Twitter: @CNBCWorld
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means having the ability to understand or know something without any direct evidence or reasoning process.
I was born with it, I'm truly blessed!
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NASDAQ DIP and RIP
Here is the best word that describes what i do here.
Intuitive;
means having the ability to understand or know something without any direct evidence or reasoning process.
I was born with it, I'm truly blessed!
Alway's searching for winners'
