13 WTHR IndianapolisGreece to get $170 Billion bailout, reduce debt

Greece to get $170 Billion bailout, reduce debt

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BRUSSELS -

Greece's premier is calling it "a historic day for the Greek economy."

After more than 12 hours of talks, the countries that use the euro agreed early today to give Greece $170 billion in additional bailout loans to save it from a potentially disastrous default next month.

The deal is expected to bring Greece's debt down to 120.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2020. That's around the maximum that the International Monetary Fund and the eurozone consider sustainable.

The euro surged as the news of a deal broke. The accord should take some pressure off the 17-country eurozone that's been battling a serious debt crisis for two years.

Without the deal, Greece faced a potentially calamitous default next month and possibly being forced from the eurozone. In the end, the country's private creditors were asked to take

substantially more losses on their holdings than previously anticipated.

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