Europe, Eurozone | featured news

Standard & Poor's cuts Greece's credit rating, saying eurozone plans to restructure the country's debts would constitute a default.

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has called an emergency meeting of top officials dealing with the euro zone debt crisis for Monday morning, reelecting concern that the crisis could spread to Italy, the region's third largest economy.

Hours of talks between eurozone finance ministers on the imploding finances of Greece broke up early Monday morning without the ministers signing off on a vital installment of rescue loans needed to avoid bankruptcy next month.

Eurozone finance ministers meet in Luxembourg, where they are expected to approve a 12bn-euro (£10bn) loan to debt-stricken Greece.

Euro zone finance ministers are ready to back an EU/IMF bailout of Portugal at a Monday meeting overshadowed by the arrest of International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on sexual assault charges.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded two of the euro zone's most troubled member states, citing fears that the pair may have to restructure their debt after 2013.

Euro zone finance ministers agreed on Tuesday to lay the groundwork for bailing out Ireland's banking sector with the IMF, but said Dublin had to decide itself whether to request the aid.

The $147 billion, three-year bailout offered to Greece by euro-zone countries and the IMF won't be enough to cover Greece's costs, an examination of Greek financial figures shows.

U.S. stocks rose as optimism rose over the upcoming earnings season and confidence in the global economy strengthened after European leaders pledged to extend aid to Greece.

Euro-zone finance ministers unanimously approved a detailed emergency aid mechanism for Greece but stressed that the country had not yet requested a bailout.