Moody's cut its forecast for the U.K. economy, saying Britain's economic and fiscal outlook have weakened due to the euro-zone crisis, though it kept its negative outlook and triple-A credit rating on the country.
Germans insist that PIIGS and other weak euro zone countries pass crippling austerity measures otherwise they will be penalized (and, therefore, further weakened).
Asian markets advanced Wednesday on robust earnings from Apple and better-than-expected euro-zone economic data, with stocks in Tokyo ending near a three-month high as the yen weakened on Japan's first annual trade deficit in three decades.