The International Monetary Fund admitted it had failed to realise the damage austerity would do to Greece as the Washington-based organisation catalogued mistakes made during the bailout of the stricken eurozone country.
Bank lending to private households in the euro area contracted again in December as the region's crippling debt crisis continues to put a freeze on demand for credit, data showed on Monday.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy hosts German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday to thrash out details of a plan to save the euro at the start of a pivotal week for the single currency.
