Germany beefs up bailout plan

Move met by relief on the markets.
Stocks were buoyed after Germany’s parliament overwhelmingly approved the strengthening of a bailout fund intended to help European countries bogged down in debt crises.
They were voting to increase the lending capacity of the so-called European Financial Stability Facility fund to $440 billion Euros.
It would also give it new powers, such as buying the bonds of shaky countries or lending money to governments before they get into a full-blown crisis.