Euro crisis deepens as politicians dither

Last week, the ECB waded into the markets, buying up Greek, Portuguese and Irish bonds. But that solved nothing. And the authorities seem powerless to prevent the eurozone's debt crisis from spreading.

This "dramatic crisis" calls for a united front among policy-makers, says Wirtschaftswoche. Instead, we have "political cacophony". No wonder leaders failed to build on momentum provided by the European Central Bank (ECB) last week. The ECB waded into the markets, buying up Greek, Portuguese and Irish bonds.

Yields fell back as prices rose, interrupting the relentless recent rise in peripheral borrowing costs that threatens to drown these countries in debt. The ECB also said it would extend unlimited short-term loans early next year. It had hoped to phase out this emergency support for the financial sector.

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