Greece

Debt-crippled Greece has named some 4,000 alleged tax dodgers, including a former media magnate and a prominent entertainer, with the worst offender owing the state nearly euro1 billion ($1.3 billion), the Associated Press reported. But much of that money might never be reclaimed, as some of the top offenders are in prison or their companies are bankrupt.

Euro zone finance ministers will decide on Monday what terms of a Greek debt restructuring they are ready to accept as part of a second bailout package for Athens after negotiators for private creditors said they could not improve their offer, Reuters reported. Resolving the issue of a Greek debt swap is key to putting Athens' debt on a sustainable path and avoiding a chaotic default that could threaten the whole currency bloc.

The Greek government and its private-sector creditors appeared to be closing in on a debt-restructuring deal on the basis of new proposals, raising hopes it would pave the way for another multibillion-euro bailout for the country, The Wall Street Journal reported. That optimism helped fuel a rally in financial markets across Europe, with the Athens stock exchange rising 2.9% and Greek banking stocks gaining 5%. Greece's efforts to get relief from its private-sector creditors recently have faltered.

Greece is due to continue on Thursday talks with banking representatives aimed at agreeing a haircut for private investors holding Greek debt, Ekathimerini.com reported. Charles Dallara, head of the International Institute of Finance representing private creditors, and Greece's prime minister Lucas Papademos met on Wednesday to pick up discussions from where they had left off last week, when the two sides failed to agree on the interest rate Greece will offer on new bonds and a plan to enforce investor losses. No statements were made after Wednesday’s meeting.

Hedge funds have been known to use hardball tactics to make money. Now they have come up with a new one: suing Greece in a human rights court to make good on its bond payments, The New York Times reported. The novel approach would have the funds arguing in the European Court of Human Rights that Greece had violated bondholder rights, though that could be a multiyear project with no guarantee of a payoff. And it would not be likely to produce sympathy for these funds, which many blame for the lack of progress so far in the negotiations over restructuring Greece’s debts.

Last week’s claims that Greek public debt restructuring talks had “collapsed” would have sent jitters through the eurozone had not Standard & Poor’s downgrades created bigger waves, the Financial Times reported in a commentary. As it is, the private bondholders’ bluff may be counterproductive. It should galvanise Athens’ official creditors in their effort to capture more of the market discount on Greece’s debt. If they jettison their misguided wish for a “voluntary” debt ex­change, a deal remains achievable.

Greece will resume talks with its private-sector creditors next week on a massive debt restructuring plan, with an aim to reach the outlines of a deal in time for a Feb. 23 meeting of euro-zone finance ministers, The Wall Street Journal reported. In remarks to fellow socialist party members, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos insisted the talks will resume in the coming days despite breaking down Friday amid disagreements over the future interest rate Greece will pay.

Talks between Greece and its private sector creditors over a debt restructuring plan are "on track," a senior finance ministry official said Thursday, with the outlines of a final deal expected to be reached by late next week, Dow Jones reported. "We are completely on track. Exploiting the momentum, by the end of the next week we could have the final outline for a deal with the private sector," the official said.

Negotiators for banks and governments are working to complete a promised debt restructuring for Greece that will slice in half what the nation owes its private bondholders, The Wall Street Journal reported. But the deal sets up other governments in the euro zone to bear any additional burden if—many analysts say when—Greece needs more help to get out of its deep fiscal rut. The concerns about additional costs have made some European capitals wary of consummating the deal, said people familiar with the talks, and are among the reasons they have dragged on for months.

Germany and France on Monday pressed Greece and its bondholders to agree on a reduction of Athens's debt burden, warning that Greece's bailout loans from the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund are on hold until a deal is reached with private investors, The Wall Street Journal reported.