الرئيسية
ROME/BERLIN (Reuters) - A comprehensive solution to the euro zone
debt crisis is beyond the region's reach, rating agency Fitch said,
warning that six of its economies including Italy and Spain could be hit
with credit downgrades in the near future.
The warning late Friday, the second time in two weeks that the bloc
has been threatened with multiple ratings markdowns, heightened pressure
on leaders to get to grips with the turmoil.
Fitch also said it might also cut AAA-rated France within two years
and urged the European Central Bank to take a more active firefighting
role.
One ECB policymaker said Saturday that time was running out to come
up with solutions to a crisis that could spark a global slump. Another
said the bank would not expand the bond buying program it launched to
keep a lid on vulnerable states' debt costs.
Underscoring tensions within the bloc, a week after a key EU summit
failed to reassure financial markets the crisis was being tackled,
Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti urged EU policymakers Friday to
beware of dividing the continent.
ECB ratesetter Erkki Liikanen said that, to prevent a flurry of
ratings downgrades and a credit freeze, the continent's leaders needed
to act fast to beef up the rescue funds designed to provide a safety net
for debt-laden member countries.
"The worse scenario is that the negative cycle continues, uncertainty
grows, which would lead to a global recession," Liikanen - a member of
the bank's governing council -told Finnish public broadcaster YLE in an
interview Saturday.
International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde had said no
country was immune from the crisis and each needed to act to head off
the risk of a global depression.
In a swipe against Germany, Italy's Monti said Europe's response
"should be wrapped in a long-term sustainable approach, not just to feed
short-term hunger for rigor in some countries."
Pushing for governments to eliminate their bloated budget deficits,
Germany has led resistance to allowing the ECB to ramp up its bond
purchases to a big enough scale to douse the crisis.
But Fitch added to the pressure for just such a move.
debt crisis is beyond the region's reach, rating agency Fitch said,
warning that six of its economies including Italy and Spain could be hit
with credit downgrades in the near future.
The warning late Friday, the second time in two weeks that the bloc
has been threatened with multiple ratings markdowns, heightened pressure
on leaders to get to grips with the turmoil.
Fitch also said it might also cut AAA-rated France within two years
and urged the European Central Bank to take a more active firefighting
role.
One ECB policymaker said Saturday that time was running out to come
up with solutions to a crisis that could spark a global slump. Another
said the bank would not expand the bond buying program it launched to
keep a lid on vulnerable states' debt costs.
Underscoring tensions within the bloc, a week after a key EU summit
failed to reassure financial markets the crisis was being tackled,
Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti urged EU policymakers Friday to
beware of dividing the continent.
ECB ratesetter Erkki Liikanen said that, to prevent a flurry of
ratings downgrades and a credit freeze, the continent's leaders needed
to act fast to beef up the rescue funds designed to provide a safety net
for debt-laden member countries.
"The worse scenario is that the negative cycle continues, uncertainty
grows, which would lead to a global recession," Liikanen - a member of
the bank's governing council -told Finnish public broadcaster YLE in an
interview Saturday.
International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde had said no
country was immune from the crisis and each needed to act to head off
the risk of a global depression.
In a swipe against Germany, Italy's Monti said Europe's response
"should be wrapped in a long-term sustainable approach, not just to feed
short-term hunger for rigor in some countries."
Pushing for governments to eliminate their bloated budget deficits,
Germany has led resistance to allowing the ECB to ramp up its bond
purchases to a big enough scale to douse the crisis.
But Fitch added to the pressure for just such a move.