Show Entire Article
European shares were headed for another day of losses on Friday, ending a dismal week in which the euro zone debt crisis dragged equity markets to new 2012 lows.
The UK’s FTSE was expected to open 70 points lower at 5253, Germany’s DAX 75 points lower at 6234 and France’s CAC was called down 36 points at 2975.
One bit of comfort on Friday was an opinion poll which showed Greek voters returning to the established political parties who negotiated the country’s international bailout in the first place, presenting the possibility that Greece may stay within the single currency bloc after all.
However, the poll came on the same day that ratings agency Fitch cut Greece’s credit rating to CCC from B- on fears it could leave the euro zone.
Adding to the sense of confusion, Alexis Tsipras, the 37-year-old head of the Coalition of the Radical Left in Greece, known as Syriza, said he believed there was little chance Europe would cut off funding the country for fear of bringing down the entire single currency.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he said Europe would have to consider a more growth-oriented policy in order to arrest Greece's spiraling recession and address what he called a growing "humanitarian crisis" facing the country.
Page 1 of 3 | Next PageShow Entire Article
GB;FTSE News & Analysis
DATA IS REAL-TIME EXCEPT NOTED WITH *
* DATA DELAYED AT LEAST 15 MINUTES