FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Officials of the European Central Bank are holding an emergency telephone conference on how to fend off financial collapse in Italy.
A eurozone official told The Associated Press central bank leaders were set to discuss possible purchases of Italian government bonds Sunday evening.
The official declined to be identified because he was not authorized to discuss the meeting.
The ECB declined to comment.
Purchases of Italian government bonds would be a risky step but could help drive down the interest yields that are threatening Italy's finances.
The phone meeting comes after officials from the G-20 forum of rich and developing countries conferred about a way to minimize market turbulence in the wake of the downgrade of the United State's creditworthiness on Friday.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.