Finance ministers from European nations have floated the idea of designing a partial restructuring of sovereign debt held by Greece as part of a plan to help the country meet its debt financing needs, according to Bloomberg. On Tuesday, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker, suggested that officials were considering a “soft restructuring of Greek debt,” but asserted that he was “strictly opposed to a large restructuring.” The official also used the term “reprofiling” to describe a possible plan that was floated in talks with bondholders at the latest meeting over expanding the country’s €110 billion aid package.
The plan would essentially be an extension of debt maturities as part of a package that would include increase sales of state assets and additional austerity measures. However, some disagreement over the potential decision remains, with French Finance minister Christine Lagarde said such an arrangement was “off the table.” Meanwhile, the ZEW Center of European Economic Research reported that its index of German investor expectations dropped to 3.1 from 7.6 in May, marking the third increase in a row and outpacing economists’ forecast for a three-point drop. However current conditions reached a record high, with inflation and the eurozone sovereign debt crisis weighing on the outlook.”
Click here to read the story on Greek debt from Bloomberg News.
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