The International Monetary Fund has trimmed its forecast for global economic growth for this year to take into account the impact of recent weakness in the United States. But the global financial institution said growth prospects for next year remain undimmed, despite Greece's debt crisis and recent volatility in Chinese financial markets.
President Barack Obama on Tuesday analyzed the Greek situation in separate telephone calls to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the White House said. Obama began his day with a phone conversation with Merkel, followed by another call to Tsipras.
Euro-zone nations will hold an emergency summit on Tuesday to discuss the Greek referendum No result after the German and French leaders called for a meeting, EU president Donald Tusk said. The special meeting comes as Brussels reels with the implications of what the head of the Euro-group of finance ministers from the 19-country block, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, called a very regrettable decision.
Argentine President Cristina Fernández used her Twitter account on Sunday to celebrate the result of a Greek bailout referendum saying it was “an outright victory of Democracy and Dignity. The Greek people have said NO.”
Greece on Tuesday became the first developed country to join a roster that includes some of the world’s poorest and worst governed nations, including Iraq, Sudan, Somalia and Zimbabwe. Those are a few of the countries that have missed payments to the IMF as Greece did Tuesday, when it failed to make a loan payment of about 1.5 billion Euros, or $1.7 billion, to the fund.
European leaders have warned Greeks that rejecting creditors' proposals in a snap referendum called for Sunday would mean leaving the Euro. German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said the vote would be “yes or no to the Euro zone”.