Germany, Britain lead Europe's nascent economic recovery

Shoppers cross Oxford Street in central London August 15, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Toby Melville

By Alexandra Hudson and Olesya Dmitracova

BERLIN/LONDON | Fri Aug 23, 2013 10:30am EDT

BERLIN/LONDON (Reuters) - Germany confirmed on Friday it had enjoyed its fastest rate of economic expansion in more than a year in the second quarter, and Britain revised up its growth to the same rate.

Although recession still haunts many of Europe's major economies, like Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, analysts said the German and British data showed that at least two of the region's major economic engines are moving into a higher gear.

Consumer morale has jumped to its highest level in two years this month, other data showed on Friday, in a bright sign for the current quarter as well.

Strong domestic demand drove a 0.7 percent quarterly increase in German gross domestic product in the second quarter, matching its growth rate in the first quarter of 2012.

Britain's economy expanded at the same rate as Germany's, equaling the growth it recorded in the third quarter of last year, fuelled by a broad-based pick-up in activity.

The signs of robust growth have also led to more upbeat comments from the region's central bankers, who have hitherto hinted at interest rates remaining low for some time to come.

The German figures reflected a construction flurry after a harsh winter, firms' strong appetite for machines and equipment and healthy private consumption.

"The composition of growth is very good. It is being driven more strongly from within, which is good for Germany and the euro zone," said economist Holger Sandte at Nordea.

The euro zone exited a year and a half of recession in the second quarter.

"It is also positive that firms are investing more in equipment and are not so hesitant anymore," added Sandte on the German data.

Policymakers are sounding a bit more positive, too. European Central Bank policymaker Ewald Nowotny said in an interview on Thursday that he saw no reason for an interest rate cut now.

And German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who is preparing for a federal election next month, said he welcomed the prospect of the ECB raising interest rates once the economy improves.

"Low rates are above all an expression of insecurity on debt markets. That cannot last forever - even if it is a relief to the federal budget," he told business daily Handelsblatt.

ECB President Mario Draghi said after the last rate-setting meeting on August 1 that rates will remain low for some time. The ECB has based this 'forward guidance' on the inflation outlook remaining subdued and growth weak.

Purchasing managers indexes this week confirmed strong growth in Germany this month, although they suggested companies in No.2 euro zone economy France are still struggling.

Analysts said that was hard to reconcile with preliminary figures last week showing the French economy grew 0.5 percent in the second quarter.

In Britain, however, signs of recovery have been far less ambiguous over the last couple of months.

"It does look like the recovery is becoming more self-sustaining," said Philip Shaw, economist at Investec.

Stocks gained after the data, which also showed output rose by a surprisingly strong 1.5 percent from a year ago.

British exports rose at the fastest rate since late 2011, and business investment grew faster than household spending, suggesting a shift towards more balanced growth in an economy that has been driven mainly by domestic consumption and imports.

To encourage spending and investment, the Bank of England said earlier this month it would not raise borrowing costs while unemployment remains above 7 percent, a level it did not expect to be breached for at least three years.

But the threshold may be crossed sooner if Britain's recovery maintains momentum, and since the bank gave its forward guidance, the news on the economy has been predominantly upbeat.

"The Bank of England is therefore facing a growing challenge of how to convince the markets and households that interest rates will not need to rise over the next three years," said Chris Williamson, economist at financial data company Markit.

(Writing by Andy Bruce; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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Solid domestic demand fuels bumper growth in Germany

A construction worker is seen while working at a construction area in Munich downtown July 15, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Michaela Rehle

By Alexandra Hudson

BERLIN | Fri Aug 23, 2013 5:20am EDT

BERLIN (Reuters) - Broad-based domestic demand drove the strongest German quarterly expansion in more than a year between April and June, fuelling optimism Europe's largest economy will outperform in 2013 and support the nascent euro zone recovery.

Details released on Friday showed a construction flurry after the harsh winter, firms' strong appetite for machines and equipment and healthy private consumption all underpinned a 0.7 percent quarterly rise in gross domestic product (GDP)

Analysts said Germany's bounce-back could prompt upwards revisions to 2013 growth forecasts and support the tentative recovery in the euro zone economy, which returned to growth in the second quarter after 18 months of contraction.

