EU plans to lower bailout interest rates hits stocks

PLANS by the European Union to lower interest rates on bailout loans to Greece and Ireland hit European stocks hard yesterday and drove up bond yields of the troubled eurozone economies.

When ratings agency Standard & Poor’s cut Greece’s credit rating further into junk territory, it added to mounting rumours about a full-on restructuring of Greek debt.

Standard & Poor’s said far more radical measures would be required to make Greece’s €327 billion debt sustainable.