EU readies for default following Tsipras' tactics

Brussels

EUROPEAN officials are preparing for the worst as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' brinkmanship pushes Greece's finances to the limit.

Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Mr Tsipras to accept the framework for financial aid as the German public turns against supporting Greece and euro-area officials demanded a proposal for stabilising the country's debt by Friday. An International Monetary Fund team left Brussels earlier this week, despairing of Tsipras' tactics.

"People are really fed up with this," UniCredit SpA Chief Global Economist Erik Nielsen said in a television interview. "They've never seen anything so completely ridiculous, frankly …