Greece

Greece moved a step closer to completing its debt restructuring when a raft of bondholders pledged to participate in the swap, likely enabling the troubled nation to force the deal through, The Wall Street Journal reported. As of late Wednesday, about 52% of the €206 billion ($270.9 billion) in bonds up for restructuring had been pledged. Portuguese and U.K. banks, as well as Italian insurance companies added their names to the list of holders agreeing to the swap, as did Greek pension funds holding €19 billion of Greek debt.

Greece has threatened to default on any of its bondholders who do not take part in a €206bn debt restructuring that officials believe is key to returning Athens to solvency, a move that turns up the heat on potential holdouts ahead of a deadline on Thursday, the Financial Times reported. The Greek public debt management agency said in a statement Athens “does not contemplate the availability of funds” to pay private investors who hold onto their bonds once the restructuring occurs.

Twelve financial institutions representing a significant chunk of outstanding Greek bonds held by private lenders have agreed to participate in the voluntary Greek debt swap set to conclude Thursday, according to a statement Monday from the Institute of International Finance, an industry group, The Wall Street Journal reported. The banks and funds all sit on the steering committee that negotiated the terms of the Greek debt restructuring under the auspices of the IIF, which represents some 450 financial institutions.

The EU reaches a watershed moment this week with the deadline for private creditors to write down Greek debt, one leaders hope will prove momentum has swung in the battle to beat the debt crisis, Agence France-Presse reported. Despite Spain warning that its budget deficit will miss an EU-agreed target by tens of billions of euros this year and with recession also forcing the Netherlands and Belgium to re-do their sums, the view remains that a corner is being turned.

Eurozone members delayed approval of more than half of the €130bn bail-out for Greece after demanding that Athens show more proof that it would implement hastily agreed spending cuts and reforms, the Financial Times reported. Finance ministers from the 17-country currency bloc meeting in Brussels signed off on funds to underpin a €206bn restructuring of privately held Greek debt.

Owners of insurance-like contracts designed to protect against potential losses on Greek sovereign debt won't receive payouts, at least for now, even though the country took steps in its restructuring in recent days that could force private creditors to accept losses on the face value of their bonds, a committee of dealers and investors decided. Thursday's decision marks the first time the panel of experts has held a vote on whether compensation is owed to holders of the credit-default swap protection on Greece, The Wall Street Journal reported.

German investor protection group DSW said Greece needs to provide clarity on the treatment of individual investors in its debt swap or risk a holdout that may trigger the default European leaders are trying to prevent, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. Greece should treat all small investors across the European Union equally, Dusseldorf-based DSW said in an e-mailed statement today. So far, DSW is only aware of plans by the Greek government to compensate Greek retail investors for their losses, it said.

Greece's government Tuesday resumed a legislative sprint to push through draconian overhauls demanded by its international creditors ahead of a European summit this week that will sign off on a new €130 billion ($174 billion) loan deal for the country, The Wall Street Journal reported. The cabinet met at midday to approve private-sector wage cuts, while parliament was to vote this evening on a fresh round of spending cuts to bring the 2012 budget back in line with deficit targets.

Chancellor Angela Merkel won a parliamentary vote on Greek aid after warning German lawmakers that pushing Greece out of the euro would risk “incalculable” damage, defying a public backlash against more bailout funds, Bloomberg reported. In a vote that showed dissent in her coalition growing, 496 members of the lower house, or Bundestag, voted in favor of the 130 billion-euro ($174 billion) package in Berlin; 90 voted against and five abstained.

Greece's parliament approved Thursday legislation to implement a massive EUR100 billion debt writedown for the country even as Athens sprinted to push through further reforms needed to secure a fresh bailout from its international creditors, Dow Jones reported. Passage of the legislation, which includes a controversial measure to strong-arm investors into the deal, clears the way for Greece to formally launch its long-awaited debt-restructuring program Friday.