By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 5:58 PM on 16th November 2011 France and Germany, Europe's two central powers, clashed today over whether the European Central Bank should intervene to halt the eurozone's accelerating debt crisis - as modest bond purchases failed to stop the rout. Facing rising borrowing costs as its AAA credit rating comes under threat, France appeared to plead for stronger ECB action, adding to mounting global pressure spelled out by U.S. President Barack Obama. Bond market contagion is spreading across Europe. Italian 10-year bond yields have risen above 7 per cent, unaffordable in the long term.
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Bond sell-off panic takes in healthy countries such as Netherlands, Finland and Austria
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FTSE closes 0.09% down; CAC 40 up 0.47%, DAX down 0.05%
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Obama turns up heat on Europe during visit to Australia
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Italian yields go above 7 per cent AGAIN prompting fresh bailout fears
@placeholder policymakers continue to reject international calls to intervene decisively as Europe's lender of last resort, stressing it is up to governments to resolve the debt crisis through austerity measures and reforms.