IMF: Global economy entering dangerous phase

The International Monetary Fund says the global economy has entered a dangerous phase, and has urged European nations to take whatever actions are necessary to tackle their debt problems.

The IMF's international monetary and financial committee met in Washington on Saturday, with finance ministers and central bank governors from 24 nations in attendance.

A statement released after the meeting says the IMF and member states have agreed to take concerted action to prevent the credit crisis in Europe from spreading further.

The IMF is urging euro-zone countries to do whatever is necessary to resolve their sovereign debt crisis, including the implementation of an additional aid package approved in July and measures aimed at preventing the spread of the credit crisis.

The IMF says it will review the resources it has available to provide funds to countries likely to be affected by further deterioration of the euro-zone debt problems and a possible monetary crisis.

It stressed that additional efforts of European nations are needed now more than ever, to ease growing international concerns about the debt crisis in the region.