No easing of demands for Athens on recap

Greece should not expect the euro area to relax bailout requirements to meet next month’s deadline for unlocking money to recapitalize its banking system, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said. Officials in Athens should successfully navigate the first review of the 86-billioneuro rescue program before the euro area will release banking funds or consider

Cell phone network Vodafone has started its absorption of Hellas Online (HOL) and yesterday announced changes in the names of some products. For example, HOL’s double-play (Internet and landline) program will now be named Vodafone Home, and the interactive HOL my TV service will be called Vodafone TV. measures to ease Greece’s debt burden, the Eurogroup president said at the conclusion of a meeting of euro-area finance ministers in Luxembourg on Monday. It is essential for Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to move quickly on all the required reforms, including financial sector governance and an overhaul of its pension reforms, he said. “I’m not sure whether we can be optimistic,” Dijsselbloem, who led the meeting, told reporters. “You cannot expect European governments to put fresh money into the banks if the governance issues haven’t been sorted out.” He also said that “a lot of work will have to be done in the coming months, so it’s very important to maintain that strong reform momentum. Maintaining that attitude of reform is crucial to regain trust inside and outside Greece, so crucial for economic recovery.” The yield on two-year Greek government bonds fell 16 basis points to 9.81 percent yesterday.