Update on Greece 2012

Update on Greece 

• Greece's private creditors signaled progress late Tuesday on a debt-relief deal 
• But crucial talks between Greek coalition leaders about forcing more austerity upon a hostile public were again postponed.
• Greek Premier Lucas Papademos delayed a meeting with his coalition parties till Wednesday, staying in talks until late in the night with top bank negotiators as well as with debt inspectors from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund
• More than 20,000 protesters marched through the Greek capital and unions called a general strike Tuesday against the new cuts in jobs and spending
• The intense talks in Athens were supposed to be finished last weekend, but have dragged on over EU-IMF demands for a new round of austerity measures that include civil service job cuts and slashing Greece's minimum wage.
• The Greek government has already accepted that it must cut 15,000 state jobs in 2012 to get the new bailout, as well cut 2012 spending by a further euro3.3 billion ($4.3 billion), reduce wage costs in the private sector and recapitalize banks without nationalizing them.
• While Greece remains cut off from international bond markets — where it would have to pay interest of about 35 percent to sell 10-year issues — it maintains a market presence through regular short-term debt sales.
• On Tuesday, Greek borrowing costs dropped slightly as the country raised euro812 million ($1.06 billion) in an auction of 26-week treasury bills. The interest rate was 4.86 percent, compared to 4.90 percent in a similar auction last month. The auction was 2.72 times oversubscribed.

via [ Yahoo Finance ]