"The composition of the growth is very good. It is being driven more strongly from within, which is good for Germany and the euro zone," said economist Holger Sandte at Nordea. "It is also positive that firms are investing more in equipment and are not so hesitant anymore."

The data also confirmed an earlier flash estimate showing Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) was up 0.9 percent on the year in the second quarter.

Domestic demand added 0.5 percentage points to GDP in the quarter and foreign trade 0.2 percentage points.

"Growth is broadly supported - two-thirds comes from domestic demand, a third from trade... This could be the start of a long upturn for investment. Low interest rates and returning confidence provide a sound basis for this," said Christian Schulz at Berenberg Bank.

MILD SLOWDOWN FOR SECOND HALF

The strong second-quarter growth data, released a month before a federal election, will be welcome news for Chancellor Angela Merkel as she seeks a third term in the vote on September 22.

Her government expects growth of 0.5 percent in 2013, but Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said this week the year's growth could end up being as high as 0.7 percent.

While Europe's economic powerhouse steamed ahead during the early years of the euro zone crisis, it slowed last year and even contracted in the fourth quarter as exports languished and investment was sluggish.

But investments picked up significantly between April and June, largely due to weather-related catch-up effects after an unusually long and cold winter, while net trade also made a positive contribution to growth.

The Economy Ministry and the Bundesbank have cautioned that growth will probably be more moderate in the second half given that bumper second-quarter growth was partly due to those catch-up effects and Germany still faces a tough international environment.

However the labor market is still robust, supporting future domestic spending.

"Up to now, soft indicators released for the third quarter have been promising, indicating that the expected slowdown of the economy in the second half of the year should be mild," said ING economist Carsten Brzeski.

"In fact, the current growth mix should continue in the remainder of the year: decent consumption on the back of the strong labor market accompanied by a gradual export recovery."

(Reporting by Alexandra Hudson and Stephen Brown; Editing by Noah Barkin/Jeremy Gaunt)

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ECB and Germany play down talk of third Greek bailout

1 of 3. A tourist takes pictures in front of the Parthenon temple at the Acropolis hill in Athens August 19, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/John Kolesidis

By Lefteris Papadimas and George Georgiopoulos

ATHENS | Wed Aug 21, 2013 1:14pm EDT

ATHENS (Reuters) - The European Central Bank joined Germany on Wednesday in playing down talk of a third bailout package for Greece, but reaffirmed the euro zone would help the country trim debt as long as it stuck to its latest aid program.

Speaking in Athens a day after German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble bluntly predicted Greece would need a new bailout, ECB executive board member Joerg Asmussen said he had not discussed the issue at talks with senior Greek officials.

He referred instead to the euro zone's pledge last year to support Greece until it can tap markets again, provided it sticks to its current bailout obligations and posts a budget surplus before interest payments.

"This is a decision taken in November last year, it is public knowledge, and there's nothing new and there's nothing to add," he said. "If we look at how things unfold, we will know not before spring next year if the country has reached a primary surplus on an annual basis."

In Berlin, German officials sought to distance themselves from Schaeuble's comments, which broke a pre-election taboo by describing a new rescue as inevitable.

Greece has already been bailed out twice since 2010 with 240 billion euros worth of agreements coordinated by the ECB, European Union and International Monetary Fund.

It had been expected to seek some form of additional debt relief sooner or later to bring its massive debt down to a manageable level, but the openness of Schaeuble's statement that there would need to be a third bailout for Athens came as a surprise.

Germany's finance ministry said the euro zone would take a fresh look at Greece's aid program in mid-2014 and that Berlin was not aware of any discussions on how to structure a new rescue package.

"We have reached the middle of the current program. It is August 2013, we will certainly have to look in mid-2014 at where we are, what the conditions are and whether the program has been fulfilled," said spokesman Martin Kotthaus.

Schaeuble's boss, Chancellor Angela Merkel, in her first comments on Greece since his comments, stuck to her line that it was too early to discuss another package, or to speculate how large it could be.

"I can't say today what kind of sums might be necessary," she told broadcaster Sat.1. "Only in the middle of next year will we be able to say."

A Greek finance ministry official speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity said any further help for Greece would aim to cover its funding shortfall in 2014-2016 and would be much smaller than the previous aid packages, given the country's limited funding needs for the period.

The International Monetary Fund has put Greece's uncovered funding needs for 2014-2015 at 10.9 billion euros.

