Debt crisis: as it happened, May 24, 2012 The parties garnered 16.8pc, 18.9pc and 13.2pc of the vote respectively at the first election. However, a separate poll conducted on behalf of news site pelop.gr suggests that New Democracy is slightly ahead in the polls, with 23.5pc of the vote. Syriza has a 23pc share, while PASOK lags behind at 10.6pc. The party that wins the biggest share of the vote will get an additional 50 seats in parliament. The shape of things to come? Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras speaks at his party's parliamentary group in Athens earlier this month (Photo: EPA). 17.52 We had disappointing GDP data in the UK today which proved that the economy is in recession, yet European markets made gains. Michael Hewson, senior market analyst at CMC Markets, says we need to look back to yesterday's talk of eurozone countries preparing for a Grexit, and the subsequent market tumble. Basically, the sell-off was overdone and today was a realisation that there had been an over-reaction. 17.41 A video for you now of Nick Clegg speaking in Berlin, where he claims that a Grexit would "not bring instant relief to the problems we face." If any country chose to leave the single currency there would be a "very unpredictable knock-on effect," he warned, and because of that all of Europe is hoping Greece chooses to remain in the eurozone: 17.19 Italy is to hold a bond auction at the end of the month, selling €3.5bn of 2014 debt. 17.14 Eurobonds won't solve the eurozone's problems, says Angela Merkel. In fact, they may make things worse: It makes no sense to want to fix everything with eurobonds or other similar 'solidarity' instruments which would only aggravate the crisis. 17.07 This could be very interesting. Jean-Claude Trichet - former head of the ECB - will be giving a speech tomorrow at the Hertie School of Governance on what it was like to run the central bank during the financial crisis. 16.42 The European markets have drawn to a close, making strong gains after heavy sell-offs over the last week. Investors were betting that today's weak PMI data could prompt stimulus from central banks. The FTSE 100 ended the day 1.59pc higher, the DAX gained 0.48pc and the CAC rose 1.16pc. Angus Campbell, head of market analysis at Capital Spreads, said: Today it was the turn of the bulls to take control even though there's still a distinct feel of risk aversion in the air. The FTSE has fallen 10pc from its highs earlier in the year and so naturally there comes a point where investors will take a view that buying now should see a tidy return come six months down the line. 16.16 While we're on the subject of polls: most eurozone voters would opt to keep the euro if their countries held a referendum tomorrow, according to figures from Ipsos. Six out of ten from across Greece, Germany, France, Italy and Spain would stick with the single currency. In Germany the figure was around 57pc, while in Greece around 75pc of people wanted to stay in the eurozone. John Wright, senior vice president of global public affairs at Ipsos, said: Regardless of the turmoil and the debate that's going on in these crucial countries, it would seem that for the time being, people want to stick with the euro. I think that sends a positive message about the euro itself. People aren't willing to abandon it - not yet. 15.52 Europe can't seem to agree on the idea of eurobonds - Hollande and Monti say yes, while Merkel says nein. Cast your votes. Should eurobonds be introduced? 15.41 Mario Monti has said that it will not be "too far off" before eurobonds are a reality. This will be news to Angela Merkel, who continued to reject the idea at last night's EU summit. Italy is very much in favour of the creation of eurobonds when the time is right, and we do not expect it to be too far off. 15.31 Alastair Clark, a member of the Bank of England's interim Financial Policy Committee, has warned that regulators may have forced banks to bullet-proof their balance sheets too quickly and "inadvertently" stifled the amount of lending available to businesses and households: My own view is that, in our international regulatory initiatives, we may inadvertently have ended up front-loading the regulatory response more than was intended. 15.08 Christophe Frankel, chief financial officer of the EFSF - the eurozone bailout fund - has been speaking this afternoon. Here are some of his key points: Ireland's a success story; but most countries are also improving. • EU states will support Greece - as long as it sticks with austerity. • The EU will eventually function better than before the crisis. 14.55 More from ECB President Mario Draghi now, who's speaking in Rome: he's called for governments to take a "courageous leap" of political imagination to save the eurozone. He also rejected criticism of the ECB's cheap LTRO loans and said it would take time for their effect to kick in: We have reached a point in which the process of European integration needs a courageous leap of political imagination in order to survive. 