With hours to go before the IMF loan repayment demand expires, there is growing speculation that the IMF may agree to extend its deadline till after Greece’s referendum on Sunday. <br /><br /> Some analyst believe such a scenario is highly likely as Greece sails into uncharted financial waters.<br /><br /> Jasper Lawler, market analyst at CMC Markets said: “They are not going to make today’s payment. So that does officially put them in arrears with the IMF, not necessarily a default, but arrears puts them inside the company of the likes of Zimbabwe, and so the next important date really is going to be the referendum on July 5th.”<br /><br /> If Greece does not pay, some euro zone officials will be hoping the Washington based lender will not immediately declare Athens in default but rather in arrears. <br /><br /> That could give Athens breathing space from other lenders’ repayment requests and allow the ECB to continue funding Greek banks’.<br /><br /> Some believe a week may be all it takes to strike a lasting deal.<br /><br /> Ed Dempsey, ch
