Yesterday’s meetings were adjourned yet again late last night, with senior government officials failing to reach agreement for the urgently required new bailout.

Pension reforms are believed to still be a stumbling block and measures are being aimed at trimming the private-sector restructuring, which would reduce Greece’s debt by around €100 billion which include:

• Minimum wage to be cut by 22% from 751 euros per month to 600 euros.

• Supplementary pensions to be reduced by 15% but basic pensions also likely to be cut.

Yesterday’s meetings were adjourned yet again late last night, with senior government officials failing to reach agreement for the urgently required new bailout.

Pension reforms are believed to still be a stumbling block and measures are being aimed at trimming the private-sector restructuring, which would reduce Greece’s debt by around €100 billion which include:

• Minimum wage to be cut by 22% from 751 euros per month to 600 euros.

• Supplementary pensions to be reduced by 15% but basic pensions also likely to be cut.

• 15,000 public sector jobs to go by end of 2012.

Talks are set to resume this afternoon in Brussels with officials, as the extended deadline draws ever nearer.

Elsewhere in Europe, there were a number of auctions yesterday, with Germany leading the way for demand with the latest offer of five-year yields attracting solid demand, as the German finance agency sold €3.9bn of six-month federal notes. 

German Exports hit a record high for 2011 and Germany’s trade surplus reached record levels, with exports that rose 11.4% to top €1tn for the first time.

Spain has also been successful with all its bond auctions so far this year, often selling much more than the amounts it targeted, with yields consistently lower than those obtained in 2011. 

The country has completed almost a quarter of its gross bond issuance plan this year, having sold €21.1 billion of bonds so far this year alone.

Meanwhile the European Central Bank revealed a new record for the amount of cash lodged with it by banks. Overnight deposits hit €464bn. High deposits can indicate banks prefer the safety of the central bank for their funds to the higher rates that they could get by lending to each other.

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