•  The Athens stock exchange has risen by about 85 per cent. •  Bank deposits have increased by 9 per cent. •  Reliance of banks on Eurosystem financing is down by about 50 per cent. •  Economic sentiment has recently reached a 5-year high. •  The twin deficits have been transformed into twin surpluses.
•  The recent release of the PMI for manufacturing for January 2014 points to expansion for the first time in 53 months. It is now generally expected that 2014 will be the year in which growth – although very modest at first – returns to the Greek economy. Underlying this expectation of growth are the following factors.