In an interview with German business daily Handelsblatt, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said that a rescue package may be needed to help smaller member states protect lenders threatened by bankruptcy. Speaking to other media outlets, she denied that France had a concrete plan or any precise figure in mind, scotching talk of a €300 billion ($422.7 billion) price tag. French President Nicolas Sarkozy may discuss the issue at a weekend summit in Paris with leaders from Germany, the U.K., Italy and Luxembourg, along with European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel came out against direct support in an interview with Bild: The federal government cannot and emphatically will not write a blank check for banks regardless of whether they have acted responsibly or not. - Renee Cordes
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Whatever happened to the 1.7 billion, oops...1.5 billion...and final tally of support of 700 million, Euros to keep the USA trading within the global markets economy?...did someone's calculator batteries fail?...