At least part of that stems from national European central banks refusing to roll over some Greek bonds they hold, as well as a potential shortfalls in tax and privatization revenues and Greece being unlikely to fully return to bond markets next year.

Such estimates are revised frequently and are highly sensitive to budget and economic growth projections, which Greece's lenders are expected to update in the fall.

GREEK "DEBT COLONY"

Schaeuble's comments were immediately seized on by Greece's anti-bailout opposition, who fear that any new aid will be accompanied with yet another round of painful austerity.

"Schaeuble threatens with new help," leftist newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton deadpanned on its front page, next to a stern-looking image of Schaeuble with tightly pursed lips.

"They admit they failed and now they want to save us again," the newspaper said.

Panos Skourletis, spokesman for the Syriza opposition party, said: "Contrary to recent talks about an eventual debt writedown, we are going down the same old road, the same recipe, which inflates debt and turns Greece into a debt colony."

Syriza shocked established parties in the last two elections by riding a wave of public anger at austerity to become the country's second largest party.

Greek officials have suggested any funding shortfall could be covered with a combination of new rescue loans, or debt support measures like extending maturities, cutting interest rates on loans, as already envisaged under a euro zone decision on Greece last year. One official suggested bilateral loans Athens got under its first bailout could also be rolled over.

European Union Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn was cited on Wednesday as saying that while new rescue loans in a third bailout were possible, they were not the only option to help Greece and pointed to the option of extending maturities.

The aid program Schaeuble is expecting will be at least partly financed via the EU budget, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung cited unnamed sources as saying.

Greece's international lenders - the EU, ECB, and IMF, known as the troika - are due to return to Athens in the autumn to reexamine whether Greece's debt is on sustainable footing and whether the government needs to find further savings to meet its 2015-2016 budget targets.

Progress on reform in the recession-stricken country has been patchy. Tax revenues continue to lag targets and the Greek economy has struggled to show signs of recovery after shrinking by about a quarter from its peak six years ago, mainly as a result of austerity policies imposed under two bailouts.

(Additional reporting by Harry Papachristou, Editing by Deepa Babington/Jeremy Gaunt)

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ECB and Germany play down talk of third Greek bailout

1 of 3. A tourist takes pictures in front of the Parthenon temple at the Acropolis hill in Athens August 19, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/John Kolesidis

By Lefteris Papadimas and George Georgiopoulos

ATHENS | Wed Aug 21, 2013 1:14pm EDT

ATHENS (Reuters) - The European Central Bank joined Germany on Wednesday in playing down talk of a third bailout package for Greece, but reaffirmed the euro zone would help the country trim debt as long as it stuck to its latest aid program.

Speaking in Athens a day after German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble bluntly predicted Greece would need a new bailout, ECB executive board member Joerg Asmussen said he had not discussed the issue at talks with senior Greek officials.

He referred instead to the euro zone's pledge last year to support Greece until it can tap markets again, provided it sticks to its current bailout obligations and posts a budget surplus before interest payments.

"This is a decision taken in November last year, it is public knowledge, and there's nothing new and there's nothing to add," he said. "If we look at how things unfold, we will know not before spring next year if the country has reached a primary surplus on an annual basis."

In Berlin, German officials sought to distance themselves from Schaeuble's comments, which broke a pre-election taboo by describing a new rescue as inevitable.

Greece has already been bailed out twice since 2010 with 240 billion euros worth of agreements coordinated by the ECB, European Union and International Monetary Fund.

It had been expected to seek some form of additional debt relief sooner or later to bring its massive debt down to a manageable level, but the openness of Schaeuble's statement that there would need to be a third bailout for Athens came as a surprise.

Germany's finance ministry said the euro zone would take a fresh look at Greece's aid program in mid-2014 and that Berlin was not aware of any discussions on how to structure a new rescue package.

"We have reached the middle of the current program. It is August 2013, we will certainly have to look in mid-2014 at where we are, what the conditions are and whether the program has been fulfilled," said spokesman Martin Kotthaus.

Schaeuble's boss, Chancellor Angela Merkel, in her first comments on Greece since his comments, stuck to her line that it was too early to discuss another package, or to speculate how large it could be.

"I can't say today what kind of sums might be necessary," she told broadcaster Sat.1. "Only in the middle of next year will we be able to say."

