See Search Box
lower down this column for searches of Finfacts news pages. Where there may be
the odd special character missing from an older page, it's a problem that
developed when Interactive Tools upgraded to a new content management system.
Welcome
Finfacts is Ireland's leading business information site and
you are in its business news section.
Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund appearing to display scepticism as she listens to Lucas Papademos, Greek prime minister, at the Eurogroup meeting, Brussels, Feb 20, 2012.
Eurozone finance ministers agreed a second bailout for debt-stricken Greece
in the early hours of Tuesday that will save the country from bankruptcy but
according to a troika sustainability report, the outlook is grim.
The ministersagreed the details of a €130bn
financial package which will cut Greece's debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product)
ratio to 120.5% by 2020, in line with previous targets. This will
be achieved by private creditors incurring a deeper cut on their existing Greek
bonds, of 53.5% of their face value compared with a level of 50% that was
agreed last year.
The European Central Bank will also contribute to the deal by transferring
the profits from its Greek bondholdings onto the national central banks, who
will then pass it onto Greece.
Greece will now start negotiations with its
private creditors over the terms of the package.
Lucas Papademos, Greek prime minister, called it a 'historic' moment and
Christine Lagarde said it would give Greece the opportunity to return to
growth.
The 10-page Greek debt sustainability report that we obtained Monday night by
the Financial Times paints a stark picture of Greece's problems. For example:
The 2011 outturn was worse than expected, both in terms of growth and the
fiscal deficit; the macroeconomic outlook has deteriorated significantly, due
to events in Europe; the fiscal outlook has deteriorated due to the economy
and due to delays in developing fiscal-structural reforms
The FT says the troika report explains why European countries were so opposed
to the new financing programme for Greece. In an article headlined "Greek
debt nightmare laid bare", it said:
A German-led group of creditor countries – including the Netherlands and
Finland – has expressed extreme reluctance to go through with the deal since
they received the report.
Check out our new
subscription service, Finfacts Premium
, at a low annual charge of €25 - - if
you are a regular user of Finfacts, 50 euro cent a week is hardly a huge ask to
support the service.
It's a simple fact that in the
prevailing economic climate, the provision of high quality content cannot be
sustained through advertising alone.
Business executives who put a
premium on time and value high quality information, should use our service.
Greek Bailout Deal: Good News for Investors: Olivier D'Assier, managing director for Europe and Asia at Axioma, discusses why the Greek bailout deal is a boon to investors and stock picking strategies: