International Monetary Fund, Europe Debt Crisis | featured news

Italy and Spain have not asked to be rescued by the International Monetary Fund, the head of the lender said on Monday as she urged European leaders to quickly solve the region's festering debt crisis.

President Obama and the G-20 could not agree on how to add resources to the International Monetary Fund so that it can help with the European debt crisis. G-20 members did say that the IMF should have more tools and money, but decisions on exactly how to do that were put off until next year.

European officials have rejected key recommendations from the United States and the International Monetary Fund, casting doubt on whether an emerging plan to address the region’s financial crisis will be as broad or fast acting as hoped.

The International Monetary Fund is sharply downgrading its outlook for the U.S. economy through 2012 because of weak growth and concern that Europe won't be able to solve its debt crisis.

The International Monetary Fund's executive board on Friday said it approved a disbursement of about 3.2 billion euros to help Greece pay debts due this month.

Greece has secured a second bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, and it too will be on the order of €110 billion, Prime Minister George Papandreou said.

Portugal will elect a new government on Sunday which will lead the country through a period of deep austerity and recession after it received a 78-billion-euro ($114 billion) bailout from the European Union and IMF.

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.

Portugal launched talks on Tuesday with European authorities and the IMF on a bailout the caretaker government said it needs to pay the country's dues from June, as politicians jostled ahead of a general election.

Ireland's parliament approved a multi-billion euro EU/IMF bailout package on Wednesday in the face of opposition threats to renegotiate the deal to force losses on some senior bondholders in Irish banks.