Greece | featured news

Standard & Poor's cut its ratings on Greece three notches on its expectations of the likelihood of one or more defaults over the next 12 months.

The European Central Bank said on Thursday it opposed forcing private creditors to take part in debt relief for Greece, pushing back against Germany, which has demanded a bond swap to lengthen Greek debt maturities.

Sony on Tuesday reported another security breach, saying 8,500 user accounts had been compromised. The company said that Sony Music Entertainment Greece learned about the data breach late Sunday. It affected artist websites where fans can sign up for newsletters.

Bleak EU economic forecasts on Friday showed Greece will miss its debt targets this year without further reforms and a senior policymaker said Athens was not meeting the terms of its rescue package.

Speculation is growing that Greece may need a second financial bail-out from the international community

A Moody's downgrade and growing speculation Greece may eventually restructure its debt took the shine off Ireland's thumbs-up from the EU and the IMF on Friday for its efforts to claw its way back from crisis.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded two of the euro zone's most troubled member states, citing fears that the pair may have to restructure their debt after 2013.

Moody's slashed Greece's credit rating by three notches on Monday, raising the specter that the distressed euro zone sovereign may be forced to restructure its debt, perhaps even before 2013.

Debt-crippled Ireland formally applied Sunday for a massive EU-IMF loan to stem the flight of capital from its banks, joining Greece in a step unthinkable only a few years ago when Ireland was a booming Celtic Tiger and the economic envy of Europe.

Greek police said they had intercepted a booby-trapped parcel addressed to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, after another package exploded at a courier company in Athens injuring a member of staff.