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Greek Banks to Reopen Monday but Capital Controls Remain

Greek banks will reopen Monday after a three-week closure and withdrawal limits have been relaxed, but capital controls remain in place, a government decree said Saturday.

The decree sets a new cumulative weekly withdrawal limit of 420 euros ($458), with the daily limit remaining at 60 euros.

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Reshuffled Greek Cabinet Takes over to Enact Unpopular Reforms

A revamped Greek government took over Saturday in an effort to enforce a third bailout accompanied by tough fiscal reforms opposed by a sizable section of the ruling Syriza party.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday reshuffled his administration to fill the vacancies left by three cabinet members who were sacked after voting against the reforms in parliament last week.

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Report: Greek Bank Shutdown Cost Economy 3 Billion Euros

The three-week shutdown of Greek banks has cost the country's struggling economy some 3.0 billion euros ($3.3 billion) not counting lost tourism revenue, a report said Saturday.

Citing commerce groups, the Kathimerini daily said the retail trade alone had suffered a 600-million-euro loss, with apparel taking the main blow.

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U.S. Bank Profits Withstand Trading Hit from China, Greece

Large U.S. banks reported mostly higher second-quarter earnings this week even as a pullback in trading revenues due to crises in Greece and China dented results.

The biggest hit came at Goldman Sachs, where revenues in bonds, foreign exchange and commodities trading fell 28 percent in the second quarter.

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Greek PM Reshuffles Government after Parliament Mutiny

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday reshuffled his government, a day after a major lawmaker mutiny in his radical left Syriza party over a draconian bailout deal.

In a bid to show international creditors he is in control of his cabinet, Tsipras ditched energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, the head of Syriza's hardline faction that has consistently demanded an exit from the eurozone.

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EU Approves Emergency Short-Term Loan to Greece

The EU approved a short-term loan of 7.16 billion euros ($7.8 billion) to Greece allowing it to meet a huge payment to the ECB and repay the IMF while a new bailout is still being ratified, the EU's top official for the euro said Friday.

"We have an agreement on bridge financing.... This agreement is backed by the 28 member states," Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters.

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Cyprus Tourism Looking up despite Stayaway Russians

The Cyprus tourism sector recorded a 1.5 percent fall in arrivals in June but the overall number so far this year has exceeded one million for the first time in a decade.

Official data showed that 336,967 tourists arrived on the bailout-out holiday island last month, down from 342,221 in June 2014.

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German Lawmakers Back Merkel on Greece Bailout Plan

German lawmakers gave Chancellor Angela Merkel the green light Friday to resume talks on a new EU-IMF bailout deal for Greece, after she passionately argued it was the last chance to prevent "chaos" in the crisis-hit country.

Merkel, like Greece’s hard-left Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, faced rebels in her own party ranks, but still won broad approval from the chamber where her "grand coalition" commands an overwhelming majority.

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World Bank Chief: No Chinese Pressure on Pulled Report

World Bank president Jim Yong Kim denied Friday that his organisation had been pressured by China to remove criticism of the country's financial system from a report.

Early this month the Washington-based institution released its China Economic Update report in Beijing, including a section urging the country to accelerate reform of its state-dominated financial sector. 

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Asia Stocks up as Greece, China Woes Ease

Asian markets mostly rose Friday after the European Central Bank boosted emergency aid to Greece and eurozone chiefs agreed a bridging loan to the country, while Hong Kong and Shanghai rallied as fears over a renewed mainland rout eased.

Buying was also given a bump by a record close on Wall Street, where investors were cheered by upbeat earnings, the easing of the Greek crisis and a stabilization of China's markets after a month of plunges.

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