Deal Reached in Eurozone Crisis Talks

Banks agree to take losses on Greek debt while the EU's bailout fund gets more than doubled to one trillion euros.

European leaders struck a late-night accord last night over the eurozone debt crisis in an effort to prevent the crisis from ensnaring the fragile economies of such countries as Italy. Under the deal, banks holding Greek debt have agreed to taking a 50-per-cent loss on that debt, the eurozone bailout fund will be topped up to one trillion euros, and banks across Europe will have to raise about 100 billion euros in capital so that they're better protected from countries defaulting on their debt. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi also took a break from sleeping with teenagers and defending himself in court to announce that his country would enact austerity measures and balance its budget to prevent going the way of Greece. The bailout fund is meant to buffet the economies of Italy and Spain should their debts similarly become to burdensome to pay off. The leaders of the 17 eurozone countries, including Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and Greece, held marathon talks all Wednesday to arrive at the "three-pronged" deal, to which markets across the world have responded positiviely.