Has Merkel thrown Greece a lifeline?
June 11, 2015, 4:57 am

Merkel has said she wants to keep Greece in the eurozone, but has she made significant compromises to Athens? [Xinhua]

The reports lifted US and European markets late Wednesday and came as Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras discussed his country’s debt crisis with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande in what some described as a constructive and promising meeting.

A spokesperson for Merkel said the talks would intensify in the days to come.

But European media were already reporting that Germany – which has traditionally taken a hard position on Greece’s debt and demanded extensive economic reforms before releasing vital funds – was now willing to compromise.

Germany is considering allowing Greece to receive incremental financial assistance from the IMF and European Central Bank in exchange for a much more manageable set of reforms for Athens to implement.

Global markets had been struggling with bad news about the EU-Greece impasse for more than four months, ever since a new leftist-leaning government came to power with promises of renegotiating the Brussels-imposed austerity measures.

But now, with news that Merkel wants to keep Greece in the eurozone, the momentum is shifting toward a good week for European markets.

On Wednesday, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index reversed a seven-day downward spiral and rose 1.8 per cent.

Germany’s DAX surged 2.40 per cent while France’s CAC 40 gained 1.8 per cent.

In London, the FTSE 100 jumped 1.1 per cent.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 1.3 per cent after a five-day losing streak.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.33 per cent; the S&P 500 went up 1.2 per cent and the NASDAQ similarly jumped 1.25 per cent.

The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies