Chilling and cruising
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Watch for .13 break, holding 45k so far
edited lol
in $GOOG 640 DEC C 4 at 1.00
in $SPY 125 Nov C 8 at .96
Toyota Slams on the Brakes
Car Maker Cuts Profit Goal by 54%; Strong Yen Is 'Destroying' Japanese Industry
TOKYO—Toyota Motor Corp. slashed its profit outlook by more than half, reflecting the corrosive effect of the strong yen and signaling a deeper threat to car maker's recovery.
The Japanese auto giant Friday also lowered its global sales outlook to 7.38 million vehicles for the fiscal year ending March 31, an admission Toyota could lose its crown as the world's largest car maker this year, a title it took from General Motors Corp. three years ago.
Toyota has been wounded by two natural disasters and the rise of the yen against other currencies. Just as the company's production was rebounding after Japan's massive earthquake in March, it was hit by flood damage to key component suppliers in Thailand and a record yen.
Those setbacks have eroded Toyota's position against global rivals including Hyundai Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG, and pose longer-term worries for one of Japan's most important industrial giants. Toyota has lost 2.5 percentage points of the U.S. auto market for the 12 months ended in November. Its stock price in New York has fallen 33% since the end of February.
Toyota officials have said that at exchange rates below 80 yen to the dollar, the company loses money on subcompact exports such as the Yaris. The dollar and euro weakness against the yen reduces the price competitiveness of Japanese exports in overseas markets and erodes the value of foreign profits on corporate Japan's balance sheets.
Enlarge Image
Everett Kennedy Brown/European Pressphoto Agency
The Toyota display at the Tokyo Motor Show last month; Friday the company cut its profit forecast for the current year by 54%.
SmartMoney
Toyota Boosts Cash-Back Incentives
Satoshi Ozawa, Toyota's chief financial officer, said one of the reasons the auto maker was exposed to the Thai floods was because so much of Japanese industry has been shifting manufacturing operations offshore to escape the high yen, including auto parts makers.
"The fact that production of some electronic parts has been offshored [to Thailand] signals how the destruction of Japan's industrial base is proceeding apace. I find that very shocking," he said.
Toyota still makes in Japan nearly half the vehicles it sells globally, leaving it more exposed to currency risk than Japanese rivals Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co., which make about a third of their respective output in Japan.
For its current fiscal year, which runs through next March, Japan's biggest car maker by volume said it now projects a net profit of ¥180 billion ($2.32 billion), down 54% from a previous estimate announced in August and less than half the ¥408 billion it earned last year.
Toyota expects the shortage of parts from Thailand suppliers to be fully remedied by next March. But it projected continued yen strength next year, which bodes ill for a quick earnings rebound.
The Toyota City-based company's new forecast assumes an average exchange rate of ¥77 to the dollar from this month through March, and ¥105 against the euro. That is up from ¥86 to the dollar and ¥113 to the euro in the last fiscal year. The rate was 77.6463 yen to the dollar at the end of Friday's trading.
Enlarge Image
At current exchange rates, the company forecasts a parent, or unconsolidated, loss of ¥80 billion yen, which would mark its first dip into the red in reported after-tax income.
Toyota also expects to report a fourth consecutive year of operating profit losses to the tune of ¥530 billion yen. The parent company losses reflect weak demand for cars in Japan and the large number of vehicles that Toyota exports from Japan.
At the same time, he denied the company would abandon a pledge to keep production of at last 3 million vehicles a year in Japan.
The timing of the profit warning was unusual, coming weeks after Toyota reported fiscal first half earnings. It had refrained from updating its forecast on Nov. 7, saying that more time was needed to assess the impact of the Thai flood damage.
Toyota's three local factories escaped the inundations in Thailand, but flood-triggered bottlenecks in the parts supply chain forced it to suspend local operations in early October, and also to later scale back output in other countries including the U.S. and Japan as the disaster's impact spread throughout its production network.
The production cutbacks were ill-timed as Toyota had just begun to make up for lost output after from the March quake and tsunami in Japan derailed its global production plans earlier in the year.
While the Thai parts shortages no longer plague vehicles sold in North America, Mr. Ozawa said it remains an issue for some vehicles sold in Japan such as the Alphard and Vellfire minivans, along with its Prius and Aqua hybrids.
