After Years of Pain, Greece Expects a Budget Surplus

ATHENS — Offering the first real hope that Greece could emerge from a six-year recession, the government on Monday presented a draft budget for next year forecasting a tenuous return to growth.

Finland prepares for break-up of eurozone

The Nordic state is battening down the hatches for a full-blown currency crisis as tensions in the eurozone mount and has said it will not tolerate further bail-out creep or fiscal union by stealth.

Giant Lender in Spain Asks for Billions to Fend Off Collapse

MADRID — Spain’s banking crisis worsened Friday as the board of Bankia, the country’s biggest mortgage lender, warned that it would need an additional 19 billion euros ($23.88 billion), far beyond what the government estimated when it seized the bank and its portfolio of delinquent real estate loans earlier this month.

Europe hopes for ‘bail-in’ banks for Greek rescue

European officials have persuaded Greece’s politicians to squeeze more tax dollars out of the rich, the poor and even themselves. Now they have to prevent the country’s bondholders from pulling their money and running for the exits.

In a continent-wide series of sensitive talks over the next week, finance officials in Germany, France and other European countries will try to coax banks, pension funds and others who hold Greece’s bonds to keep their money invested in a nation regarded as an increasingly poor risk.

Vince Cable rebuked by No 10 as he stirs euro crisis

George Osborne was forced to intervene yesterday after Vince Cable warned that Greece would have to delay paying some of its debts.

By James Kirkup, and Andrew Porter

Downing Street quickly made it clear that the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary was not authorised to set out government policy on the eurozone crisis.