Markets tremble as Angela Merkel plays for time over Greece rescue deal

[CHIMO]

Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted today that Greece would need to commit to a tougher and longer austerity package in the form of a three-year IMF programme before Germany spent billions to help rescue the country from insolvency.

Four days after Greece requested a €45bn safety net from 15 EU countries and the IMF to ward off the prospect of a sovereign default, Merkel hedged her bets, but promised clearer answers within days.

The mixed signals from Berlin saw the financial markets heap further pressure on Greece with borrowing costs soaring to yet another record high. The yields on 10-year Greek bonds rose to 9-10% amid concerns that the package may not materialise and that Greece, whose national debt has ballooned to €300bn, may not recover enough to meet its repayments.

The euro weakened against the dollar and the pound today but Merkel stressed that the IMF rather than the European commission should be the main arbiter of the Greek government's attempt to get the public finances into some sort of order. "If Greece is ready accept tough measures, not just in one year but over several years, then we have a good chance to secure the stability of the euro for us all," Merkel said. "We need a positive development in Greece together with further savings measures."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/apr/26/markets-greece-rescue-imf-package

Looks to me that the only way for Greece to get ahead is to leave the Euro. Next is Spain? Then on to others?

[girl gone mad]

1. Greece never should have gotten on the Euro..

they weren't ready for it.

[golfguru]

2. Greece's problem is not Euro, it is DEBT

All debt laden countries face the same problem.
History always repeats, but people never learn.