Toyota cut its revenue forecast for the fiscal year to ¥18.2 trillion from an earlier estimate of ¥19 trillion, and below its year-earlier sales of ¥18.9 trillion. The company said its operating profit should be ¥200 billion, down from ¥468 in the year ended in March.
The company reports its financial results under U.S. accounting standards.
Write to Yoshio Takahashi at yoshio.takahashi@dowjones.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203413304577087571486584682.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection
I think almost everyday u say something about market red or drop, but maybe its just me.
What do we have here, looks promising
Wow! U got big balls lol
Don't care, I play the pump. I am a trader not an investor
Get in or get left behind imo
Weeklies calls?
Missed so much gains on $GOOG
sold out $GOOG 625 W C at 1.20 another $150
selling my $GOOG W C at 1.20
is it dec 17 or dec 9 calls?
in $GOOG 625 W C 5 at .90
watching $GOOG 625 W C now
for today I would rather get 395 W C, move a lot faster IMHO
link? I would love to see it
yea I am watching it too, need huge volume for breakout confirmation
(in PST) 8:13 amWhat's in the New Deal to Save the Euroby The Associated Press
All European Union states except Britain moved toward setting up a new treaty Friday, giving up crucial powers over their own budgets in an attempt to overcome a crippling debt crisis.
Q: Who's in it?
A: All 17 countries that use the euro are definitely signing up. Nine non-euro states—Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Sweden and the Czech Republic—said they would consult their parliaments before joining in. In some of those countries, however, parliaments are less than enthusiastic.
Q: Who's not in it?
A: The U.K. gave a clear "no" after it failed to get the euro zone to approve special safeguards for its financial center from EU regulation.
Q: Why did Europe need a new treaty?
A: For the past two years, the countries that share the euro have been rocked by a debt crisis that has recently threatened the survival of the currency. Germany and France in particular argued that only tough rules enshrined in a treaty would convince markets that all countries will be able to repay their debts and a similar crisis will never happen again.
Q: How will that be achieved?
A: Debt brakes in national constitutions: All 23 countries commit to keep their deficits below 0.5% of economic output. That cap can be broken to counteract a recession or in other exceptional circumstances. The European Court of Justice will make sure all states' debt brakes are effective.
— More automatic penalties for deficit sinners. In the past, governments often protected their partners from being punished.
— All states have to tell their partners in advance how much debt they plan to take on through bond sales.
Q: What else did they decide?
A: The euro zone, together with other willing EU states, will give as much as €200 billion to the International Monetary Fund to help it rescue troubled nations.
— The euro zone's permanent bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, will take over from the current rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, one year ahead of schedule, in July 2012. Unlike the EFSF, the ESM has paid-in capital, similar to a bank, and is therefore more credible on financial markets.
— The ESM's decision-making process was simplified in emergency situations, allowing struggling countries to get financial help if an 85 percent majority of capital holders agree. That is meant to stop small countries from blocking or slowing down urgent rescues, as has happened in the past.
— The euro zone eased rules that have forced banks and other private investors to take losses when a country gets a bailout from the ESM. The previous push to inflict losses on bondholders has been blamed for exacerbating the crisis.
Q: What did they fail to agree on?
A: Euro zone leaders did not decide to boost the overall firepower of their own bailout funds, which is currently limited to €500 billion. They promised to reconsider that cap in March, shortly before the ESM comes into force.
— They did not agree to more intrusive powers for the European Commission over the fiscal policies of wayward states, as had been demanded by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and some nations. Instead, they promised to "examine swiftly" much more lenient proposals from the Commission.
— They did not allow the bailout funds to directly recapitalize failing banks. That could have prevented countries from taking on more debt when they have to bail out lenders.
Q: Will it work?
A: Stock markets and the euro rose modestly in reaction to the deal, but many details remain to be worked out. Much will depend on whether the stricter fiscal rules can persuade the ECB to unleash massive funds to buy up bad euro zone debt.
7:51 amMyth and Reality About the Euro Crisisby Thomas CatanAdd a Comment
It's tempting to view the European debt crisis as a simple morality tale.
Hard-working, fiscally responsible northern Europeans such as the Germans and the Dutch are being forced to pick up the tab for their profligate southern neighbors -- the Greeks, the Italians and the Spanish.
