Does Europe need a default? As euro-zone leaders work to defuse the dangerous debt crisis that is raging at their periphery, more and more observers seem to believe that part of the solution should be a major cut in the face-value of outstanding Greek and possibly Irish government bonds, The Wall Street Journal reported in a commentary.

Violent clashes between protesters and the police broke out here in the capital on Wednesday, as the two main labor unions staged the first general strike of the year against the government’s austerity drive, paralyzing public services and disrupting transportation, the International Herald Tribune reported. Demonstrators estimated that 20,000 to 30,000 protesters turned out at two rallies that converged outside Parliament in the early afternoon. The strike on Wednesday shut down schools and hospitals and all government offices.

An indignant Greece slammed EU and International Monetary Fund inspectors overseeing its efforts to reform its debt-crippled economy, accusing them Saturday of overstepping their role and interfering in Greece's internal affairs, the Associated Press reported. In an unusually harshly worded, pre-dawn statement, government spokesman Giorgos Petalotis called the behavior of the inspectors at a Friday news conference unacceptable. "We have needs, but we also have limits. And we do not negotiate the limits of our dignity with anyone," Petalotis said.

Greece was in talks with other European countries in an effort to lower interest rates on a rescue loan package worth a total euro110 billion ($146 billion), the finance minister said Wednesday. Greece has already received support from countries using the euro and the International Monetary Fund for its effort to extend the repayment of the rescue loans. A final deal has yet to be worked out, the Associated Press reported.

Greece's prime minister sought to allay investor concerns over the country's staggering debt burden Thursday, saying the country isn't in talks to restructure government debt held by private bondholders and will return to the bond markets this year if conditions allow. Speaking in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires, Prime Minister George Papandreou said Greece's program of tough structural reforms and harsh fiscal austerity -- as demanded by its international lenders -- would ensure that Athens could repay its private creditors. "We have no such [restructuring] talks going on.

Wind Hellas Telecommunications SA’s bondholder-led plan to restructure the company by injecting 420 million euros ($555 million) and writing off debt in exchange for control of the company was approved by a London court, Bloomberg BusinessWeek reported. Under the plan by senior secured floating-rate noteholders, Wind Hellas’s 250 million-euro revolving credit line would be repaid in full, while the company’s senior secured notes and 355 million euros of subordinated bonds will be written off, according to a statement Oct. 18.

ATEBank will reduce its workforce by 1,000 persons, cut payouts by 10%, shut down branches and sell all its non-bank holdings as part of its restructuring plan, Capital.gr reported. The state run bank will go through a triple merger with the Loans and Consignments Fund (LCF) and the Hellenic Postbank so as to create a strong state run banking pillar. The plan includes restructuring of ATE, which must get rid of its non-bank holdings while the LCF will be cut in two. From this procedure, an SA in the form of a bank will emerge that will merge with ATEBank.

Greek deputy Prime Minster Theodoros Pangalos said on Sunday that in theory debt restructuring should not be completely disregarded for the heavily indebted nation but that deficits need to be dealt with first, Dow Jones reported. In an interview with local newspaper To Vima, later confirmed by the government, Pangalos said: "Before we reach the stage of a debt restructuring we have to finish with the deficit. But demonizing debt restructuring is wrong. Debt exists to be restructured.

The cost of insuring Greek government debt against the risk of default jumped Wednesday, underscoring investor concerns about the heavily indebted country less than two weeks ahead of a key national election, The Wall Street Journal reported. The annual cost of insuring $10 million of Greek debt for five years jumped $73,000 to $754,000 as investors continued to react to comments made earlier in the week. The cost of insurance, as measured by credit default swaps, had risen $14,000 on Tuesday.

The International Monetary Fund agrees with Greece's government that the costs of restructuring Athens' public debt load would outweigh any benefits, a top IMF official said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. "We agree with the Greek authorities and their European partners that the cost of debt restructuring far outweighs the benefits," IMF European Department Acting Director Ajai Chopra told a news conference. Chopra added that Greece's fiscal consolidation was on track but needed more work. Read more.