Quadriga

The financial crisis is far from vanquished. The threat posed by the near insolvency of European Union member Greece makes that amply clear. High-rolling gamblers on international financial markets have tasted

blood. The speculators have entire countries in their sights. Credit default swaps related to Greek government bonds are a booming business. That has put pressure on the Euro. Some are already worrying out loud about the end of the Single European Currency. Portugal, Italy, Spain and Ireland also have their backs to the wall, while Britain's burgeoning national debt is creating massive problems for the pound.

Again, there are growing calls for stricter oversight of banking activities and tougher rules for financial markets. Germany and France are now taking the initiative. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nikolas Sarkozy curb speculation, even if they have to do it alone. They want to ban uncovered short-selling and limit the trade in credit default swaps. They also want to curtail deals that

bypass the financial markets. The EU is less united with respect to how the group should react when one of its members, such as Greece, begins sliding towards insolvency. Calls for a European monetary fund have noit been welcomed across the board. Many say existing international institutions are sufficient, arguing that the International Monetary Fund has proven its wiorth at times of crisis. Brussels, on the other hand, is calling for a European fund, partly to roll back US influence. The German government has another idea – it wants the banks to foot the bill.

What do you think – Tackling Speculators – Who Can Tame the Markets? Write us at Quadriga@dw-world.de

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Our guests were:

Marcus Walker

Marcus Walker - A British citizen, Marcus Walker was born in the eastern German city of Leipzig and grew up in England. He moved to Germany in 2000, at which time he began writing for The Wall Street Journal. Marcus Walker moved to Berlin in 2005 to concentrate on German and European affairs.

Moritz Döbler

Moritz Döbler - Mr Döbler is in charge of the business desk at the Berlin daily the "Tagesspiegel". Before taking up his career Mr Döbler studied business management and journalism. Mr Döbler's career includes a spell with German news agency "dpa", where he was able to cover the Rwanda genocide and the civil war in Bosnia. In 1999 he joined "Reuters". Here he ran the Berlin bureau. Mr Döbler began working for the "Tagesspiegel" in 2005.

Arnaud Boutet

Arnaud Boutet – The French journalist is the Berlin correspondent for the French public broadcaster France 2. Prior to that, he worked as chief reporter for France 2 in Paris focusing on French domestic policy.