After a surprisingly strong 10-year syndicated bond sale raised 5 billion euros on Thursday,Greece staved off pending financial doom and built a strong case for the success of its fiscal moves. The sale was three times oversubscribed and, at a hefty 6.4%, provided a return twice as large as offered by Berlin.

The quality of the investor was also impressive. Long-term investments such as pension funds, commercial banks and insurance companies replaced shorter-term hedge fund speculation. 90 percent of the investments came from outside Greece.

Across the globe, analysts were anxious to weigh in on the success of the bond auction and the country’s recently announced austerity-spending cuts. For the most part, the finance ministers showed relief with the auction but continued to push for deeper cuts. All eyes now turn to the Friday meeting between Greece’s Prime Minister George Papanadreou and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.

Papanadreou seeks additional support from Germany to help the struggling economy lower its borrowing costs. Merkel has played it close to the vest, shunning suggestions that Germany rise to the occasion. German economists and media have taken a strong position in opposition to any further aid. With other euro zone economies in desperate straits, Merkel is not likely to set a dangerous precedent for relief. Publicly, the Chancellor has encouraged Greece to mend its own fences.

While the bond sale may be encouraging and provide some immediate relief, the problems in Greece are very real and very near at hand. The country must raise 20 billion euros by the end of May and another 53 billion by the end of the year.

While euro economic ministers voiced approval for Greece’s budget trimming and bond auction, the citizens of Greece roared their disapproval. This is not to say, the labor unions do not recognize the need for the cuts. The Prime Minister still maintains healthy approval ratings.

On Thursday, Greece’s communist labor unions stormed the finance ministry, occupying the building and preventing agency employees from entering the workplace. Public and private labor unions called for a 3-hour strike on Friday at the same time the new austerity cuts will be enacted by Parliament in an emergency session.

Euro Up Briefly

The euro continued its rocky walk on Thursday. The bond sale in Greece pushed the euro above $1.37 before strong economic news from the U.S. buoyed the dollar. U.S. employment numbers improved and retail sales were stronger than anticipated. The reports drove the euro down, settling at $1.3572.

The euro is off 10 percent since euro zone members began to lag in November 2009. German resistance to aid for Greece has also weighed on the currency.

European Central Bank chief economist, Jean-Claude Trichet quelled any promise of raising the record low euro zone interest rates, announcing that rates will remain unchanged. The announcement signaled a slight pullback from the central bank’s strong support.

In Asia, currencies turned upwards on the positive news from the U.S., the largest importer of Asian goods. Late Thursday Congressional approval of the $15 billion labor legislation is likely to pressure the euro further while boosting Asian markets.

Upon an announcement by the Bank of Japan that more quantitative easing was forthcoming, the Nikkei 500 average was up 2.07 percent. The Topix gained 1.53 percent in high trading.

German Resistance Gaining Support

As Greece’s Deputy Foreign Minister made an extraordinary plea for German support on public radio, the buzz and media assailed Greece’s plan and any use of taxpayer revenue to bail out euro zone members. Dimitris Droutsas pled for help saying, “What we need from our EU partners and from such an important EU partner as Germany is an explicit, clear signal to the international financial markets that Greece and the Greek government have their full confidence.

Policy expert for Chancellor Merkel, Frank Schaeffler, rebutted publicly, “Those in insolvency have to sell everything they have to pay their creditors. Greece owns buildings, companies and uninhabited islands, which could all be used for debt redemption.”

Germany’s media seized on the story, suggesting that the country sell vacated outlying islands immediately. The radical remedy was dimly viewed in Greece, setting the stage for tense meetings on Friday.