European officials came to an agreement Tuesday to give a $170 billion bailout to Greece in order to prevent the country defaulting, reported St. Louis Today.
The finance ministers of 17 countries sharing the euro currency made the agreement after 13 hours of negotiations, reported the Los Angeles Times. .
Had the countries not agreed on the bailout, Greece would have defaulted in March, reported the Washington Post.
The terms of the bailout mean that private bondholders will have a larger loss than previously anticipated in order to get Greece's debt to a sustainable level by 2020. The interest for the long-term loans was also reduced in attempt to reach this 2020 goal.
The ministers demanded that Greece set up an escrow account so the money would be spent on the country's debt, not other public expenses
Other terms of the agreement included a 150,000 person shrink to the public sector, lowering Greece's minimum wage by 22 percent, cutting pensions, and working to sell off publicly owned companies. Other measures filled a 50-page booklet.
This bailout is on top of a $145 billion bailout in May 2010, making it the largest bailout out in European Union history.
Speaking of tidal waves ... i saw a funny editorial cartoon of the EUR bailout of Greece, on the binary options news udpate site.
It would be nice to see the land of Zorba and Alexander the Great get back some of their mojo, if only they would agree to put in the good effort required by any well managed democratic, capitalist nation.