14.44 US markets have opened. Dow flat, Nasdaq down 0.2pc. 14.42 French bond yields have plummeted by 24 points. Now sit at 3.168pc, not far from UK. 14.38 Sergey Shvetsov at the Bank of Russia says Greece has a plan for a parrallel currency and leaving the euro would be a good example for others. 14.17 ECB President Mario Draghi: "Now is a crucial moment in the history of the EU. EMU governments must jointly and irreversibly define a vision. European intervention needs brave leap of imagination. He adds that "price stability is the benchmark of well-being" and that LTRO collateral was sufficient to absorb risk. 14.15 Chilean Finance Minister Felipe Larrain: The world economy is in the intensive care unit now. There is no economy that is immune to what is happening in Europe. The way to reassure the markets is to be clear that the firewall is adequate enough to deal with the needs not only of Greece but of larger countries and the ECB would be ready to act with whatever resources are necessary. The exit of Greece is not a zero probability. In fact, it is a probability that has been growing recently. 14.07 The euro has spiked on JP Morgan prediciton of one-year LTRO and an ECB rate cut. Same rumours fuelling markets. Euro versus Swiss franc spikes amid talk of tax on Swiss deposits. 13.58 US PMI data for May is out. Figure is 54, meaning the sector is expanding. However, this was a fall from 56 in April. And here are the PMIs from eurozone, US and China: 13.49 Sweden has joined Italy and Finland today in admitting its government has a plan to deal with Greece leaving the euro. Only Ireland has said it hasn't. 13.44 Nick Clegg, speaking in Berlin, says its time to "shift up a gear" to get more investment and credit into the UK economy. 13.42 Moody's affirms France's top AAA rating, but says it will keep an eye on political and economic situation. Moody's said it maintained France's top rating but kept the outlook at 'Negative', noting that while President Francois Hollande insists growth must come first, he has not made clear how he will implement his campaign pledges at a time of great eurozone strains. 13.39 Quick look at the markets: Rumours ECB may implement fresh liquidity measures is pushing up markets. Athens stock exchange has fallen below 500 for the first time since 1990 (-5.04pc today) US initial jobless claims have fallen from 372,000 to 370,000 in the past week. Continuing claims down to 3.26m from 3.289m. US to realease its first flash manufacturing PMI in just under 30 minutes. 13.24 Nick Clegg is wowing the crowds in Berlin with his fluent German: 13.13 Angela Merkel says Germany will only be in good shape as long as its neighbours are doing well. Budget consolidation and pursuing economic growth are two sides of the same coin, they belong together. Adds that her country should not spend more than it earns. Merkel says eurobonds would lead to more difficulty in Europe. 13.09 Jess Brammar from ITV News is listening to Nick Clegg speak in Berlin: 13.02 Back in the UK, the Treasury has admitted that this morning's poor GDP figures "were expected." 12.58 Handelsblatt is reporting that the risk to the German financial sector from Spain is €100bn. 12.54 George Provopoulos, Governor of the Bank of Greece, says country banks to receive €18bn on Friday or Monday. He adds that growth depends on decisions in Athens, not Brussels. 12.52 Nick Clegg is giving a speech in Berlin. Jess Brammar, producer of ITV News: 12.45 German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to meet opposition leaders to win their backing for the European Union's latest treaty enshrining fiscal discipline. Merkel's center-right government needs the support of opposition parties to secure a two-thirds majority in Parliament for the legislation to pass. Center-left opposition leader Sigmar Gabriel reiterated ahead of Thursday's talks that his party would only vote for the fiscal treaty if it is amended to include an economic growth pact. 12.40 Bulgaria has joined Germany in opposing joint eurobonds. Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said: "Debt puts burden on the next generations... Nothing good awaits Europe if it goes down this path. 12.22 Bank of England official David Miles said loose monetary policy is justified to address risks of permanent damage to the economy and higher unemployment. The existence of substantial slack [and a] high degree of dependence of productive potential upon demand are all uncertain. But I believe they are consistent with the evidence and that they make an exceptionally expansionary monetary policy appropriate. No one on the MPC feels comfortable with the prolonged and substantial overshoot of inflation above its target level. In a situation where weak demand is likely to be having a negative impact upon productive capacity, the cost of having a tighter monetary policy to bring inflation back to target fast will be some long-lasting damage to incomes. 