Euro zone finance officials voiced optimism today that a deal to avert a disorderly Greek defaut was imminent and that key building blocks to resolve Europe's sovereign debt crisis are gradually fitting into place.
"Big worries" remain about what the euro zone will do going forward and the United States and Japan also need to demonstrate a medium-term commitment to reducing debt, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said.
International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde led a global push for the euro zone to boost its financial firewall, saying "if it is big enough it will not get used".
An Egyptian court convicted former Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid in absentia today and sentenced him to 5 years in prison for profiteering and squandering public funds, the state news agency MENA said.
The world's political and business elite will shelter from the chilly winds buffeting the global economy and plot a new path for capitalism at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos which begins today.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel deflected pressure today to increase the euro zone's rescue fund, saying the key to reassuring markets was to restore lost trust in governments' policies.
Global chief executives pinned their hopes on roaring growth in emerging markets at the start of the annual Davos forum but warned that rising inflation and political risks cast a shadow.
Sarkozy spoke as financial executives attending the Davos forum voiced cautious optimism that the euro zone's debt crisis could be resolved without contagion spreading to Spain or investors being forced to take unbearable losses.
British Prime Minister David Cameron called for a major European Union drive to deregulate business and said last year's European bank stress tests did not go far enough.