Germany may offer Greece loan guarantee: WSJ (by Sue Chang)

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Germany is studying the possibility of offering Greece and other euro zone countries loan guarantees in a bid to soothe market jitters, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday in its online edition. The loan guarantees would be extended within the European Union framework but spearheaded by Germany, the newspaper said. In addition to Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland have also come under scrutiny amid worries that they may have difficulty honoring their debt obligations, the newspaper said.