A Greek finance ministry official speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity said any further help for Greece would aim to cover its funding shortfall in 2014-2016 and would be much smaller than the previous aid packages, given the country's limited funding needs for the period.

The International Monetary Fund has put Greece's uncovered funding needs for 2014-2015 at 10.9 billion euros.

At least part of that stems from national European central banks refusing to roll over some Greek bonds they hold, as well as a potential shortfalls in tax and privatization revenues and Greece being unlikely to fully return to bond markets next year.

Such estimates are revised frequently and are highly sensitive to budget and economic growth projections, which Greece's lenders are expected to update in the fall.

GREEK "DEBT COLONY"

Schaeuble's comments were immediately seized on by Greece's anti-bailout opposition, who fear that any new aid will be accompanied with yet another round of painful austerity.

"Schaeuble threatens with new help," leftist newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton deadpanned on its front page, next to a stern-looking image of Schaeuble with tightly pursed lips.

"They admit they failed and now they want to save us again," the newspaper said.

Panos Skourletis, spokesman for the Syriza opposition party, said: "Contrary to recent talks about an eventual debt writedown, we are going down the same old road, the same recipe, which inflates debt and turns Greece into a debt colony."

Syriza shocked established parties in the last two elections by riding a wave of public anger at austerity to become the country's second largest party.

Greek officials have suggested any funding shortfall could be covered with a combination of new rescue loans, or debt support measures like extending maturities, cutting interest rates on loans, as already envisaged under a euro zone decision on Greece last year. One official suggested bilateral loans Athens got under its first bailout could also be rolled over.

European Union Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn was cited on Wednesday as saying that while new rescue loans in a third bailout were possible, they were not the only option to help Greece and pointed to the option of extending maturities.

The aid program Schaeuble is expecting will be at least partly financed via the EU budget, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung cited unnamed sources as saying.

Greece's international lenders - the EU, ECB, and IMF, known as the troika - are due to return to Athens in the autumn to reexamine whether Greece's debt is on sustainable footing and whether the government needs to find further savings to meet its 2015-2016 budget targets.

Progress on reform in the recession-stricken country has been patchy. Tax revenues continue to lag targets and the Greek economy has struggled to show signs of recovery after shrinking by about a quarter from its peak six years ago, mainly as a result of austerity policies imposed under two bailouts.

(Additional reporting by Harry Papachristou, Editing by Deepa Babington/Jeremy Gaunt)

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ECB and Germany play down talk of third Greek bailout

1 of 3. A tourist takes pictures in front of the Parthenon temple at the Acropolis hill in Athens August 19, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/John Kolesidis

By Lefteris Papadimas and George Georgiopoulos

ATHENS | Wed Aug 21, 2013 1:14pm EDT

ATHENS (Reuters) - The European Central Bank joined Germany on Wednesday in playing down talk of a third bailout package for Greece, but reaffirmed the euro zone would help the country trim debt as long as it stuck to its latest aid program.

Speaking in Athens a day after German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble bluntly predicted Greece would need a new bailout, ECB executive board member Joerg Asmussen said he had not discussed the issue at talks with senior Greek officials.

He referred instead to the euro zone's pledge last year to support Greece until it can tap markets again, provided it sticks to its current bailout obligations and posts a budget surplus before interest payments.

"This is a decision taken in November last year, it is public knowledge, and there's nothing new and there's nothing to add," he said. "If we look at how things unfold, we will know not before spring next year if the country has reached a primary surplus on an annual basis."

In Berlin, German officials sought to distance themselves from Schaeuble's comments, which broke a pre-election taboo by describing a new rescue as inevitable.

Greece has already been bailed out twice since 2010 with 240 billion euros worth of agreements coordinated by the ECB, European Union and International Monetary Fund.

It had been expected to seek some form of additional debt relief sooner or later to bring its massive debt down to a manageable level, but the openness of Schaeuble's statement that there would need to be a third bailout for Athens came as a surprise.

Germany's finance ministry said the euro zone would take a fresh look at Greece's aid program in mid-2014 and that Berlin was not aware of any discussions on how to structure a new rescue package.

"We have reached the middle of the current program. It is August 2013, we will certainly have to look in mid-2014 at where we are, what the conditions are and whether the program has been fulfilled," said spokesman Martin Kotthaus.

