At first I could hardly believe this when I read it tonight--
European officials working to address the region’s financial crisis have rejected key recommendations from the United States and the International Monetary Fund, casting doubt on whether an emerging plan will be as broad or fast-acting as hoped.. . . the plan excludes the open-ended use of the European Central Bank as a guarantor of government debt and the swift infusion of public capital into banks that U.S. and IMF officials say could be critical to restoring confidence in the euro region. Both were central elements of the effort to shore up the U.S. financial system three years ago. . . . the plan means months more uncertainty while potentially weakening banks that have to turn to public sources for help and admit they cannot raise money on their own. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/europe-rejects-us-approach-to-financial-crisis-stirring-doubts-about-plan/2011/10/13/gIQACZQVmL_story.html
When your friends reject your best advice and decide to keep spiraling down, what do you do? Unfortunately we live in a global system and the coming contagion is going to be hard to contain once it starts. What a contrast to what the Bank of England did just a few days ago.
