European financial markets have been hit by renewed fears over the state of Greece's debt-ridden economy.

对希腊债务缠身的经济状况的新一轮的恐惧已经影响到欧洲金融市场的发展。

Greece's public spending cuts have caused widespread anger

Banking¹ stocks in particular, both in Greece and other European countries, have seen sharp falls.

Meanwhile on the bond markets（债券市场） , the Greek government's cost of borrowing has risen to record levels.

This reflects investors²' concerns that loans to Greece might not be paid back due to the poor state of the country's public finances.

The Athens Composite index（复合指标，财经综合指数） fell by 3.1%, with banks down 6.4% on average.

All major European markets also suffered, with the UK's FTSE 100 index down 0.9%, Germany's Dax slipping 0.8% and France's Cac 1.2% lower.

Banks in France and Germany were also hit due to their exposure to Greece, with Societe Generale losing 3.1% and Commerzbank down 2.8%.

Fresh doubts

Greece is currently faced with debts of nearly 300bn euros (£267bn, $407bn), and is currently running a budget deficit³（预算赤字） equivalent（等价的，想等的） of 12.7% of GDP.

Its recovery plan involves borrowing on the bond markets and a harsh programme of spending cuts and higher taxes.

But on Thursday, the yield（收益，产量） on Greek government debt hit a new high of 7.5%, a full 3% higher than in October last year. The yield is the interest rate the government has to pay on its bonds to attract investors.

The closely-watched difference between the yield on Greek debt and German debt - which has the lowest rate in the eurozone - also hit a fresh high.

This reflects the doubts among investors that the Greek government can succeed in its plan to slash⁴（猛砍，鞭打） its deficit, and makes it more likely that the state will turn its eurozone partners for help.