Category: Lifestyle
Title: The Economist
The Economist magazine has suggested that Greece may need more than the €45 billion (£38.76 billion) financial rescue package it has agreed to rescue its ailing economy.
Prime minister George Papandreou recently went cap in hand to fellow euro zone members and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) seeking assistance in halting the nation's budget deficit and paying off its maturing debts.
The decision was taken after Greek bond yields reached 8.9 per cent and the budget deficit hit 13.9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009.
Greece will have to repay around €30 billion of the loan at a rate of around five per cent - higher than the amount Portugal and Ireland, the next riskiest nations, are paying - while the IMF is likely to offer a slightly better deal.
However, The Economist's analysts reckon the country could do with at least €75 billion in aid to help sort out its affairs.
The magazine explained that this figure was based on a number of assumptions, such as Greece needing five years to return the debt to GDP ratio to normal and the economy returning to growth by 2013.
Meanwhile, the latest edition of The Economist looks at how the volcanic eruption in Iceland has highlighted the need for better emergency planning.
Posted by Arabella Gibson
What do you think of Greece's current predicament?