Summary Box: Greek cuts may be too little

Associated Press

Published: Thursday, Feb. 9 2012 1:53 p.m. MST

Pedestrians looks on a man who holds a benner reading "I have a brain tumour - I'm jobless and homless" in the entrance of the metro station at Athens' main Syntagma square, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012. Leaders of the three parties backing Prime Minister Lucas Papademos' interim government were poring over a draft new austerity program demanded by Greece's creditors to continue providing rescue loans to the debt-crippled country.

Dimitri Messinis, Associated Press

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Summary

MINUTE: Hours after Greece made the unpopular decision to slash government spending in an attempt to ease its debt crisis, Germany's finance minister questioned whether the deal goes far enough to earn a crucial €130 billion bailout.

WAIT A MINUTE: Hours after Greece made the unpopular decision to slash government spending in an attempt to ease its debt crisis, Germany's finance minister questioned whether the deal goes far enough to earn a crucial €130 billion bailout.

THE DEAL: Greece's austerity plan would make deep cuts to wages and public-sector jobs and it ignited fresh criticism from unions and the country's deputy labor minister, who resigned in protest. But finance ministers from the other 16 countries that use the euro indicated that even those steps may not be enough to get Greece's economy back on track.

THE STAKES: Greece is under immense pressure. On March 20, it has to repay €14.5 billion in bonds — money which it doesn't have. It is also trying for a deal with private bondholders designed to cut its debt by some €100 billion. A forced bankruptcy would likely lead to the country's exit from the euro common currency.

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