Eurozone reaches deal to bail out Greece

Story from The Takeaway. Listen to audio above for full report.

European leaders came to an agreement yesterday to help keep Greece and the rest of the eurozone from falling further into financial crisis. Greece will receive a second bailout, in the amount of 109 billion euros, or $157 billion.

The move by the eurozone comes as Ireland and Portugal are still teetering on economic turmoil. The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the euro zone’s rescue fund, will be given broad new powers to assist countries that have not yet been bailed out. It is unclear how French and German citizens, who have opposed any bailout, will react to the deal.

Landon Thomas, Jr., financial correspondent for The New York Times, is reporting on the details of the agreement and its impact. He told The Takeaway the two key actions from the deal are important first steps, “taking this rescue facility called the EFSF and morphing it into some kind of TARP-like vehicle to perhaps provide money to banks and buy bonds, and then the debt break on Greece’s debt — that was also very big.”

The “selective default” allowed to Greece gives it more time to pay back its debt, which should give investors some level of comfort, along with the money provided by the EFSF, which Thomas says is “a big pot of money that’s going to be use, in effect, to make things better.”

> Read Landon Thomas’s report for The New York Times.

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“The Takeaway” is a national morning news program, delivering the news and analysis you need to catch up, start your day, and prepare for what’s ahead. The show is a co-production of WNYC and PRI, in editorial collaboration with the BBC, The New York Times Radio, and WGBH.