EUROPEAN UNION

Greece may decide that more measures to cut the deficit are needed after discussing its fiscal situation with visiting European Union inspectors, the finance minister said on Tuesday.

Commerzbank said it expected 2010 to be a difficult year after posting a worse-than-expected fourth-quarter loss, hit by weak trading results and higher loan loss provisions.

The German finance ministry has said that countries using the euro currency will together provide aid worth between 20 and 25 billion euros ($27.2 and $34 bilion ) for Greece, the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel reported on Saturday.

Should Germany ride to Greece's rescue if it can't even provide for its own?

Setting up a European fund to help Greece is not a solution to Athens' debt problems, a German Finance Ministry spokesman said on Monday, dismissing an idea that has been discussed in Germany.

Greece faced down pressure from euro zone peers to step up budget cuts and stem a looming crisis in its debt markets on Monday, as the Brussels again questioned its past reporting of public finances.

Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker warned on Saturday against a further drifting apart of euro zone economies in an interview with a German newspaper.

The fragility of the euro zone economy and public finances underline the need to extend and strengthen euro-wide economic management, European Central Bank Governing Council Member Mario Draghi said on Saturday.

European Union leaders will lay the foundations for a financial bailout of Greece at a summit in Brussels on Thursday, but any package will demand deep fiscal and economic adjustments by Athens in return.

European governments are considering various options to help heavily indebted Greece in what would be the first rescue of a euro zone member in the currency's 11-year history.

Euro zone countries held intensive talks on Wednesday on a possible rescue for Greece, whose debt crisis has shaken the entire currency union, as civil servants staged the first big strike against Athens' austerity plans.

Thousands of Greek civil servants marched through Athens during a 24-hour strike on Wednesday which shut schools and grounded flights, testing government resolve to tackle a debt crisis which has shaken the euro zone.

European governments have agreed in principle to help heavily indebted Greece, a senior German coalition source said on Tuesday, in what would be the first rescue of a euro zone member in the currency's 11-year history.

European governments have agreed in principle to help heavily indebted Greece, a senior German coalition source said on Tuesday, in what would be the first rescue of a euro zone member in the currency's 11-year history.

Euro zone assets recovered some poise on Tuesday as markets bet the European Union would take steps to restore confidence in struggling members like Greece at a summit this week.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet is cutting short a trip to Australia to attend a special European Union summit, prompting market speculation initiatives are in the works to help resolve Greece's debt problems.

Stock index futures rose on Tuesday, buoyed by hopes that European Union nations could bail out debt-burdened Greece.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet is changing his plans to leave Australia and return to Europe purely because of logistics, an ECB spokesman said on Tuesday.

The euro rose on Tuesday on speculation that European Union nations could bail out errant member Greece, while global stocks were flat and emerging market shares climbed.

The euro and growth-linked currencies fell on Monday as investors unwound risky trades amid growing worries about eurozone's debt problems, dismissing assurances from European finance ministers at the weekend.

Reassurances about debt-strapped Greece and agreement that banks should pay for future rescue funds capped an international meeting in Canada's Arctic, as European policymakers sought to convince jittery markets that they have things under control.