German banker: need more than Greek debt writeoffs (AP)

Tension is escalating in the Greek financial markets as the standoff between Athens and Eurozone financial ministers has reached a crucial point.

Over a week after the new Greek government came to power, it has presented its first actual proposal of how it hopes to negotiate with Europe that does not involve the infamous "debt write off", which as both Germany and the ECB have made clear, is a non-starter as it impairs the ECB's balance sheet and leads to a loss of "faith" in the money printer, the legacy monetary system and so on.

The bailout of Greece was bungled because it was an attempt to save the single currency rather than the debt-stricken country, according to a highly critical report by the International Monetary Fund. The internal report on the handling of the Greek crisis has detailed a catalogue of errors, which led to the IMF breaking three out of four of its own rules relating to lending money to bankrupt countries.

Athens (AFP) - The Greek bailout drama has given rise to a series of buzz words that so rile Athens they have become no-go areas for those attempting to broker a deal.Here is a list of the offending words:

Rome (AFP) - Greece on Tuesday floated proposals to ease the economic pressure generated by its massive foreign debt, boosting stock markets as hopes rose for a deal with its European Union partners.

With less than 20 days left until the Greek general elections, bluffs, counterbluffs, speculation, and propaganda are running wild, all of which, however, can be reduced to the following simply question: who has the leverage?