Germans tend to see the problem this way and, increasingly, so do many U.S. commentators. Unfortunately, that attractively simple story doesn't always stack up -- most notably in the case of Spain.
Read Thomas Catan's take on the myths and realities of the euro-zone crisis.
7:26 amAgreement Not Ideal, but Speedy, Barroso Saysby Frances RobinsonAdd a Comment
Changing the rules governing Europe's single currency through an intergovernmental agreement, rather than a whole new treaty, will be fast even if it isn't the first choice for the bloc's executive arm, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Friday.
"Going through this way is quicker...in terms of institutional role many things can be done in this treaty but some are legally complex," Mr. Barroso told reporters after a meeting of European Union leaders here. "From a legal, institutional, point of view it's not our first option, but it is a decision that can be worked in the right direction."
European Council President Herman van Rompuy said that such an agreement could be approved by as many as 26 of the 27 EU member states. "I know it's going to be very close to 27, in fact 26 leaders are in favor of joining this effort, they recognize the euro is a common good," Mr. Van Rompuy said, adding the aim is to ratify the treaty on the European Stability Mechanism, the bloc's permanent bailout mechanism, by mid-2012.
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said Friday that the U.K. won't agree to the creation of a new EU treaty because it didn't provide key safeguards on the single market and other interests.
This led Mr. Van Rompuy to say it was a shame the change can't be made by the bloc as a whole. "It is unfortunate we missed chance to have a fully fledged treaty change," he said after the meeting. "Still there's a clear political message to outside world that...via an intergovernmental treaty we will be as binding as possible."
(Photo: European Pressphoto Agency)
Sold out $GOOG 630 W C at .20, gotta lock my profit.
selling my $GOOG 630 W C at .20
in $GOOG 630 W C 15 at .10, lotto play
EU live blog update in PST. 4:10 pmSpain's Example Shows Limits of EU Targets by Ilan Brat and David Roman
As euro-zone leaders discuss whether to impose penalties on heavily indebted countries that break certain fiscal limits, Spain's experience shows why more centralized supervision of governments' budgets is unlikely to address some of the bloc's key economic problems.
Analysts say plans to prod member countries to slash their public debt and keep their deficits in line ignore the recent history of nations like Spain, which met those limits before 2008 but had serious economic vulnerabilities brewing underneath, mainly a property bubble.
The new plan, advocated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, "is a one-size-policy-response-fits-all type of approach, which I think doesn't address some of the problems that some countries are facing," including low internal demand, weak international competitiveness and nearly frozen bank lending, says Jacques Cailloux, chief European economist at Royal Bank of Scotland.
See full article
4:02 pmGermany Pushing For Treaty Change By All 27 Membersby Costas Paris Add a Comment
Germany has said it will ask its European Union partners to agree in principle to changes in the EU treaty at their summit and has warned that if its position is not adopted, it will push for a separate agreement among the 17 euro-zone members, a person with direct knowledge of the summit talks said early Friday.
"[Chancellor Angela] Merkel's opening salvo at the beginning of the summit is a maximalistic position that the EU's 27 members must adopt an initial agreement for deep-reaching treaty changes. This is what she told a group of leaders before dinner began" late Thursday, the person told Dow Jones Newswires, adding that talk on EU treaty changes would start later Friday.
He said a number of leaders talked instead of progressive changes, with the first step being a deal on rules for countries exceeding debt and deficit limits, but without specifying how this can be done.
"If the disagreement persists during the treaty change talks we could have a euro-zone meeting very soon," he said.
3:54 pmAll in favor of Treaty Change Raise Your Hands ... Never Mindby Laurence Norman and Jenny ParisAdd a Comment
There have been some odd twists and turns but no major surprises when it comes to who’s for and who’s against treaty change at the summit.
Britain, which leads the skeptics’ camp_or at least will do if the government doesn’t win safeguards protecting the UK’s key interests_ will be disappointed by how open Denmark’s new prime minister was to treaty change.
"If there is support for treaty change in the euro group, we would be open to it," Helle Thorning-Schmidt said.
