NEWS

Tsipras to hold government meeting as recession returns

Greece’s prime minister will chair his second ministerial meeting in two days, as official data confirm the cash-strapped country’s economy is back in recession amid concern over much-delayed bailout talks with international creditors.

Alexis Tsipras has said his radical left-led government has done as much as it can to strike a deal to get more bailout loans, insisting the ball is now in the court of the creditors.

At stake is a 7.2 billion euro rescue loan installment, and failure to reach an agreement could lead Greece to default on its obligations within weeks — triggering a chain of events that could force the country to leave the euro.

Nevertheless, Greek stocks were 1.2 percent higher in afternoon trading Wednesday, with analysts saying the economic contraction was smaller than expected. [AP]

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