Greeces Debt Nightmare Just Got Worse

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is landing in Greece to show her solidarity with her Greek counterpart, prime minister Antonis Samaras.

Seven thousand police officers have been scrambled to clear the streets of central Athens along with rooftop snipers and commandos to protect the German leader. Greece’s two largest unions threatened to defy a ban imposed on protesting in the city center, calling on their members to convene at Syntagma square.

But economists told CNBC that Merkel was the least of Greece’s problems.

According to the latest economic forecasts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), released on Tuesday, Greece will miss the five-year debt reduction target that underpins the country’s 130 billion euro bailout.

The IMF forecast that Greek public debt will rise to 171 percent of gross domestic product (GPD) this year and 182 percent in 2013.

The IMF has also warned the Eurogroup of finance ministers who met in Luxembourg on Monday that Greece’s debt would need restructuring and that it will be almost impossible to reduce the country’s debt levels to a target of 120 per cent of economic output by 2020.

 MORE HERE