HONG KONG — Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said Thursday that China would consider working with the International Monetary Fund to help shore up Europe’s finances. But he left unclear whether China was willing to drop conditions that so far have made its proposed help unappealing to European nations.
Mr. Wen’s comments came at a Beijing news conference after he met with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany on the first day of her three-day visit to China.
Mrs. Merkel is the first of several European leaders scheduled to visit China this month, as China’s huge holdings of foreign exchange reserves have begun to give it financial influence that could potentially rival Washington’s.
Mr. Wen said that Chinese officials were studying whether the country should be “involving itself more” in helping Europe solve its debt troubles by investing in the region’s two big rescue packages: the existing European Financial Stability Facility and the planned European Stability Mechanism. China’s contributions could be channeled through the I.M.F., he said.
Read the full story at NY Times.
Currently rated 1.2 by 33 people
- Currently 1.242424/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Chancellor Angela Merkel has assembled her most persuasive lawmakers and lobbyists to persuade members of her center-right coalition to come out in force Thursday and vote for the European Financial Stability Facility.
Merkel's authority over her coalition is at stake because the coalition has turned into a fractious, squabbling band since it took office nearly two years ago. She has weathered several crises since then, including her party’s huge defeat in a regional election last March and the criticism from the United States and other allies when Germany abstained from a U.N. Security Council vote authorizing a no-flight zone in Libya.
But this time, analysts say Mrs. Merkel is facing her biggest test since becoming chancellor in 2005. She needs 311 of her coalition’s 330 legislators to vote for the facility if the measure is to pass without help from the opposition.
Read the full article at The New York Times.
Currently rated 1.0 by 1 people
- Currently 1/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
The euro is rising modestly against major currencies after German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected the idea of a hasty bankruptcy by Greece.
Merkel said Monday that Europe should help Greece regain its financial footing. She rejected suggestions that Greece should seek court protection from its creditors. That would allow Greece to not repay some debts, but it would also threaten European banks that own billions in Greek debt. Merkel's comments made a default by Greece appear less likely.
At 11:26 a.m. Eastern time, the euro rose to $1.3662 from $1.3585 late Monday. It also rose against the yen.
The euro hit a seven-month low against the dollar on Monday.
AP
Be the first to rate this post
- Currently 0/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Reuters - Europe issued a full-throated assault on credit ratings agencies on Wednesday, saying there were signs of bias against the European Union after Moody's downgraded Portugal's debt to "junk" status.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Moody's decision to lower Portugal by two notches and maintain a negative outlook was fuelling speculation in financial markets. Europe was looking at getting away from its reliance on the mainly U.S.-based ratings companies, he added.
"Yesterday's decisions by one rating agency do not provide more clarity. They rather add another speculative element to the situation," Barroso told reporters, adding that the agencies were not immune to "mistakes and exaggerations."
"It seems strange that there is not a single rating agency coming from Europe. It shows there may be some bias in the markets when it comes to the evaluation of the specific issues of Europe," he said, stating publicly a view that many senior EU officials have pushed privately for some time.
It is not the first time during the sovereign debt crisis that the EU has taken the major agencies -- Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch -- to task, but the message this time was delivered with a much greater sense of frustration.
Barroso's comments followed German Chancellor Angela Merkel's brushing aside on Tuesday of a warning from S&P, the largest agency, that it would view the current French plan for a partial rollover of maturing Greek debt as a default.
Such a move would narrow the options available to EU leaders to tackle the crisis and could greatly exacerbate the situation.
Merkel suggested the EU had depended for too long on the opinion of outside, private-sector agencies and said Europe had its own institutions that it needed to put its trust in.
"It is important that the troika (EU, IMF and European Central Bank) do not allow their ability to make judgments to be taken away," she said. "I trust above all the judgment of these three institutions."
Currently rated 1.7 by 12 people
- Currently 1.666667/5 Stars.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5