STOCK MARKET WATCH - Thursday, 26 January 2012

[Demeter]

1. EU ratchets up pressure with Greek default threat By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9037008/EU-ratchets-up-pressure-with-Greek-default-threat.html

European Union officials have stepped up pressure on Greece and its creditor banks in a complex game of three-way brinkmanship, signalling that they will allow a Greek default to run its course unless both sides accept more pain. Austria's finance minister Maria Fekter said patience with Athens is exhausted. "Greece has failed its austerity targets by a wide margin. The Greeks have made decisions, but they weren't implemented. They have agreed to austerity measures, but costs haven't come down. This situation has caused great consternation," she said at a meeting of EU finance minister in Brussels. "We're sending a direct message to Greece that the community expects more. We're not pleased and only when there's a written message on the table in front of us, can further assistance be discussed," she said.

The head of the European Commission's economics team Mario Buti said Brussels is prepared to allow credit default swaps (CDS) on Greek bonds to come into play if talks fail to reach a deal that gives Greece enough debt relief to claw its way back to viability. "Triggering CDS may have to be considered," he said.

The comment is a clear warning to private creditors holding €206bn (£172bn) of Greek debt that the EU will not step in with fresh money to prevent a default on March 20, when Greece must make a €14.5bn debt payment.

The EU authorities are demanding that banks, insurers, and pension funds accept a cut in the interest rate on new bonds to 3.5pc – on top of the 50pc haircut agreed – to reflect the drastic deterioration in Greece. The creditors are holding out for 4pc. EU officials would leave Greece's debt at 125pc of GDP by 2020, above the 120pc level deemed the maximum tolerable burden.