Schaeuble's boss, Chancellor Angela Merkel, in her first comments on Greece since his comments, stuck to her line that it was too early to discuss another package, or to speculate how large it could be.

"I can't say today what kind of sums might be necessary," she told broadcaster Sat.1. "Only in the middle of next year will we be able to say."

A Greek finance ministry official speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity said any further help for Greece would aim to cover its funding shortfall in 2014-2016 and would be much smaller than the previous aid packages, given the country's limited funding needs for the period.

The International Monetary Fund has put Greece's uncovered funding needs for 2014-2015 at 10.9 billion euros.

At least part of that stems from national European central banks refusing to roll over some Greek bonds they hold, as well as a potential shortfalls in tax and privatization revenues and Greece being unlikely to fully return to bond markets next year.

Such estimates are revised frequently and are highly sensitive to budget and economic growth projections, which Greece's lenders are expected to update in the fall.

GREEK "DEBT COLONY"

Schaeuble's comments were immediately seized on by Greece's anti-bailout opposition, who fear that any new aid will be accompanied with yet another round of painful austerity.

"Schaeuble threatens with new help," leftist newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton deadpanned on its front page, next to a stern-looking image of Schaeuble with tightly pursed lips.

"They admit they failed and now they want to save us again," the newspaper said.

Panos Skourletis, spokesman for the Syriza opposition party, said: "Contrary to recent talks about an eventual debt writedown, we are going down the same old road, the same recipe, which inflates debt and turns Greece into a debt colony."

Syriza shocked established parties in the last two elections by riding a wave of public anger at austerity to become the country's second largest party.

Greek officials have suggested any funding shortfall could be covered with a combination of new rescue loans, or debt support measures like extending maturities, cutting interest rates on loans, as already envisaged under a euro zone decision on Greece last year. One official suggested bilateral loans Athens got under its first bailout could also be rolled over.

European Union Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn was cited on Wednesday as saying that while new rescue loans in a third bailout were possible, they were not the only option to help Greece and pointed to the option of extending maturities.

The aid program Schaeuble is expecting will be at least partly financed via the EU budget, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung cited unnamed sources as saying.

Greece's international lenders - the EU, ECB, and IMF, known as the troika - are due to return to Athens in the autumn to reexamine whether Greece's debt is on sustainable footing and whether the government needs to find further savings to meet its 2015-2016 budget targets.

Progress on reform in the recession-stricken country has been patchy. Tax revenues continue to lag targets and the Greek economy has struggled to show signs of recovery after shrinking by about a quarter from its peak six years ago, mainly as a result of austerity policies imposed under two bailouts.

(Additional reporting by Harry Papachristou, Editing by Deepa Babington/Jeremy Gaunt)

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ECB and Germany play down talk of third Greek bailout

1 of 3. A tourist takes pictures in front of the Parthenon temple at the Acropolis hill in Athens August 19, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/John Kolesidis

By Lefteris Papadimas and George Georgiopoulos

ATHENS | Wed Aug 21, 2013 1:14pm EDT

ATHENS (Reuters) - The European Central Bank joined Germany on Wednesday in playing down talk of a third bailout package for Greece, but reaffirmed the euro zone would help the country trim debt as long as it stuck to its latest aid program.

Speaking in Athens a day after German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble bluntly predicted Greece would need a new bailout, ECB executive board member Joerg Asmussen said he had not discussed the issue at talks with senior Greek officials.

He referred instead to the euro zone's pledge last year to support Greece until it can tap markets again, provided it sticks to its current bailout obligations and posts a budget surplus before interest payments.

"This is a decision taken in November last year, it is public knowledge, and there's nothing new and there's nothing to add," he said. "If we look at how things unfold, we will know not before spring next year if the country has reached a primary surplus on an annual basis."

In Berlin, German officials sought to distance themselves from Schaeuble's comments, which broke a pre-election taboo by describing a new rescue as inevitable.

Greece has already been bailed out twice since 2010 with 240 billion euros worth of agreements coordinated by the ECB, European Union and International Monetary Fund.

It had been expected to seek some form of additional debt relief sooner or later to bring its massive debt down to a manageable level, but the openness of Schaeuble's statement that there would need to be a third bailout for Athens came as a surprise.

Germany's finance ministry said the euro zone would take a fresh look at Greece's aid program in mid-2014 and that Berlin was not aware of any discussions on how to structure a new rescue package.

