Message #25887

[Psalm 51:17]

http://news.yahoo.com/imf-eu-see-more-time-not-more-money-135359892--business.html

9/14/12

IMF, EU see more time, not more money, for Greece

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Greece may get more time to reach financial targets under its 130 billion euro rescue package but probably not more money, its international lenders signaled on Friday, saying a decision had to come by the end of October.
 
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, leading a country in its fifth year of recession at a time of rising discontent at home, wants two more years to implement economic reforms tied to the bailout to soften their impact.
 
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said lenders may now agree to some sort of extension.
 
"There are various ways to adjust: time is one and that needs to be considered as an option," Lagarde told a news conference following a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Cyprus.
 
Greece's second bailout envisages Athens returning to international markets by 2015, but with two consecutive parliamentary elections in May and June after political parties struggled to form a coalition, the country has lost ground on its reform agenda. Deepening recession has also made the debt targets less attainable.
 
Although the extent of the shortfall will not be known until a report by lenders in October, Greece is unlikely to win back investor confidence quickly and meet its targets, which include a primary surplus of 4.5 percent of economic output in 2014.

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