IMF urges EU to boost €500bn bail-out - papers

The IMF said the EU's €500bn bail-out machinery was not enough to cope with the magnitude of the threat as Spain and even Italy start to come under pressure, writes the Telegraph. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the IMF, will present the report on the economy of the 16 countries using the euro at a meeting of euro zone finance ministers and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet on Monday. The fund said the ECB's bond purchases should be "expanded" to restore calm. The ECB bought Portuguese and Irish bond markets last week, forcing down spreads dramatically in a "shor...