The European Central Bank has ruled out taking voluntary losses on its Greek bond holdings but is now debating how it would handle any forced losses and whether to explore legal options to avoid such a hit, central bank sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
Greece hoped on Wednesday it could wrap up tortuous negotiations on a debt swap as early as this week when private creditors return to Athens for a fresh round of talks to avert a chaotic default.
Brent crude slipped below $110 on Wednesday as recession fears, partly rekindled by stalled Greek debt talks, weighed on the outlook for demand, while threats by Iran to respond to European sanctions by shutting a vital trade route supported prices.
Even as Greece works towards an agreement with private sector investors to meet their debts, the S&P warned that Greece is likely to enter into default.
Gold fell on Tuesday as a lower euro, due to an impasse to restructure Greek debt, and weakness in crude oil and equities prompted investors to take profits.
Europe's debt crisis could tip the world economy into recession and a bigger firewall is urgently needed to keep the damage from spreading, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.
Greece's private creditors pleaded Tuesday with European officials who rejected their bond swap offer to hammer together a deal before Athens tumbles into a chaotic default.
Eurozone finance ministers will decide on Monday what terms of a Greek debt restructuring they are ready to accept as part of a second bailout package for Athens after negotiators for private creditors said they could not improve their offer.
Economic growth, jobs and protectionism are the top three worries at the start of 2012, according to a Call to Action published by 11 leaders of international organizations on Friday in a bid to kick-start debate at next week's Davos Forum.
The Canadian dollar touched a six-week high against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday after Canadian manufacturing data beat expectations and solid demand at a euro zone debt auction eased investor fears about Europe's sovereign debt crisis.
Greece and its bondholders have made little progress since resuming stalled talks on a debt swap, three sources close to the talks told Reuters on Thursday, with time to strike a deal and avoid a messy default running out rapidly.
World stocks rose to their highest in over two months on Thursday as risk appetite improved on hopes Greece will reach an agreement with its creditors and the International Monetary Fund will boost resources to tackle the euro zone debt crisis.
Europe needs to cough up a lot more than $200 billion to the International Monetary Fund before calling on others to boost the international lender's funding capacity to deal with the fallout from the European debt crisis, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Wednesday.
Italy and Britain called on the European Union on Wednesday to promote steps to boost economic growth and not focus solely on austerity to bring down the debt levels that have thrown the single currency into crisis.
The World Bank warned Wednesday that the global economy is on the cusp of a new financial crisis, one similar in magnitude to the chaos following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.
Stock index futures rose on Wednesday, putting the S&P 500 on track for a second straight advance after sources said the International Monetary Fund wants to boost its lending facility as the Eurozone battles a long-running debt crisis.
The International Monetary Fund is estimating it needs to raise up to $600 billion in new resources to lend to countries struggling with the fallout from the euro zone debt crisis, IMF sources said on Wednesday.
Gold struggled Wednesday to hold recent gains as growing concerns of an imminent Greek default offset hope that Chinese authorities will act to reverse the slowdown of the world's second-biggest economy.
Germany, the only major eurozone member to retain a top-notch credit rating, refused Monday to consider boosting the bloc's rescue fund, while Greece was under pressure to urgently break a deadlock in debt swap talks if it is to avoid an unruly default.
Greece must urgently break a deadlock in debt swap talks triggered by unreasonable demands from its partners, the head of a group of representing its private sector warned on Monday, as Athens raced against the clock to prevent an unruly default.
Greece must urgently break a deadlock in debt swap talks triggered by unreasonable demands from its partners, the head of a group of representing its private sector warned on Monday, as Athens raced against the clock to prevent an unruly default.
The government had enacted a series of cuts to salaries and benefits, while hiking taxes.
