Germany holds firm on Greek deficit

Germany yesterday held firm in insisting it was too soon to say that Greece deserved more time to meet its deficit-cutting goals, even as the head of the IMF laid out the case for leniency.

Although Greece, Spain, and the eurozone’s slow progress toward debt reform was centre stage at IMF meetings, there were some signs that Europe was edging forward in tackling the debt crisis.

The EU’s top economic official for the first time indicated how possible aid for Spain could work and an ECB policymaker endorsed a suggested extension of Greece’s budget deadlines.