IMF Meeting 2011 - Special Report

Allowing Greece to default on its debt now would destroy investor confidence in the euro zone and might spark contagion like that experienced after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in 2008, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday.

European policymakers, stung by criticism for failing to stem the euro zone debt crisis, began working on new ways to stop fallout from Greece's near-bankruptcy from potentially upsetting the world economy.

Europe's efforts to ramp up its fight against the euro zone debt crisis could potentially trigger credit rating downgrades in the region, a top Standard & Poor's official warned.

Lost in much of the rancor and hand-wringing over the debt crisis in the European Union and the US is that it's not just those two regions that will be affected.

Europe is working to ramp up the firepower of its bailout fund, top officials said Saturday, as the US, China and other nations raised the alarm about its debt crisis.

Those looking for answers from the World Bank/IMF conference were presented only with more questions and vague reassurances that global policy leaders are acutely aware of the problems and prepared to act.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner bluntly told European governments on Saturday to eliminate the threat of a catastrophic financial crisis by teaming up with the European Central bank to boost the continent's bailout capacity.