POSTED: Wednesday, August 17, 2011 - 8:55am
UPDATED: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 - 6:54am
NBC News — Investors seemed unimpressed with a plan for greater economic discipline and unity among European nations. European shares opened lower as hope waned for bold action to stop an escalating debt crisis. Britain's FTSE 100 lost seven-tenths of a percent, and Germany's DAX was also down slightly. France's CAC-40 slipped one tenth of a percent.
The euro slid against the dollar tuesday after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced the results of their emergency talks. The leaders called for a "New Economic Government" for Europe that would meet with EU President Herman Van Rompuy at least twice a year.
They also called for constitutional amendments requiring balanced budgets in all Eurozone countries. Both said it wasn't the right time to replace 17 government bonds with a single one that would allow weaker economies to borrow in cooperation with strong economies like France and Germany.