Greece dispatches officials to U.S., default fears grow

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/01/16/uk-greece-idUKTRE80F0IN20120116

(Reuters) - Greece sent senior officials to Washington on Monday for meetings with the International Monetary Fund as it raced against the clock to break a deadlock in debt swap talks that has prompted new fears of an unruly default.

Barely a month after an injection of bailout funds helped avert bankruptcy, Greece is back at the centre of the euro zone crisis as fears of a default and a subsequent euro zone exit overshadow a mass credit downgrade of euro zone countries.

Athens needs a deal with the private sector within days to avoid going bankrupt when 14.5 billion euros (11.9 billion pounds) of bond redemptions fall due in late March. But talks with its creditor banks broke down without an agreement on Friday.

Greece put a brave face on the standoff.