The Germans_leading proponents of the change_may be a little disappointed with Finland’s lukewarm welcome for it: Finnish PM Jyrki Katainen said he would support it if necessary but stressed that markets are more interested in a robust euro zone firewall than they are in treaty change, comments echoing Austrian officials earlier.
And Sweden’s PM said he had no mandate to support treaty change though he left himself some wiggle room by signaling that could change and that he was open to discussions.
Here’s a non-definitive cheat-sheet of where they stand.
For Treaty change
Germany
France
Luxembourg
Denmark (open to it if euro zone wants it)
Spain (incoming government)
Holland
Romania
Poland
Indifferent
Finland (support if needed)
Bulgaria (treaty change eventually)
Ireland (agnostic but would prefer not to have to face a referendum)
Skeptical
United Kingdom
European Commission
Sweden
Austria
Belgium
Czech Republic
3:41 pmEU Reaches Deal In Principle On Tougher Fiscal Rulesby Laurence Norman and Costas ParisAdd a Comment
European Union leaders have agreed in principle on tighter fiscal rules although the details and scope of the rules have not been settled, diplomats said.
EU heads of government are now discussing the individual proposals made by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy (shown at right) in his report on greater economic governance. Once they agree which of the reform proposals they want to pursue, they will discuss the issue of treaty change and whether the new rules will apply just to euro-zone members.
Member states must then agree on the details of the reforms.
"There is initial agreement on tougher implementation of debt and deficit limits. But how it's going to be done is still to be agreed," one diplomat said.
Among the tighter fiscal rules Van Rompuy proposed was that countries maintain a balanced budget over the economic cycle and that debt is brought down below 60% of gross domestic product.
3:18 pmLeaders Said To Reach Preliminary Accord On Tighter Euro-Zone Fiscal Rulesby Dow Jones NewswiresAdd a Comment
More headlines are crossing the wires that suggest EU leaders are making some progress in their talks but that much work remains to be done:
EU Leaders Reach Preliminary Accord On Tighter Euro-Zone Fiscal Rules - Sources
EU Leaders Have Not Started Formally Debating Treaty Change - Sources
2:40 pmEuro Slumps As ECB Delivers Less Than Some Hopedby Anusha Shrivastava Add a Comment
The euro fell to its lowest level in more than a week before rebounding slightly as European Central Bank's policy moves Thursday weren't seen as comprehensive enough to end the continent's sovereign-debt crisis.
The central bank cut benchmark lending rates by 25 basis points to 1% and changed collateral requirements for banks that need dollars but lowered prospects of more aggressive government bond-buying that might help resolve Europe's ongoing sovereign debt crisis.
Still, the ECB did not pull out the so-called 'bazooka' and did not announce a European-style quantitative easing or a large bond-buying program.
"Expectations of them doing something dramatic soon have been amended quickly," said Todd McDonald, head of foreign exchange trading at Standard Chartered in New York. "The idea that they would be aggressive in their purchasing program has ended."
See full article
2:24 pmDecision Expected Tonight On Whether Rules Apply to 17 Or 27 EU Membersby William BostonAdd a Comment
European leaders are expected to decide tonight whether a proposed tightening of fiscal rules for the euro zone will involve just the 17 euro zone members or the broader group of 27 members of the European Union, a German official said.
"The summit would be a success as long as the 17 move forward," the official said, adding that a "basic decision" on who will be included would be made this evening.
2:18 pmMerkel Lists Her Objectionsby Costas ParisAdd a Comment
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told other EU leaders that she would not accept the euro-zone's bailout funds being given a banking license and ruled out a proposal to issue euro bonds, a person in the summit meeting said Thursday.
"The German Chancellor said a banking license for the European Financial Stability Facility or its successor (the European Stability Mechanism) is out of the question. She said the European Central Bank will never fund those funds," the person said.
He also said that at the meeting Merkel turned down a proposal by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy that the EFSF and the ESM run simultaneously so to give the euro zone greater firepower.
2:08 pmEU Draft Says Permanent Rescue Fund To Have EUR500B On Top Of Transitional Fundsby Matina StevisAdd a Comment
The euro zone's permanent rescue fund would be allowed to have a total endowment of €500 billion ($667 billion) on top of funds in a transitional rescue fund, according to the draft conclusions of a crucial European Union leaders' summit in Brussels.
