Dennis Byrne, Chicago Trib
The good news: Americans have started borrowing again.The bad news: Americans have started borrowing again.Actually, it's big news, whether good or bad, because it represents a major change in consumer behavior since the economy began tanking in 2008. It means that for whatever reason, borrowers have enough confidence to once again go into debt. And lenders have enough confidence that they'll get paid back.

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's deep recession and unpredictable elections threaten to turn the biggest debt restructuring in history into yet another short-lived reprieve, although the existential threat posed to the euro zone is not what it was. Last week's deal, under which private creditors agreed to lose most of their investments in Greek government bonds, should allow euro zone finance ministers meeting on Monday to declare they will pay their part of a 130 billion euros bailout, Greece's second in two years. The International Monetary Fund will finalize its contribution later in the week. ...

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers will sign off on a second bailout package for Greece on Monday and shift their focus to Spain, whose government looks set to violate newly-agreed EU budget rules by missing its deficit target again this year. The bloc's original problem debtor, Greece, swapped its privately held bonds over the weekend for new, longer maturity paper with less than half the nominal value, slashing more than 100 billion euros ($130 billion) from its debt. ...

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers will sign off on a second bailout package for Greece on Monday and shift their focus to Spain, whose government looks set to violate newly-agreed EU budget rules by missing its deficit target again this year. The bloc's original problem debtor, Greece, swapped its privately held bonds over the weekend for new, longer maturity paper with less than half the nominal value, slashing more than 100 billion euros ($130 billion) from its debt. ...

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers will sign off on a second bailout package for Greece on Monday and shift their focus to Spain, whose government looks set to violate newly-agreed EU budget rules by missing its deficit target again this year. The bloc's original problem debtor, Greece, swapped its privately held bonds over the weekend for new, longer maturity paper with less than half the nominal value, slashing more than 100 billion euros from its debt. ...

ROME (Reuters) - Italy is in recession, final data confirmed on Monday, underscoring the difficulties facing Mario Monti's technocrat government as it grapples with a shrinking economy dragged down by austerity measures and a debt crisis. Italy's economy shrank 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, following a 0.2 percent decline in gross domestic product in the third quarter. Monti, who rushed through a 33 billion euro austerity plan in December and is now working on reforms to boost growth, is due to meet Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday for talks in Rome. ...

ROME (Reuters) - Italy is in recession, final data confirmed on Monday, underscoring the difficulties facing Mario Monti's technocrat government as it grapples with a shrinking economy dragged down by austerity measures and a debt crisis. Italy's economy shrank 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, following a 0.2 percent decline in gross domestic product in the third quarter. Monti, who rushed through a 33 billion euro austerity plan in December and is now working on reforms to boost growth, is due to meet Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday for talks in Rome. ...

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's deep recession and unpredictable elections threaten to turn the biggest debt restructuring in history into yet another short-lived reprieve, although the existential threat posed to the euro zone is not what it was. Last week's deal, under which private creditors agreed to lose most of their investments in Greek government bonds, should allow euro zone finance ministers meeting on Monday to declare they will pay their part of a 130 billion euros bailout, Greece's second in two years. The International Monetary Fund will finalise its contribution later in the week. ...

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's deep recession and unpredictable elections threaten to turn the biggest debt restructuring in history into yet another short-lived reprieve, although the existential threat posed to the euro zone is not what it was. Last week's deal, under which private creditors agreed to lose most of their investments in Greek government bonds, should allow euro zone finance ministers meeting on Monday to declare they will pay their part of a 130 billion euros ($170 billion) bailout, Greece's second in two years. ...

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Tax authorities have warned top Indian carrier Jet Airways its bank accounts will be frozen if it does not clear outstanding dues of about 690 million rupees, local media reported on Sunday. "They have 24 hours to make the payment, failing which their accounts will be frozen," SK Goel, chairman of the Central Board of Excise and Customs, was quoted by the Business Standard newspaper as saying. In a statement, the airline denied having had any warning its accounts may be frozen but said it plans to pay the amount by Monday. ...

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will hold a parliamentary election on April 29 at the earliest and may not hold the vote until May, a government spokesman said late on Friday, giving Prime Minister Lucas Papademos time to complete a debt deal to avert default. Greece's private-sector creditors agreed to accept steep cuts in the value of their bond holdings, opening the way for a 130-billion-euro ($170-billion) bailout by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. ...

Greece's private creditors agreed Friday to take cents on the euro in the biggest debt writedown in history, paving the way for an enormous second bailout for the country to keep Europe's economy from being dragged further into chaos.

