Imf, Greece Debt | featured news

Political leaders in Greece need to show the resolve to stay in the euro zone, which will require Athens to stick to the terms of its rescue package, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Thursday.

The International Monetary Fund on Thursday approved a 28 billion euro ($36.7 billion) bailout for Greece, part of a broader international rescue package for the debt-strapped euro zone member.

Debate over Greece’s rescue plan now shifts to the International Monetary Fund, which must decide if it is willing to risk more on a bailout effort that the fund’s own analysis shows has a strong probability of failing.

THE warning was clear: Greece was spiraling out of control. But the alarm, sounded in mid-2009, in a draft report from the International Monetary Fund, never reached the outside world. Greek officials saw the draft and complained to the I.M.F. So the final report, while critical, played down the risks that Athens might one day default, with disastrous consequences for all of Europe.

The International Monetary Fund's executive board on Friday said it approved a disbursement of about 3.2 billion euros to help Greece pay debts due this month.

Greece has secured a second bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, and it too will be on the order of €110 billion, Prime Minister George Papandreou said.

A Moody's downgrade and growing speculation Greece may eventually restructure its debt took the shine off Ireland's thumbs-up from the EU and the IMF on Friday for its efforts to claw its way back from crisis.

The International Monetary Fund on Sunday approved a 30 billion euro ($38.6 billion) loan for Greece as part of a larger European Union-led effort to help ease the country's economic crisis.

The $147 billion, three-year bailout offered to Greece by euro-zone countries and the IMF won't be enough to cover Greece's costs, an examination of Greek financial figures shows.

Greece reached agreement with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund on rescue loans to keep Athens from defaulting on its debts, a deal that will impose harsh cuts on the county's 11 million people for years.