Markets rise on Guardian rumour

European stock markets opened on Wednesday morning to the rumour German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will raise the eurozone rescue fund to two trillion euros at a summit on Sunday.

However a number of sources have already poured doubt on the report in Britain’s The Guardian.

And yesterday Merkel warned: “These sovereign debts have been built up over decades and therefore one cannot resolve them with one summit but it will take difficult, long-term work.”

But the pressure is on with Moody’s rating agency threatening to cut France’s prized AAA status.

And they cut Spain’s bond rating to A1, from Aa2 – that is even lower than downgrades issued by other major agencies in recent weeks.

Moody’s said they had made the decision because of the lack of a credible resolution to the sovereign debt crisis.

Meanwhile Standard and Poor’s agency has cut its rates on 24 Italian banks including BMPS – the oldest bank in the world – citing the country’s worsening economic situation.

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