EURO GOVT-Greek 2-year bond yields hit euro-era highs
LONDON | Wed Aug 24, 2011 6:35am EDT
LONDON Aug 24 (Reuters) - Greek two-year government bond yields rose to their highest levels since the launch of the euro in 1999 as an escalating row over demands by Finland for collateral on Greek loans was seen complicating implementation of its rescue package.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel waded into the row late on Tuesday, rejecting any special treatment for Finland in euro zone guarantees, sources in her CDU parliamentary group told Reuters. Finland has threatened to drop out of a bailout for
Greece agreed in July unless its demands were met.
Greek two-year yields rose around two full points on the day to 42 percent while five-year Greek credit default swaps jumped 106 bps to 2,200 bps.
Greece's share benchmark fell 2.7, hitting its lowest level in nearly 15 years.