Greece finance minister vows compromise in loan talks as borrowing costs soar

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis is promising to compromise in negotiations over the next installment of a bailout loan that would forestall Greece's possible exit from the European currency union.

Yet Varoufakis also denounces some of the reforms demanded by the country's European creditors, suggesting the two sides remain far apart. Varoufakis says in remarks at the Brookings Institution that his government was elected to "challenge the logic of a program that has clearly failed."

His comments came as Greece's borrowing costs soared Thursday amid growing fears of a debt default.

Greece is shuffling funds among government agencies and delaying payments to suppliers to repay its loans. Greek officials hope that an agreement can be reached next week, but officials from Germany and other European nations have suggested that's unlikely.