Investors further ignore the fact that many European countries have already taken measures to bring their government finances in order, while the US is still deliberating within Super committees.

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There were also concerns about Greece's finances, as the European Central Bank said that it would reject Greek government bonds as collateral.

WSJ: Hang Seng Tumbles

So I think there's discussion now about, in addition to sensible ways to deal with debt and government finances, there's a parallel discussion that's taking place among European leaders to figure out how do we also encourage growth and show some flexibility to allow some of these reforms to really take root.

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