Greek Leader Irked by Speculation on Debt

The New York Times reports:

Prime Minister George Papandreou of Greece on Saturday attacked “rumor mongering” and speculation after a German magazine reported that Athens was threatening to leave the euro zone in order to bargain for easier terms on its huge debt obligations.

But even as Greece and the European Union denied the reports and sought to calm nervous markets, other European officials acknowledged that the country needed its loans adjusted after new figures showed a deep recession and higher-than-forecast fiscal debt.