Reuters Breakingviews delivers agenda-setting financial insight. Its global correspondents react to stories as they develop, delivering sharp and provocative commentary on big financial news as it breaks.

Euro zone and IMF officials working on a bailout for Cyprus worry that the island’s debt load might become unsustainable in the process. The most obvious and traditional solutions are risky and controversial. But a mix of half-measures, boosted by some optimism, could help the small state through its financial straits.