April 28 (Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the International Monetary Fund pledged to step up efforts to overcome the Greek fiscal crisis as Standard & Poor’s downgraded Spain and investors sold bonds in Europe’s most indebted nations.
“It’s completely clear that the negotiations between the Greek government, the European Commission and the IMF need to be sped up now,” Merkel said in Berlin today. Flanked by IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, she said the “stability of the euro zone” was at stake if a 45 billion-euro ($59 billion) loan package for Greece can’t be delivered fast.
A failure by policy makers to match such talk with action has fanned concern that the crisis will spread beyond Greece. Merkel has delayed German approval of loans in the face of voters’ opposition and S&P today cut Spain’s credit rating, a day after it dropped Greece to junk status and downgraded Portugal. The euro fell to the lowest in a year.
“The hesitant and haphazard reaction of euro-zone policymakers to Greece’s predicament underscores the dangers of contagion,” said Marco Annunziata, chief economist at UniCredit Group in London. “The euro-zone has taken over six months to react and is allowing uncertainty to persist. This does not bode well for their ability to react quickly should a second flashpoint burst.” more...
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