Greece, Greece Bailout | featured news

As is increasingly the case with the European financial crisis, the story changed between the time the evening papers went to bed Thursday night and the traders woke up Friday morning.

After days of talks, Greek political leaders reached a deal Thursday to support a package of harsh austerity measures demanded by Greece’s financial backers in return for a bailout.

Stocks edged lower on Monday as a delay by debt-ridden Greece in accepting the terms of a bailout gave investors little reason to buy equities after a five-week rally.

Greece and its private creditors said on Saturday they were piecing together the final elements of a debt swap and expected to have a deal ready next week, essential for sealing a new bailout and avoiding an uncontrolled default.

Greek officials reject German proposals for a eurozone budget commissioner to oversee spending, as agreement nears on a second bailout for Greece.

European Central Bank policymaker Athanasios Orphanides called for euro zone leaders to abandon plans to make private sector investors help reduce Greece's debts, but his push showed no sign of gaining any traction in Europe's capitals on Friday.

Greece’s finance minister has called on the EU to implement “fully and immediately” an agreement reached last month overhauling the eurozone’s rescue fund and extending Greece a €109 billion ($157 billion) bailout. The finance ministry says Evangelos Venizelos wrote to senior officials, including European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, EU economic commissioner Olli Rehn and eurozone finance ministers. Excerpts of the letter were released Sunday.

Greece has secured a second bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, and it too will be on the order of €110 billion, Prime Minister George Papandreou said.

The International Monetary Fund on Sunday approved a 30 billion euro ($38.6 billion) loan for Greece as part of a larger European Union-led effort to help ease the country's economic crisis.

The $147 billion, three-year bailout offered to Greece by euro-zone countries and the IMF won't be enough to cover Greece's costs, an examination of Greek financial figures shows.