Athens on Strike...Again

Spread bets and CFDs on European markets should consider that things are getting dicey in Greece again. Greece has been trying to impose austerity measures for a few weeks now, but every time the issue comes up, the public goes on strike.

This is certainly the case right now, as Athens is all but deserted with public workers walking out to protest the austerity measures. The Greek government is trying to convince people (and some of the opposing members of parliament) that it's an emergency situation, and serious efforts need to be made. More strikes, however, are in the works.

Greece managed to raise 5 billion euros in a bond sale yesterday, but that is hardly sufficient, reports the Financial Times:

Greece successfully raised €5bn on Thursday through a 10-year bond syndication that was three times oversubscribed.

But it paid a high coupon interest rate of 6.25 per cent, 2 percentage points more than Portugal and double the rate paid by Germany, the benchmark European economy.

In spite of this, European stock markets are higher, along with other global equities.