ATHENS (Reuters) - Fitch on Friday cut Greece's rating to "restricted default" over its debt swap deal, as expected, becoming the third of the three major rating agencies to slash Greece into default territory. Fitch said in a statement it would upgrade Greece's rating once the debt exchange was completed and the new securities have been issued, adding that the new rating was likely to be low speculative grade. (Reporting by Ingrid Melander)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prime money funds increased their holdings of euro-zone bank securities in February, suggesting less fear of the euro-zone debt crisis spiraling out of control, J.P. Morgan analysts said in a report released on Friday. These ultra short-term funds, which are seen as alternatives to bank savings accounts, raised their euro-zone bank holdings for a second straight month. They added $30 billion in euro-zone bank debt paper last month, bringing their euro zone debt holdings to $211 billion, J.P. Morgan analysts said. ...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prime money funds increased their holdings of euro zone bank securities in February, suggesting less fear of the euro zone debt crisis spiraling out of control, J.P. Morgan analysts said in a report released on Friday. These ultra short-term funds, which are seen as alternatives to bank savings accounts, raised their euro zone bank holdings for a second straight month. They added $30 billion in euro zone bank debt paper last month, bringing their euro zone debt holdings to $211 billion, J.P. Morgan analysts said. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

BERLIN (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers will discuss the results of Greece's debt swap deal at a teleconference at around 1130 GMT on Friday and will then decide at a meeting next week on unlocking a second bailout for the country, a German government spokesman said. Greece won strong acceptance from its private creditors on Thursday for the bond swap deal, which is a crucial requirement for the 130-billion-euro bailout. ...

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's government on Friday kept up pressure on the central bank to further support an economic recovery, but the Bank of Japan appears set to hold monetary policy steady at its regular policy meeting next week. With market jitters over Greek debt swap talks easing, the yen weakening and share prices rising, the central bank is unlikely to move again after last month's surprise easing, sources familiar with its thinking say. ...

PARIS (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said on Friday that Greece's negotiated debt-swap deal was good news and avoided a default for the debt-laden country. "It's good news, it's a good success," Baroin told RTL radio. "It's something that allows us to stay on a voluntary basis that avoids the risk of default." He said he also had confidence in the Spanish government's ability to resolve its large deficit pile. (Reporting by John Irish; Editing by James Regan)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A historic bond swap aimed at reducing Greece's crushing debt and averting default looks promising, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Thursday. In an interview with Charlie Rose on PBS television, Lagarde said it appeared the participation rate of private creditors in the restructuring deal would be high. "As we speak, it looks like it's going through, and it looks as if the numbers will be promising," Lagarde said. Lagarde also said she believed the risk of an acute crisis in the Euro zone had been removed for now. ...

Former U.S. Comptroller David Walker has warned that the U.S. could slide into a debt scenario similar to what Greece is experiencing. “The truth is if you count total U.S. government debt as compared to many of the European nations that are in the news,...

ATHENS (Reuters) - Nearly 95 percent of bondholders had signed up for a debt swap to lighten Greece's debt burden an hour before the 2000 GMT deadline expired, a senior Greek government official said on Thursday. "About an hour before the deadline expired, the participation rate was nearing 95 percent and responses were still coming in," a Greek government official told Reuters. That meant Greece had easily topped the 90 percent target for participation it had set itself, in a major boost for the debt-stricken country. (Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas, Writing by Deepa Babington)

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece closed a bond swap offer to private creditors on Thursday after clearing the minimum threshold of acceptance to push the deal through, moving closer to unlocking funds it needs to avoid a dangerous debt default. Government officials said before the final deadline for declaring interest passed at 2000 GMT that more than 75 percent of eligible bonds had already been committed. ...

ATHENS (Reuters) - Over 85 percent of bondholders holding debt under Greek law have signed up to a bond swap to ease Greece's debt burden, a Greek government official close to the process said on Thursday. The deadline to take part expired at 2000 GMT. About 177 billion euros of the 206 billion euros of debt eligible for the swap are regulated under Greek law. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos, Writing by Deepa Babington)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Household debt rose for the first time in three and a half years during the fourth quarter, suggesting Americans were more comfortable borrowing money and potentially laying the groundwork for higher consumer spending. The data released on Thursday by the Federal Reserve also showed household wealth increasing by $1.2 trillion, which could also support spending. The report showed the ratio of household debt to after-tax income fell in the fourth quarter to the lowest level since 2004. Total household liabilities were 117. ...