Greece

Rishi Goyal, the deputy chief of the Advanced Economies Unit in the International Monetary Fund’s European Department, is to replace Poul Thomsen as the organization’s head representative in the troika.

Thomsen, deputy director of the IMF’s European department, will replace Reza Moghadam, director of the IMF’s European department since 2011, for an interim period.

In a surprise decision, authorities have banned access to the planted areas of Pedion tou Areos, one of the country’s largest public parks, and other green spaces in Athens.

Greece sold 812.5 million euros ($1.08 billion) of six-month treasury bills on Tuesday to roll over a maturing issue, the country’s debt agency PDMA said. The T-bills were priced to yield 2.02, down three basis points from 2.05 percent in a previous sale in July.

The sale’s bid-cover ratio was 3.03, up from 2.66 in the previous sale.

Greece’s privatization agency (TAIPED) expect to raise 300-380 million euros by March 2015 by auctioning frequencies to cell phone operators.

By Lefteris Papadimas & Deepa Babington

Grassroots movements to cut out middlemen have been on the increase since Greece’s debt crisis exposed the country’s Achilles’ heel – a bureaucratic system which stifles innovation and encourages corruption.

Greeks have been advised not to travel to West Africa unless absolutely necessary following an Ebola outbreak in the area.

Greece has always been a crossroads between East and West. Now, as the countries of Africa move toward achieving their full potential, Greece is in the fortunate position of being able to exploit its place between North and South.

By Tom Ellis

By George Georgiopoulos

Greek consumer prices fell 0.7 percent in July, with the annual pace of deflation decelerating from a 1.1 percent fall in June, data from the country's statistics service showed on Wednesday.

By George Georgiopoulos

Greek bank shares fell sharply on Wednesday, leading the broader Greek equities market lower, with traders citing jitters over the European Central Bank's region-wide stress test and weakness in other European markets.