Chances of Greece leaving the eurozone are growing, as political leaders prepare for last-ditch coalition talks in Athens • FTSE 100 falls 100+ points at one stage • Spanish and Italian bond yields rise • Today’s agenda 11.48am: The escalating eurozone crisis has prompted another dash into ‘safe-haven’ government bonds. This has driven down the yields on sovereign bonds from the UK, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, and Luxumberg to record lows. For Britain, this means that the 10-year gilt is trading at a record low yield of just 1.87% (compared to Spain’s 6.2%). Sky News’s Ed Conway has tweeted this handy graph showing how UK borrowing costs have tumbled in recent months: UK govt borrowing rates now below 1.9% for 1st time since creation of capital markets 300yrs ago (10yr = 1.88%) twitter.com/EdConwaySky/st… — Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) May 14, 2012 Amazing what a financial crisis and €325bn of quantitative easing from the Bank of England can accomplish…. 11.39am: As the fraught negotiations to form a government in Greece continue, the outgoing prime minister Lucas Papademos has weighed in with a stark warning, reports Helena Smith.

More here:
Europe