Crowds in Athens, Greece protesting the police killing of a youth. The action sparked several days of rebellion in response to repression and the economic crisis inside the country.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
(Reuters) - The euro zone's top finance officials sought on Saturday to ease concerns about a deep budget crisis that has roiled financial markets and raised questions about the future of the single currency group.
After a two-day meeting of finance ministers and central bankers from the G7 industrialized nations, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said he was confident that Greece, which has been hit by the budget deficit crisis, would meet tough new belt-tightening targets.
Here are some views from analysts and investors on the outcome of the G7 meeting:
AXEL MERK, PRESIDENT AND PORTFOLIO MANAGER, MERK
INVESTMENTS, PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA:
"Juncker's comments suggest Europe will do something to help Greece. They have some structure in place like the European Investment Bank that can provide support. The problem in Europe is that there is not a single Treasury secretary that will coordinate that.
Will the markets be reassured by their comments? I don't know if that will help the market. But my hunch is that Europe has to play tough in the coming weeks because there's a national strike coming up. Even with supposed European help, Greece will remain Greece. It's going to continue to have a very difficult time raising revenues. It's going to have a difficult time instituting reform. The issue is not going to go away overnight."
On Trichet's comment that he is confident Greece will meet its deficit target: "I don't why he would make such a statement. I don't think anybody believes that. What Trichet has been saying is that Greece has to take these reforms seriously. And when you do these reforms, you're gaining the confidence of the people and the investors."
ON GLOBAL COOPERATION TOWARD REGULATION REFORM
SCOTT TALBOTT, FINANCIAL SERVICES ROUNDTABLE, WASHINGTON:
"We urge the G7 to act in concert to modernize their respective regulatory structures...We agree with increased transparency and a global approach to financial modernization."
On banks contributing to the cost of government intervention to stabilize the financial system: "We agree that taxpayers should be made whole and financial institutions stand ready to pay their share of the costs. Any repayment should be timely and proportional."
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York and Kevin Drawbaugh in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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