The draft conclusions, which are not final and in part already have met with resistance by Germany, will be discussed during a formal EU leaders' summit Friday. The final conclusions are likely to change following negotiations among the 27 EU leaders.
The draft guidelines, seen by Dow Jones Newswires, call for the European Stability Mechanism to run alongside the European Financial Stability Facility. Under original arrangements, the EFSF would lapse once the ESM became operational.
"The ESM will have a maximum lending volume of €500 billion, irrespective of the EFSF commitments," the document said.
The ESM start date also would be moved one year sooner, to July 2012.
"We agree on an acceleration of the entry into force of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) treaty. The treaty will enter into force as soon as Member States representing 90% of the capital commitments have ratified it. Our common objective is for the ESM to enter into force in July 2012," the document said.
It also said euro-area countries would lend money to the International Monetary Fund through bilateral loans, but offered no further details.
EU officials told Dow Jones Newswires earlier that the amount of loans could reach €200 billion, with €150 billion coming from euro-area countries.
The draft included a general outline for the changes needed to achieve a "fiscal compact" of closer economic and fiscal union.
EU leaders, under severe pressure to reach agreement over the tools to deal with the ongoing debt crisis, were discussing proposals for closer fiscal integration over a dinner Thursday ahead the formal EU summit Friday.
1:42 pmUS Stocks Tumble Into Close On Europe; DJIA Sheds 199by Brendan Conway Add a Comment
U.S. stocks tumbled into the close Thursday, falling after a summit that investors hoped could help stem Europe's economic turmoil got off to a rocky start and the European Central Bank declined to enact aggressive new bond purchases.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 198.67 points, or 1.63%, to 11997.70 Thursday, falling swiftly in the session's final half hour amid a raft of headlines out of Europe. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index shed 26.66 points, or 2.11%, to 1234.35, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 52.83 points, or 1.99%, to 2596.38.
See full article
1:32 pmHere It Comes, Your Daily Euro Rumorby Mark GongloffAdd a Comment
Every 24 hours the weary mule that tugs the sun around the heavens comes to this point in his long day, the hour when somebody drops some goofy euro-zone rumor that gets stocks excited/terrified.
Today’s rumor came via a series of headlines that were apparently highlights of some draft euro-zone statement. There was absolutely nothing new and/or useful in here, but stocks naturally ate it up. Then Germany apparently rejected this draft. Stocks returned right back to the lows. Good times. How long will tomorrow’s rumor-fueled pop last? Five minutes?
See the full article
http://blogs.wsj.com/eurocrisis/wp-admin/
12:50 pmOdd Euro Rally on EU Draf t...by Michael CaseyAdd a Comment
It's hard to see how the bits and pieces that have been leaked so far from a draft EU statement move the ball forward for the euro. It reads more like a wish list, rather than a deal. Members WANT a fiscal compact, and so the statement "calls" for one. But that's very different than signing a deal. And yet the euro initially rallied. It WANTS to rally. There is a lot of goodwill going around. But it's not clear where the concrete action is.
12:47 pmEuro Reverses Dramatically After Rally On EU Draft Leakby Anusha ShrivastavaAdd a Comment
The euro, which rallied briefly late afternoon Thursday as a draft of the European Union summit was leaked, reversed its gains soon after.
The draft conclusion calls for the creation of a fiscal compact and says leaders are determined to preserve the integrity of the euro.
The euro is now quoted at $1.3336, down 0.57% on the day, after hitting a session low of $1.3289, according to EBS via CQG. The session high was $1.3460.
http://blogs.wsj.com/eurocrisis/2011/12/08/eu-summit-live-blog-ecb-rate-decision-looms/
$GOOG W P closed at HODs! god damn it, missed so much $$$ in the last 10 minutes. see u guys tomorrow
12:50 pmOdd Euro Rally on EU Draf t...by Michael Casey
It's hard to see how the bits and pieces that have been leaked so far from a draft EU statement move the ball forward for the euro. It reads more like a wish list, rather than a deal. Members WANT a fiscal compact, and so the statement "calls" for one. But that's very different than signing a deal. And yet the euro initially rallied. It WANTS to rally. There is a lot of goodwill going around. But it's not clear where the concrete action is.
