Friday, May 20, 2011

European Central Bank blames Greek debt problems on 'vested interests' in Britain

From The Daily Mail:

The European Central Bank's chief economist has blamed Greece's debt problems on 'vested interests' in Britain and America, and said that a debt restructuring would be a 'recipe for catastrophe'.

Today Juergen Stark told a financial conference in Greece that the struggling eurozone country's 'debt sustainability is insured' if it fully complies with its internationally monitored austerity program.

And asked about the markets' hostility to Greek efforts, Stark said: 'This is not the view of all market participants, to be very clear.

'This is a discussion triggered from London and New York. I don't know what is behind it - vested interests, people topping their books and so on.

'So it's more complicated than just (saying) what markets expect.'

Greece's Socialist government was told by the European Union this week to take urgent measures to keep its austerity program on target, as part of its commitments for the 110billion Euros (£97billion) package of bailout loans it is receiving from EU countries and the International Monetary Fund.

The country remains frozen out of bond markets by sky-high interest rates as investors fret that Greece may eventually have to restructure its debt, which set to top 150 per cent of gross domestic product this year.

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