Bailout, Eurozone Bailout | featured news

Cyprus secured a package of rescue loans in tense, last-ditch negotiations early Monday, two EU diplomats said, saving the country from a banking system collapse and bankruptcy.

European finance ministers are gathering to discuss a long-delayed bailout for Cyprus amid demands from creditor nations that the island nation commit to privatizations and greater transparency in its financial sector. France's Pierre Moscovici said ahead of the meeting of the 17-nation eurozone's finance ministers Monday the talks will specifically include the issue of anti-money-laundering policies and their implementation.

Spain is ready to request a euro zone bailout for its public finances as early as next weekend but Germany has signaled that it should hold off, European officials said on Monday. The latest twist in the euro zone's three-year-old sovereign debt crisis comes as financial markets and some other European partners are pressuring Madrid to seek a rescue program that would trigger European Central Bank buying of its bonds.

Spain’s borrowing costs rose to record levels for a third consecutive trading day on Monday on concerns that a deepening recession and the financing problems of its regions would force the government to seek a full-fledged bailout.

Italy said on Tuesday it may want to tap euro zone aid to ease its borrowing costs as finance ministers struggled to convince markets they are getting a grip on the bloc's debt crisis, which a top European Central Banker said could escalate.

The euro-zone's bailout funds can't handle another big bailout, the world's biggest private financial institutions said.

China is keen to contribute to a fund to bail out the euro zone, its trade minister said, underscoring the Asian powerhouse's growing interest in playing a bigger role in the global economy as its financial strength grows.

The German parliament approved a second, euro130 billion ($173 billion) loan package for Greece on Monday after Chancellor Angela Merkel warned lawmakers that it would be irresponsible to abandon the country to bankruptcy.

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.

U.S. stocks closed in on the psychologically important mark of 13,000 for the Dow Jones industrial average as optimism about the Greek bailout and the European financial situation sent stocks up in early trading.