Europe is a large part of the global economy, and a severe crisis in Europe would be damaging. Geithner also warned that EU leaders were moving too slowly. Hard to argue with that point - but America's leaders were hardly more nimble over this summer's debt ceiling talks. 10.48pm: Late breaking info before we go - Moody's has begun cutting its rating in Italian banks, following the downgrade to Italy's sovereign credit rating yesterday. Intesa Sanpaolo has just been cut to A2 from Aa3, that's a two-notch downgrade, with a negative outlook too. Moody's said the cut "reflects both Intesa's direct exposure to the Italian sovereign and its pronounced focus on domestic business, as revenues generated in Italy provide 77% of the group's revenues." At A2 (the sixth-highest rating on the Moody's scale), Intesa now has the same rating as Italy. As Moody's pointed out "the credit profile of Intesa is closely correlated with the Italian government's credit profile.