Greece forecasts fall in deficit

Greece forecast today that its budget deficit will fall sharply next year and insisted that no fresh austerity measures will be needed to plug a hole in this year’s finances.

Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said the deficit will shrink from an expected 9% of gross domestic product this year to 5.4% next year, largely thanks to a debt write-down that is part of Greece’s second international bailout agreed on by European leaders last month.