US raises pressure on EU to end crisis

Washington has increased the pressure on the EU to resolve the debt crisis, especially the Greek case, by pushing for the eurozone to take a hit on Greek bonds.

Negotiations in Athens over a potential 50% writedown on private sector bonds have been bumpy over the past few days. Greek government spokesperson Pantelis Kapsis said that the talks were at their most delicate phase but they planned to wrap up the deal by the end of the week.

Christine Lagarde, the IMF’s managing director, yesterday repeated her threat, first made on Monday, that public sector holders of Greek debt may need to take a haircut if the private sector restructuring is not enough.