Lagarde: Spain needs a backstop

Aung San Suu Kyi tells CNN's Christiane Amanpour about her long-awaited trip to Europe to accept the Nobel Peace Prize.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde says IMF ready to help Spain. The International Monetary Fund stands ready to help Spain in multiple ways if Madrid seeks its aid, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said in a newspaper interview published on Wednesday.

Saxo bank chief economist Steen Jakobsen pinged me with an interesting set of comments regarding Italian interest rates....World has Major Funding GapOur estimation shows that on the 2012 interest payment alone Italy now needs to find additional 10 billion EUR to pay for the rise in interest rates.Some independent trading houses have calculated that the combined funding need for Spain and Italy combined (banks, and national debt) is 400-500 billion EUR per year for next two to three years.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Saturday hailed what she called the "credible" 100-bln-euro financial lifeline Spain sought from the Eurozone."I strongly welcome the statement by the Eurogroup, which complements the measures taken by the Spanish authorities in recent weeks to strengthen the banking system. Providing a credible back stop to recapitalize weaker segments of the banking system has been a key recommendation of the IMF's recent Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) conducted in Spain," said Lagarde, the IMF managing director.

Christiane Amanpour, who become the face of CNN television for millions during 20 years covering wars and interviewing world leaders, is leaving for the ABC network, CNN and ABC said Thursday.ABC News president David Westin said that starting in August, Amanpour would become the anchor of ABC's Sunday morning political talk show "This Week.""She brings to her new position a wealth of experience and knowledge, as well as a deep commitment to bringing news of the world to the American people," ABC News quoted Westin as saying in an email to ABC News staff.

AFP - Spain said Tuesday it would sup