Obama, Merkel discuss need for action on Greek crisis

Washington: US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday discussed "the importance of resolute action by Greece and timely support from the IMF and Europe" to address the country's economic problems, the White House said in a statement.

White House spokesman Bill Burton said earlier that the Greek crisis is "of great concern" and being monitored by US officials.

The conversation between Obama and Merkel came as the German leader and the International Monetary Fund met to discuss actions to deal with the Greek fiscal crisis. Negotiations among the Greek government, the European Commission and the IMF "need to be sped up now," Merkel said in Berlin after meeting with IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Greece's budget deficit has driven away investors and spending cuts have failed to resolve the fiscal crisis. European leaders have been working on an aid package as the crisis threatens to spread through the euro region.

Spain's credit rating was cut one step by Standard & Poor's to AA, putting it on a par with Slovenia. That followed downgrades to Greece and Portugal on Wednesday that drove up borrowing costs from Italy to Ireland and boosted indicators of corporate credit risk around the world.