STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Monday, 16 January 2012

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30. Sarkozy to meet Spain's PM amid euro woes

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/01/201211611246874525.html

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is in Spain for talks with Mariano Rajoy, the country's new prime minister, that are likely to be dominated by a sweeping credit downgrade that has reignited fears over the financial stability of the eurozone.

Sarkozy, in remarks published on Monday, said he wanted to applaud the "extremely courageous" decisions taken by Spain to confront the crisis, and said he would present new reforms at the end of the month to get France growing again.

Standard & Poor's, a New York-based ratings agency, cut the credit rating of nine debt-laden European countries on Friday, including stripping France of its top-notch AAA rating and slashing Spain by two notches to A from AA-.

Sarkozy has been optimistic, saying the crisis would give France "the opportunity to make decisions quickly, because the situation demands it".