ECB policymakers talked up hopes a 2009 debt deal that helped stabilise central Europe might offer a model for a Greek rescue, but a rating agency said that risked taking the country to the brink of default. Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said he hoped the 'Vienna Initiative', in which banks agreed to maintain their exposure to
More
An agreement on a new financing package for Greece should be reached by July 11 at the latest, Slovak Finance Minister Ivan Miklos said on Wednesday, suggesting possible slippage on the timing of an agreement. Euro zone finance ministers made little progress toward a deal on a second bailout package for Athens on Tuesday, but
More
Standard & Poor's has lowered the long-term counterparty credit ratings to 'CCC' from 'B' on the four main Greek banks, following Monday’s cut in Greece’s long-term sovereign rating also to ‘CCC’. The rating agency said Wednesday that the financial profiles of National Bank of Greece, EFG Eurobank, Alpha Bank and Piraeus Bank “are exposed to
More
Spain's Economy Minister Elena Salgado said on Wednesday she expected Greece to receive funds to meet its July and August debt obligations. Tuesday's meeting with her euro zone peers had been positive, and the next meeting of finance ministers this Sunday would deliver positive results. "In the very short term it means that funds for
More
Edgy investors ditched lower-rated euro zone government debt on Wednesday, sending Greek bond yields soaring to new highs after officials showed little sign of progress on a new deal to tackle Greece's crisis. Differences of opinion between policymakers on how to involve private holders of Greece's debt in a new bailout package have heightened uncertainty
More
Stone-throwing Greeks clashed with police and tens of thousands of protesters marched on parliament on Wednesday to oppose government efforts to pass new austerity measures for the debt-stricken euro zone state. Unions representing half the five-million-strong workforce also launched a nationwide strike, shutting ports, schools and other basic services in the Mediterranean state. Prime Minister
More
. BY LAWRENCE H. SUMMERS Even with the massive 2008-2009 policy effort that successfully prevented financial collapse and depression, the United States is now halfway to a lost economic decade. Over the last five years, from the first quarter of 2006 to the first quarter of 2011, the U.S. economy's growth rate averaged less than
More
. * Decision on Greek rollover may be crucial to bailout * Proposal to create European rating body in doubt * Other steps to curb agencies running into difficulties A year after it pledged to curb the power of the credit rating agencies, Europe remains at their mercy as it struggles to introduce regulatory steps
More
To Hollywood's great surprise, moviegoers will show up en masse for the rare summer film that features real actors, an original story and some genuine thrills. The new sci-fi mystery "Super 8" easily claimed the top spot at the weekend box office in North America after selling about $38 million worth of tickets, despite concerns
More
Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Antonis Paschalides is departing on Wednesday for Vienna, heading a business delegation to Austria, jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce and the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry. According to and official announcement, the delegation includes a number of Cypriot business representatives, with the objective of promoting Cyprus
More