If the government can’t meet the aid terms, “it’s up to Greece to figure out how to get financing without the euro zone’s help,” he later said in a speech to parliament. The changes would give the EFSF the power to buy bonds in the secondary market, raising German guarantees to 211 billion euros ($290 billion) from 123 billion euros.
– President Obama might be getting good reviews for his plan to shore up the US economy, but investors are far more worried about Europe, reports MarketWatch. The Dow was down more than 300 points at midday to below 11,000, and both Nasdaq and the S&P 500 were each down more than 2.6%. A Bloomberg report that Germany is preparing a contingency plan to protect its banks from a Greece default is contributing to the malaise.