Bailouts, Europe Debt Crisis | featured news

Portugal will elect a new government on Sunday which will lead the country through a period of deep austerity and recession after it received a 78-billion-euro ($114 billion) bailout from the European Union and IMF.

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

Ireland's ailing banks need another euro24 billion ($34 billion) in cash in a move that will leave all of them under state control and facing a complete overhaul, officials announced Thursday in a long-awaited effort to cap a 3-year banking crisis....

The Belgian finance minister and International Monetary Fund suggested that the scope of measures to stabilize the euro should be strengthened.

The budget plan for 2011 is aimed at reassuring nervous lenders that the country can avoid a bailout by meeting its deficit-cutting targets.

The ultimate size will depend on whether Dublin merely tries to shore up and restructure its crippled banks, or whether a larger package is offered to give it more breathing room.

Stocks tumbled for a second day Friday after concerns grew that the deep spending cuts under Europe's bailout plan would slow a global recovery.