STOCK MARKET WATCH - Thursday, 26 January 2012

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81. Eurozone crisis live: Greek creditors 'offer better deal'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jan/26/eurozone-crisis-live-greek-debt-talks-resume-davos

3.58pm Here's some footage of David Cameron speaking at Davos today.
During the speech, the prime minister urged world leaders to fix their 'manmade' problems. He also called for bilateral trade deals to be set up between the EU and other major trading regions this year.

3.54pm: Even if Greece does agree a deal with its creditors, its people face the prospect of even further austerity measures.

With the EU/IMF Troika pushing for wage and bonus cuts, Greek government spokesman Pandelis Kapsis admitted that further belt-tightening measures were bound to exact "a huge social and economic cost".

Kapsis added that the time had come for all parties to make their stance clear:


The formation of this government [in November] was a political decision and [showed] that we wanted to do what was needed for Greece to stay in the euro with a continued supply of funds from the EU. If now, in the face of political or social costs ... we decide openly as a society and political system to choose a [different] road [then we should know] that it will be much worse, much more painful for its citizens and full of danger and unpredictability. But every society and political system makes it choices. I think the moment has come when everyone should say seriously what they believe.

Potential cutbacks include suspending automatic salary increases, reducing social security contributions and abolishing or reducing holiday pay known as the 13th and 14th annual salaries.