Eurozone could lend Greece $40 bln: Juncker

The world is on the brink of a fresh “currency war,” Russia warned, as European policy makers joined Japan in bemoaning the economic cost of rising exchange rates. “Japan is weakening the yen and other countries may follow,” Alexei Ulyukayev, first deputy chairman of Russia’s central bank, said at a conference today in Moscow. The alert from the country that chairs the Group of 20 came as Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker complained of a “dangerously high” euro and officials in Norway and Sweden expressed exchange-rate concern.

Those looking for a bit of humor in the European debacle can find it in statements from Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the eurozone finance ministers. Juncker says "I don’t envisage, not even for one second, Greece leaving the euro area. This is nonsense. This is propaganda. We have to respect Greek democracy." Bear in mind this statement comes from the same man who said "When it becomes serious, you have to lie."

The finance chief for Europe's single currency heartland, Jean-Claude Juncker, says global money markets are buying into a 30-billion-euro backstop bailout for debt-stricken Greece."I am reassured by the reactions of markets" since Sunday's decision by euro peers to offer Athens three years' breathing space through rescue loans on preferential terms, Luxembourg Prime Minister Juncker told AFP in his offices late on Tuesday.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - E

BRUSSELS — Greece‘s international lenders have prepared a “positive” report on the country’s reform efforts – a crucial step in its efforts to secure the next installment of its bailout loan, the head the of group of finance ministers from the 17 euro countries said Monday. Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the eurogroup and also prime minister of Luxembourg, said one important issue remains unresolved: how much time Greece will be given to reduce its debts to a manageable level.