Debt

Argentina has won a reprieve against having to pay $1.33 billion next month to "holdout" investors who rejected a restructuring of its defaulted debt and have waged a long legal battle to be paid in full.

Within minutes of euro zone financeministers reaching a deal to cut Greece's debt late on Monday, commentators on Twitter were dismissing it as another exercise in "kicking the can down the road".

The Greek government and financial markets were cheered on Tuesday by an agreement between euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund to reduce Greece's debt, paving the way for the release of urgently needed aid loans.

A decade after staging the biggest sovereign default in history, Argentina faces another possible debt crisis after a U.S. court ordered it to pay $1.3 billion to holders of defaulted bonds.

Ratings agency Fitch downgraded the debt ratings of Japan's Sony Corp and Panasonic Corp to "junk" status citing weakness in their consumer electronics and TV operations, further diminishing the luster of the once-great Japanese brands.

Greece's international lenders failed for the second week running to agree how to get the country's debt down to a sustainable level and will have a third go in six days' time.

Spain's debt levels are set to rise next year, piling pressure on the government to apply for aid as it pours funds in to cash-strapped regions, an ailing banking system and rising refinancing costs, its budget showed on Saturday.

European Union officials pushed on Saturday to accelerate moves to stem the bloc's long debt crisis as Italian premier Mario Monti warned that economic suffering was fuelling divisive nationalism on the continent.

Mexican cement maker Cemex moved closer on Tuesday to wrapping up an ambitious refinancing deal to push back payment of $7.2 billion of debt, and also announced a planned asset sale that would give the company much-needed breathing room.