12.00 Praksis, a homeless organisation in Greece, estimates there are around 13,000 people without a home in Athens. In the Greek capital of more than 4m, around 11,500 squat in abandoned buildings and another 1,500 live on the streets. Caught in a fifth straight year of recession, Greece is struggling to apply a tough austerity overhaul in return for EU-IMF loans. Salaries and pensions have been slashed by up to 40pc in the past two years, and more than 1m people are officially unemployed, a fifth of the workforce. 11.56 EU says crisis resolution plan for banks due on June 6. Markets rising now on rumours that ECB will use liquidity measures to ease crisis. 11.44 European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny is back. He says the ECB has taken massive steps already and these need time to have an impact, adding that a Greek exit from the eurozone would cause "massive diturbances." Meanwhile, Italy has joined Finland today in saying it needs to be ready for a Greek exit. 11.35 Remember yesterday we revealed that the Irish "bad bank" is to invest €2bn in property? Well, figures out today show that the country's house prices have fallen by 1.1pc month-on-month and 16.4pc year-on-year. 11.32 Number 10 has attempted to take the sting out of GDP falling further, saying: "We can't be immune to what's happening on our doorstep." Adds that EU trade is down 3.3pc, and Germany has grown because it made right "structural reforms" in past decade. Spokesman adds that "we will take time to recover from the biggest financial and debt crisis of our lifetime." 11.25 Linda Yueh, Bloomberg's economics editor, has told BBC 4's Today programme that the impact of a Greek exit would be "pretty widespread": 11.24 The Telegraph's Jeremy Warner on UK GDP: 11.09 Finnish finance minister Jutta Urpilainen says her country is preparing contingency plans for various debt crisis scenaros (i.e Greek exit). Seems Ireland is the only country that's not planning (see 08.37). 11.06 Here's a graph of UK GDP growth since 2000. Today it was revised down to -0.3pc. German GDP grew 0.5pc in the first quarter, it was 11.03 Quick look at the markets, which have shrugged off poor PMI and GDP data: 10.58 Steve Collins at London & Capital Asset Management as tweeted this pic of French President Francois Hollande having trouble telling the time: 10.53 Faisal Islam, economics editor at at Channel 4 News on those poor UK GDP figures: 10.44 European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny has said it will take time to resolve the Greek crisis, and that the euro is fully fulfilling its function as a currency. He adds that it is up to the Greeks to implement agreed reforms. Nowotny says other southern European countries are much better than Greece, and that the ECB has not used its full arsenal. 10.30 The Telegraph's Bruno Waterfield has noted that an EU official has said David Cameron asked for the financial trasaction tax to be taken off the table at last night's summit. He failed. 10.09 Here's the Telegraph's head of business, Damian Reece, on the political divisions highlighted by yesterday's EU summit. 10.07 Jason Conibear, director of forex specialists Cambridge Mercantile, on the GDP revision: The headwinds are turning into a hurricane. The UK economy is in a pretty terrible place right now, and the Grexit-fuelled volatility coming in from across the Channel is only going to exacerbate matters in the months ahead. The Bank of England downgraded its growth forecast only last week and it may well be doing so again in the not-too-distant future. More money printing has just got a lot more likely as the economy is genuinely on the back foot. This narrative will only strengthen throughout the rest of the year as economies grind to a halt or stagnate. UK GDP in Q1 revised down even further to -0.3pc from -0.2pc. Is this what £325bn of QE buys the UK? Q1 Government spending has risen the most in four years. It's up 1.6pc, experts predicted 0pc. Exports rise 0.1pc, a big fall from Q4's 1.6pc. Imports rise 0.4pc, also a fall from Q4's 0.4pc. Here is David Cameron's reaction to yesterday's EU summit: 08.37 Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore has said his country doesn't have a contingency plan for a Greek exit from the euro. 08.06 Markit has said that PMI data for France point firmly towards a contraction in Q2 GDP following stagnation in Q1. It fell to 44.4 in May from 46.9. The Financial Transactions Tax is a bad idea - it will put up the cost of people's insurance, put up the cost of people's pensions, it will cost many, many jobs.