Eurozone

A six-month extension of Greece's bailout program is "not a substantial proposal for a solution", Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said.

In his words, the letter "does not meet the criteria" forged by the Eurogroup earlier this week.

By Renee Maltezou & Jan Strupczewski

Greece formally requested a six-month extension to its eurozone loan agreement on Thursday, offering major concessions as it raced to avoid running out of cash within weeks and overcome resistance from skeptical partners led by Germany.

By Nikos Chrysoloras

The Greek government asked its euro-region creditors to extend for six months the Master Financial Assistance Facility Agreement underpinning its bailout, according to a copy of the letter seen by Bloomberg News.

Germany rejected a request by Athens Thursday for a six-month extension to its EU loan programme, hitting hopes that Europe and Greece can find a solution to a bitter debt row.
      

The European Central Bank on Thursday denied a report in a German newspaper that it would feel more comfortable if Greece introduced capital controls to stem the outflow of deposits from its banks.

By Nikos Chrysoloras & Eleni Chrepa

Greece?s government submitted a request to its euro-area creditors to extend the availability of bailout funds for six months in a last-ditch effort to avert a cash crunch.

Eurozone finance ministers will hold a special meeting Friday to decide on a Greek request for a six-month loan extension.

"It is confirmed. The meeting will take place at the usual time,» 1400 GMT, a European Union spokeswoman said after Athens sent a formal letter asking for an extension.

[AFP]

By Nikos Chrysoloras & Paul Gordon

Pressure mounted on Greece as U.S. and European officials called on the government to reach a deal with its creditors and the European Central Bank granted the nation's cash-strapped banks only a small increase in emergency funds.

Conservative German newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), reported on Thursday that the European Central Bank wants Greece to introduce capital controls to stem the outflow of deposits from the country's banks. The ECB agreed to a modest increase in emergency funding for Greek banks on Wednesday.

The euro rose Thursday on hopes for a deal in Greece's debt standoff, while the dollar was under pressure after Federal Reserve policy meeting minutes suggested it was in no hurry to hike interest rates.

In Tokyo, the single currency strengthened to $1.1413 and 135.46 yen, from $1.1398 and 135.35 yen in New York.

The dollar slipped to 118.68 yen from 118.76 yen.