Greece 'close to deal' with international creditors on debt

BERLIN Greece is close to a deal with international creditors that would allow much-needed funds to flow to Athens, although many questions remain, a senior German official said. Speaking to reporters before a meeting of the Group of 20 leading countries this weekend in Mexico, the official said: "We are close to an agreement on Greece and close to an accord within the troika." The troika of lenders - the European Commission, the ECB and the IMF - is putting finishing touches to a report that will determine whether Greece has completed enough reforms to get its next bailout.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has said the coffers in Athens will run dry on November 16 unless his country receives the 31.2 billion euros ($40.4 billion) in rescue funding.

Following a meeting of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, its president, Jean-Claude Juncker, said there would be a meeting on November 12 to "further discuss" the crisis in Greece.