The G7 vowed Monday to support financial stability and the European Central Bank pledged to buy eurozone bonds to stem a debt crisis gone global

The G7 vowed Monday to support financial stability and the European Central Bank pledged to buy eurozone bonds to stem a debt crisis gone global as jittery markets re-opened after a week of punishing losses.
  
"We are committed to taking coordinated action where needed, to ensuring liquidity, and to supporting financial market functioning, financial stability and economic growth," a G7 statement said, as Asian markets dipped on re-opening amid fears over the state of the global economy. "We are committed to addressing the tensions stemming from the current challenges on our fiscal deficits, debt and growth, and welcome the decisive actions taken in the US and Europe," it said.
 
"The US has adopted reforms that will deliver substantial deficit reduction over the medium term," said the statement, published after a flurry of telephone talks presided over by French Economy Minister Francois Baroin. "In Europe, the Euro area Summit decided on July 21 a comprehensive package to tackle the situation in Greece and other countries facing financial tensions," the G7 statement said.
  
The European Central Bank had said earlier it would make major purchases of eurozone bonds. This was after Italy and Spain announced new measures and reforms to boost their economies and France and Germany pushed for full and rapid implementation of terms agreed at an emergency summit last month.
  
To add to the turmoil, Standard & Poor's in a shock move Friday cut the US rating to AA+ from the top notch triple-A for the first time.

Officials from the Group of 20 and Group of Seven economies held emergency conference calls and leaders of major powers worked the phones ahead of the opening of New Zealand financial markets, the first to trade in Asia. In Washington, the US Treasury said Secretary Timothy Geithner will not step down despite opposition calls for him to leave because of the downgrade.

An ECB statement said it considered "decisive and swift implementation by both governments as essential." A Royal Bank of Scotland statement welcomed the ECB move, saying "bond buying will stop the collapse of the bond market in countries under stress.