Greece has entered the twilight zone. In Europe, the Stoxx 50 index of leading shares ended 2.5 per cent lower, while Germany’s DAX slid 3.6 per cent. There were also some early warning signs that Greece’s problems may prove contagious - the borrowing rates of other highly indebted eurozone countries such as Italy and Portugal inched up slightly.

Question: What is the next deadline for Greece?

Some 17,000 people took to the streets of Athens and Thessaloniki on Monday to say “No” in an upcoming referendum on the latest bailout proposals, accusing Greece’s worldwide creditors of blackmail.

Greece’s current bailout expires Tuesday, and the 7.2 billion euros ($8 billion) remaining in it will no longer be available to Greece after that date.

Spot gold pared a gain of more than 1 percent on the day to trade up 0.4 percent near $1,179 an ounce.

“The ratings reflect exceptionally high levels of credit risk, because of the imposition of capital controls as well as poor recovery prospects in the event of the default on senior debt obligations”, Fitch said. That puts Greece in the same bin with fragile, war-torn developing countries in Africa and Latin America.

The 40-year-old premier, speaking as thousands of Greeks rallied in central Athens in support of a “No” vote, urged voters to throw out the deal.

What would happen in that case - whether Greece would have to leave the euro or try to renegotiate more time with creditors - is unclear. This may vote may decide the fate of Greek’s future in the Eurozone. EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he felt personally betrayed and told Greeks a “No” vote would be seen as signaling an exit from the euro - a position that other European leaders lined up to echo.

That has stoked fears of a crippling bank run, a messy Greek debt default and an exit from the euro. The government won approval for the vote, which will be held on July 5th.

And they would be open to talks on a new rescue should the Greek government request them.

EU officials and creditors indicate they are still willing to strike a deal. “They will make the Greek people more determined in their choice to reject the unacceptable… proposals and ultimatums of the creditors”, he said.

The Bank of Greece in turn asked the ECB’s policy-setting Governing Council to approve a top-up to an 89-billion-euro emergency credit line on Sunday, to cover the shortfall.

A modern economy needs functioning banks.

Play video “Greece: No Bank Nationalisation”.

Businesses complained that they couldn’t pay salaries or suppliers and had to halt imports, while agricultural production was also expected to be affected.

If it starts issuing scrip - official IOUs for payment later - that could be the first step in introducing a new currency. Goldman Sachs notes that Europe is much better prepared for a Greek crisis and default this time than in 2011-02 when Greece was last on the brink of a Grexit.

Yannis Stournaras, governor of the Bank of Greece, said the bank would “take all measures necessary to ensure financial stability for Greek citizens in these hard circumstances”.

In the longer term, however, some experts think a Greek departure sets a bad precedent.

Demetrios Efstathiou, economist with ICBC Standard Bank, says it wouldn’t be comparable to 2008.