Greek Budget Deficit Rise Above Expectations; Germany Calling For Restructuring

“Greece’s budget deficit exceeded goverment estimates and the euro area’s overall debt reached a record, narrowing Europe’s options for putting an end to the fiscal crisis.

Greece’s shortfall was 10.5 percent of gross domestic product in 2010, higher than a 9.4 percent estimate made by the Greek government in February, official European Union figures showed today.

Greek bond yields surged, rekindling speculation that a debt write-off or extension of the country’s repayment timelines will be the only way out of the fiscal trap.

“I don’t think that Greece will succeed in this consolidation strategy without any restructuring in the future, or perhaps also in the near future,” Lars Feld, a member of the German government’s council of economic advisers, told Bloomberg Television’s Nicole Itano in Frankfurt. “Greece should restructure sooner than later.”

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