Tuesday, May 31, 2011

World markets cheer Greek, Japanese news


Investors in Europe cheer a report suggesting that Greece could receive additional aid from the EU and IMF. Stocks in Japan rise on signs of strength in manufacturing.



The advance in Europe came after a report in the Wall Street Journal said Germany may abandon its push for an early rescheduling of Greek debt, which could set the stage for another round of emergency funding for Athens. "Risk assets are rallying overnight after a WSJ story said that Germany is considering dropping its push for a rescheduling of Greek bonds in order to facilitate a new aid package for Greece," analysts at Deutsche Bank wrote in a note to investors. Concerns about the Greek economy, which is beset by massive public debt, have been festering for over a year. While the EU and the International Monetary Fund have already approved billions of dollars in loans for Greece, the nation continues to struggle. Germany and some other European powers had argued that additional aid for Greece should be tied to more austerity measures. But supporters of more aid say the Greek economy is too weak to handle further cutbacks. Stocks in Frankfurt were up over 2%, while London's FTSE 100 rose nearly 1% and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 1.4%.