12:47 pmEuro Reverses Dramatically After Rally On EU Draft Leakby Anusha ShrivastavaAdd a Comment
The euro, which rallied briefly late afternoon Thursday as a draft of the European Union summit was leaked, reversed its gains soon after.
The draft conclusion calls for the creation of a fiscal compact and says leaders are determined to preserve the integrity of the euro.
The euro is now quoted at $1.3336, down 0.57% on the day, after hitting a session low of $1.3289, according to EBS via CQG. The session high was $1.3460.
12:46 pmBreaking News Headlinesby Dow Jones NewswiresAdd a Comment
EU Draft Calls For Creation Of Fiscal Compact
EU Draft Calls For ESM Start July 2012
EU Draft Sees EFSF Running Alongside ESM
EU Draft Says ESM To Have EUR500B On Top Of EFSF Capital
EU To Stick To IMF Practice On Private Sector Involvement
EU Says Greek Debt Restructuring "Unique And Exceptional"
ESM Decisions To Be Made By 85%, Not Unanimity Vote If ECB, Commission Believe Urgent
Euro-Area Countries Ready To Provide IMF With Bilateral Loans
sold out $GOOG, dont want to ruin my day
partial filled 8 left
selling my $GOOG 600 W P at .45
from twitter users
another bad news, Senate rejects Democratic payroll tax cut proposal
10:34 am PST New Belgium Prime Minister Hopeful of Dealby Frances Robinson
Belgium's new prime minister expressed hope Thursday that the latest round of debt crisis talks would lead to a unifying solution for Europe.
"This is a very, very important summit," Elio Di Rupo said in Brussels where European leaders are meeting to debate proposals for preventing a collapse of the euro zone.
"We have to find a solution for all European citizens, a lasting solution with solidarity between member states and citizens," he said.
Some leaders are worried that proposals for greater integration of fiscal policy could alienate some countries in the 27-nation European Union, particularly those that don't use the euro.
(Photo: EPA)
u didnt take ur profits?
10:27 am PST William Boston, Frances Robinson and Mary M. Lane
Leaders must restore the single currency's credibility, if necessary by changing the bloc's governing rules, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday.
"The euro has lost credibility and this credibility must be restored," Ms. Merkel said on her way into a dinner ahead of a crucial summit of European Union leaders.
"We need to make it clear that we accept greater integration between the 17 member states."
Ms. Merkel called again for treaty change to allow closer economic cooperation among the 17 euro members and said it was equally important for the other 10 EU members who don't use the euro.
"The 17 countries must do this, but is also of value to the 17 plus other countries," Merkel said.
She added that this involved sticking closely to the rules of currency union.
"The European Commission should have more responsibility, the European Court of Justice should have greater responsibility," she said.
"We need to make it clear that in future we'll really stick to the stability and growth pack which will make a stability union."
(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)
10:22 am PST Japan Officials Says Will Help Europe But Criticizes EU Handling of Crisisby Takashi MochizukiAdd a Comment
Japan's economy minister said Thursday the government is willing to consider increasing purchases of European bailout bonds, but added a sharply worded criticism of European leaders' handling of their debt crisis, calling for further steps to bring spending under control.
"European leaders should realize more seriously that their problem is putting the whole world at risk," said Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Motohisa Furukawa in an interview.
The 46-year-old minister, also a key member of a government panel charged with setting Japan's economic strategy, blamed Europe's debt problems as one reason for the strong yen, which he said is still excessive and threatens to cause a hollowing out of the country's industrial sector.
See full article
10:19 am (PST)Cameron Vows to Protect Nation's Interests at EU Summitby Matina Stevis and Laurence Norman
The U.K. will make sure it protects its national interests at the European Union heads of government summit over the next 24 hours, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said on his way into the meeting Thursday.
"These are important talks and we need to get that stability in the euro zone. What's good for European countries is good for Britain as well but also we need to protect Britain's interests," he said.
The U.K. has been demanding safeguards on its main areas of interest--financial services and the single market--if it allows an EU treaty change being promoted by France and Germany to go through.
However, the French and German governments have warned that euro-zone nations could go it alone in adopting greater fiscal and economic rules outside of the EU framework if the U.K. or other non-euro countries block treaty changes.
$GOOG 618s LOD