Indian PM urges Europe to act on financial crisis

  • Black 505: Rafizi defies police
    Black 505: Rafizi defies police

    With about 48 hours left before Saturday's Black 505 rally, the standoff between the police and the organisers continues.In response to a police warning yesterday (June 19) that the organisers will be prosecuted if the rally is held, PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli told The Malaysian Insider there was no change of plan. "We will continue with it," he said of the plan to hold the gathering at Padang Merbok in Kuala Lumpur."However, we are hopeful that closer to the date, the police will be …

  • Union comes up with business plan to save KTMB
    Union comes up with business plan to save KTMB

    The Railwaymen Union of Malaya (RUM) has come up with a business plan which it says can save Malaysia’s largest railway network. …

  • Flash mob to garner Black 505 Saturday rally support
    Flash mob to garner Black 505 Saturday rally support

    Armed with placards and banners, publicising the rally at Padang Merbuk on June 22, the supporters shouted slogans, calling for 'Reformasi' and the dissolution of the Election Commission. …

  • PKR: Deputy IGP should not be an Umno stooge
    PKR: Deputy IGP should not be an Umno stooge

    PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has warned deputy inspector-general of police Bakri Zinin not to behave like an Umno division leader by curbing Saturday's 'Black 505' rally rally at Padang Merbok in Kuala Lumpur. …

  • Najib breathes easier after Dr Mahathir pow-wow
    Najib breathes easier after Dr Mahathir pow-wow

    It has been a roller-coaster ride for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak (pic left) since he led the Barisan Nasional to victory at the May 5 general election but without achieving his own benchmark: restoring its two-thirds control of Parliament. …

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urged European leaders to take "resolute action" to tackle the financial crisis in the eurozone as he departed on Saturday to attend the G20 summit in Mexico.

Singh described the situation in Europe as one of "particular concern" to India, where the economy grew just 5.3 percent in the January-March period, its slowest quarterly expansion in nine years.

"Continuing problems there (Europe) will further dampen global markets and adversely impact our own economic growth," he said.

"It is our hope that European leaders will take resolute action to resolve the financial problems facing them," he added.

India's once-booming economy has been hurt by a lack of economic reforms, high interest rates, and plummeting business confidence.

Both Singh and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee have blamed the eurozone debt crisis for straining India's economy, saying that the global slowdown has left them with less room for manoeuvre.

Singh's government is also under pressure to rein in subsidies and other spending after the budget deficit widened to 5.75 percent of gross domestic product in the fiscal year ended March 31.

Earlier in the week, Standard & Poor's warned India could be the first of the BRIC emerging economies to lose its investment-grade rating unless the Asian giant revives its growth and spurs reforms.

In April, the firm changed India's credit outlook to negative from stable, maintaining India's rating at "BBB-" but warning it faced at least a one-in-three chance of losing its status if its public finances worsened.

"BBB-" is just one notch above "junk", which carries an increased risk of default and would see India having to pay higher interest rates on its public borrowing.

Loading...

Comments on Yahoo! pages are subject to our link to Comments Guidelines. You are responsible for any content that you post. Yahoo! is not responsible or liable in any way for comments posted by its users. Yahoo! does not in any way endorse or support comments made by its users.