"We have reached the middle of the current program. It is August 2013, we will certainly have to look in mid-2014 at where we are, what the conditions are and whether the program has been fulfilled," said spokesman Martin Kotthaus.

Schaeuble's boss, Chancellor Angela Merkel, in her first comments on Greece since his comments, stuck to her line that it was too early to discuss another package, or to speculate how large it could be.

"I can't say today what kind of sums might be necessary," she told broadcaster Sat.1. "Only in the middle of next year will we be able to say."

A Greek finance ministry official speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity said any further help for Greece would aim to cover its funding shortfall in 2014-2016 and would be much smaller than the previous aid packages, given the country's limited funding needs for the period.

The International Monetary Fund has put Greece's uncovered funding needs for 2014-2015 at 10.9 billion euros.

At least part of that stems from national European central banks refusing to roll over some Greek bonds they hold, as well as a potential shortfalls in tax and privatization revenues and Greece being unlikely to fully return to bond markets next year.

Such estimates are revised frequently and are highly sensitive to budget and economic growth projections, which Greece's lenders are expected to update in the fall.

GREEK "DEBT COLONY"

Schaeuble's comments were immediately seized on by Greece's anti-bailout opposition, who fear that any new aid will be accompanied with yet another round of painful austerity.

"Schaeuble threatens with new help," leftist newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton deadpanned on its front page, next to a stern-looking image of Schaeuble with tightly pursed lips.

"They admit they failed and now they want to save us again," the newspaper said.

Panos Skourletis, spokesman for the Syriza opposition party, said: "Contrary to recent talks about an eventual debt writedown, we are going down the same old road, the same recipe, which inflates debt and turns Greece into a debt colony."

Syriza shocked established parties in the last two elections by riding a wave of public anger at austerity to become the country's second largest party.

Greek officials have suggested any funding shortfall could be covered with a combination of new rescue loans, or debt support measures like extending maturities, cutting interest rates on loans, as already envisaged under a euro zone decision on Greece last year. One official suggested bilateral loans Athens got under its first bailout could also be rolled over.

European Union Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn was cited on Wednesday as saying that while new rescue loans in a third bailout were possible, they were not the only option to help Greece and pointed to the option of extending maturities.

The aid program Schaeuble is expecting will be at least partly financed via the EU budget, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung cited unnamed sources as saying.

Greece's international lenders - the EU, ECB, and IMF, known as the troika - are due to return to Athens in the autumn to reexamine whether Greece's debt is on sustainable footing and whether the government needs to find further savings to meet its 2015-2016 budget targets.

Progress on reform in the recession-stricken country has been patchy. Tax revenues continue to lag targets and the Greek economy has struggled to show signs of recovery after shrinking by about a quarter from its peak six years ago, mainly as a result of austerity policies imposed under two bailouts.

(Additional reporting by Harry Papachristou, Editing by Deepa Babington/Jeremy Gaunt)

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Report: Germany rules out 2nd debt cut for Greece

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's finance minister has categorically rejected a second writedown of Greek debt.

Wolfgang Schaeuble told weekly Bild am Sonntag in an interview that Greece would continue to receive support beyond 2014 if needed and provided the country meets the demands of international creditors.

Schaeuble was quoted as saying "it's certain, however, that there will be no second debt writedown for Athens."

Extracts of the interview, to be published Sunday, were released by the paper Saturday and confirmed by the Finance Ministry.

With Germany's general election two months away, Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative government has been at pains to appear firm on Greece's international bailout, which is unpopular with many Germans.

Last year Greece's debt was restructured with private-sector bondholders.

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Report: Germany rules out 2nd debt cut for Greece

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's finance minister has categorically rejected a second writedown of Greek debt.

Wolfgang Schaeuble told weekly Bild am Sonntag in an interview that Greece would continue to receive support beyond 2014 if needed and provided the country meets the demands of international creditors.

Schaeuble was quoted as saying "it's certain, however, that there will be no second debt writedown for Athens."

Extracts of the interview, to be published Sunday, were released by the paper Saturday and confirmed by the Finance Ministry.

With Germany's general election two months away, Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative government has been at pains to appear firm on Greece's international bailout, which is unpopular with many Germans.

Last year Greece's debt was restructured with private-sector bondholders.

View the original article here