Greek borrowing costs hit new record high .

Greece's borrowing costs spiked higher for a third day Thursday, intensifying the country's debt crisis and suggesting a eurozone rescue program is providing little support for Athen's struggle to avoid default.
The interest rate gap, or spread, between Greek 10-year government bonds and the German equivalent, considered a benchmark of stability, spiralled to record highs since Greece joined the euro in 2001.
Spreads that began the day at the already high level of about 401 basis points - which translates into an interest rate of 4.01 percentage points higher than German bonds - spiked to 448 basis points in the early afternoon.
The higher interest rates demanded by bond investors are potential poison for the Greek budget; unless they fall, the government will pay a premium to borrow and face a vicious cycle where higher borrowing costs fuel fresh default fears.
But Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou insisted its program to pull the debt-ridden country out of the crisis was on track.
"The country continues and will continue to borrow as normal, while the fiscal adjustment program is on track," he said during a Parliamentary finance committee meeting.
"I reiterate emphatically that the country continues and will continue to borrow normally. We have a plan and the budget is being implemented properly and remains within its targets."
The Socialist government, elected in October, has announced a harsh austerity program that includes cuts in civil servants' pay, pension freezes and higher taxes, and insists it will bring its deficit down to 8.7 percent of gross domestic product by the end of the year, from a revised projection of 12.9 percent at the end of 2009.
Last month, eurozone countries reached a hard-fought agreement reached in Brussels to rescue Greece from potential default. The plan would allow for bilateral euro zone and International Monetary Fund loans, but only with unanimous approval of all 16 euro-zone members and if it were a last resort for Greece.
But the vaguely-worded plan appears to have done little to calm market jitters.
The plan makes it difficult for Greece to actually get the money since Germany, which has steadfastly resisted a bailout, would have to agree, and the deal says Greece would not see a break on interest by getting eurozone average rates on any loans.
Share values on the Athens Stock Exchange were also being hammered, pulled down by a bank losses. The bourse's General Index was down 4.7 percent at midday before gaining slightly in early afternoon trading, when it was down 3.84 percent.