Greece has agreed the outline of a â¬24bn austerity package, including a three-year wage freeze for public sector workers, in return for a multibillion-euro loan from the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund, according to people familiar with the talks. Final details of the measures, which are intended to slash the budget deficit by 10-11 percentage points of gross domestic product over the next three years, were still being worked out, a senior government official said. Negotiations with officials from the IMF, the European Commission, and the European Central Bank are due to be completed at the weekend and the measures will be presented for approval by the Greek parliament next week. The package also includes an increase in value-added tax, the second this year. âDiscussions are still taking place on which of the three [VAT] tiers will be increased,â said the official. Greek bond and stock markets soared on Thursday in what has been a roller-coaster ride for investors this week. Greek two-year bond yields, which have an inverse relationship with prices, fell more than 3 percentage points to 12.74 per cent, while the stock market rose 7.14 per cent as confidence grew after it was reported on Wednesday that the EU and IMF were preparing a â¬120bn loan to bail out _Athens. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c036a694-53b2-11df-aba0-00144feab49a.html GDP 2009 = 342.2 bn USD
Riots are already underway. Not only that, but even the most optimistic assesments of the "austerity package" still have the Greeks spending more than they take in. But let's just close our eyes and pretend. Send the DOW up to 14 k! Woo hoo!