Greece, Austerity | featured news

Greece's cabinet agreed on Saturday to launch a debt swap for private creditors on March 8 with the aim of completing it by March 11, a government official said.

Shock was a common sentiment in the heart of Athens this week. Athinas Street, the colorful shopping mile in the Greek capital, is known for its lively fish and meat markets, where spice salesmen mix with traditional shoemakers and sidewalks are packed with commodities for sale.

The letters aim to satisfy one of the key demands set by Greece's international lenders, but other issues remained unresolved.

Latest austerity cuts approved as 100,000 take to the streets in protest; 93 buildings damaged in Athens.

Greece's Cabinet approved austerity measures demanded in return for a new eurozone bailout of the debt-stricken country Saturday, a day ahead of a crucial vote in Parliament.

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.

Greece faces another tough year in 2012 but must stick to its program of austerity and reform to stay in the euro, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said in a pre-recorded New Year's Eve address.

Greece will miss a deficit target set just months ago in a massive bailout package, according to government draft budget figures released on Sunday, showing that drastic steps taken to avert bankruptcy may not be enough.

Greeks expressed their misery on Monday at the erosion of their daily lives by austerity measures demanded by international lenders in exchange for bailout funds, ahead of a key parliamentary vote on extra property tax.

Thousands of protesters and an equal number of police fanned out in several Greek cities Saturday evening ahead of an expected announcement by the country's prime minister that additional austerity measures are on the way.