Reuters dominates on Greek debt saga

Reuters gave clients a massive head start on March 3 by breaking news that the Greek government had approved 4.8 billion euros in austerity measures — essential cuts to win support from European leaders for its budget deficit reduction plans and to move ahead with a new bond issue. The deal included higher VAT and cuts in public service salaries and pensions. The euro gained nearly half a cent against the dollar after Reuters alerts landed on clients’ screens 24 minutes before Bloomberg. Dow Jones trailed in more than half an hour later. Reuters obtained a draft of the government’s proposed legislation shortly before a formal announcement, which finally came some three hours after we initially broke the news. The official statement also confirmed a Reuters report six days earlier that Greece would need to come up with an additional 4.8 billion euros. Reuters was also ahead when German Chancellor Angela Merkel responded by saying Germany would not offer aid to Greece and the euro briefly erased much of its session gains. The risk premium on Greek 10-year bonds over benchmark German bunds also narrowed at one point to 279 basis points, the lowest since mid-February. And further showing Reuters dominance on the Greek story, Reuters was first to report on March 1 that Germany was probing speculators in Greek debt.