Germany casts doubt on cash help for Greece

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged to "stand helpfully by Greece's side" but her economy minister said Germany would not offer a cash bailout.

Mrs Merkel was speaking ahead of a meeting in Berlin with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou later on today, the BBC reports. But her economy minister Rainer Bruederle said earlier that his government "does not intend to give a cent" to Greece in financial aid. On Thursday, the Greek government went to the financial markets to borrow money and saw its €5bn ($6.8bn; £4.5bn) bond issue oversubscribed. UK investors bought a fifth (20%) of the 10-year bonds, while Greek investors purchased 23% of the total issuance, and Germany took 14%. Mrs Merkel welcomed the uptake. "The plac...