Greece Faces Early 2015 Election As Presidential Vote Fails

Greek voters will be heading to the polls in early 2015 after the country's parliament failed to agree on a new president in a third and final vote on Monday. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras needed a supermajority of the 300-seat parliament to back his candidate -- former European Commissioner Stavros Dimas -- but he only secured 168 of the 180 votes needed. The rejection of the government's candidate now means that the parliament will have to be dissolved and a snap election held in late January or early February. Borrowing costs in Greece surged after the vote, with the yield on 10-year government paper up 67 basis points to 8.806%, according to electronic trading platform Tradeweb. The Athex Composite stock index plunged 10% to 764.55.