Greece Might Actually Try to Cut Spending … A Little Bit

Coalition government agrees to austerity measures of about $14 billion.

Greece's government Wednesday agreed to take fresh austerity measures of €11.5 billion ($14.1 billion) for 2013 and 2014 after junior partners in the ruling coalition dropped demands to implement the steep cuts over a longer period, paving the way for the recession-ravaged country to secure crucial funding from its international creditors.

Greece will now hold talks on the cuts with a delegation of international lenders currently in Athens who need to sign off on the austerity package before approving the next aid tranche from a €173 billion bailout. Without the funds, Greece could run out of cash, possibly in coming weeks.