Euro picks up after Greek minister quits

The euro rose yesterday after Greece’s Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis announced his shock resignation, just hours after the cash-strapped nation rejected creditors’ austerity demands in a landmark weekend referendum, reports AFP from Tokyo.
In Tokyo, the unit fetched $1.1088 from around $1.1027 before the announcement, and after dropping to $1.0963 in New York electronic trade Sunday in response to the vote, which increases the chances Greece will crash out of the eurozone.
The single currency also picked up to 135.46 yen from 134.82 yen earlier Monday.
The combative Varoufakis—who has been at the centre of Athens’ high-profile debt negotiations for months—clashed with Greece’s creditors and refused to bow to their demands for tough austerity.
While the referendum was a victory for the government, Varoufakis suggested he could be an impediment to future debt talks.
“Soon after the announcement of the referendum results, I was made aware of a certain preference by some Eurogroup participants, and assorted ‘partners’, for my... ‘absence’ from its meetings,” Varoufakis wrote.
It was “an idea that the Prime Minister judged to be potentially helpful to him in reaching an agreement. For this reason I am leaving the Ministry of Finance today.”
Despite the pick-up in Asia, the euro was still down from Friday’s levels with investors flocking to the Japanese currency, a safe haven in times of turmoil.

Euro picks up after Greek minister quits

The euro rose yesterday after Greeces Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis announced his shock resignation, just hours after the cash-strapped nation rejected creditors austerity demands in a landmark weekend referendum, reports AFP from Tokyo. In Tokyo, the unit fetched $1.1088 from around $1.1027 before the announcement, and after dropping to $1.0963 in New York electronic trade Sunday in response to the vote, which increases the chances Greece will crash out of the eurozone. The single currency also picked up to 135.46 yen from 134.82 yen earlier Monday. The combative Varoufakiswho has been at the centre of Athens high-profile debt negotiations for monthsclashed with Greeces creditors and refused to bow to their demands for tough austerity. While the referendum was a victory for the government, Varoufakis suggested he could be an impediment to future debt talks. Soon after the announcement of the referendum results, I was made aware of a certain preference by some Eurogroup participants, and assorted partners, for my... absence from its meetings, Varoufakis wrote. It was an idea that the Prime Minister judged to be potentially helpful to him in reaching an agreement. For this reason I am leaving the Ministry of Finance today. Despite the pick-up in Asia, the euro was still down from Fridays levels with investors flocking to the Japanese currency, a safe haven in times of turmoil.