France Retreats in German Clash Over Bailout Fund Leverage

Ok well I said there would be no new thread for Sunday, but I cannot help myself. I just love the soap opera that is playing out in Europe. They plan to have a plan and stick to it when everyone agrees with the same plan. Until then they will just kick the can down the road for another day, making the end even worse. They seem to want to have as many people and countries involved so that no one will have a clue as to what they are up to. Why don't they just have a war and get it over with for goodness sake. To the victor goes the spoils. Oh and did you hear that Obama is going to have all the US troops out of Iraq by the end of the year? Deadlines? We can't have a deadline was a mantra of the Bush administration. I guess they can just pack everything up in two month and move along. Any bets that there is a unexpected delay? QB


France retreated from a clash with Germany over how to expand the power of Europe’s bailout fund as finance ministers entered the second of a six-day marathon to stave off a Greek default and shield banks from the fallout.
The French proposal that the fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, should get a banking license enabling it to borrow from the European Central Bank “is no longer an option,” Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager told reporters today in Brussels. He said two options were under consideration, declining to discuss them further. Still, there are “big differences” among countries, he said.
The French flexibility indicated progress toward easing the threat to the global economy stemming from Greece. As they began their consultations yesterday, the euro-area finance chiefs received an assessment from auditors that Greek finances have taken a “turn for the worse,” requiring more official aid and deeper investor writedowns.
Stocks and the euro rallied on signs that policy makers may heed prodding from global leaders including President Barack Obama to calm global markets. Officials are also considering unleashing as much as 940 billion euros ($1.3 trillion) to fight the debt crisis, almost double the current ceiling, by combining the 440 billion-euro EFSF and its planned successor, the European Stability Mechanism.

Bank Recapitalization