ECB head urges quick action against debt crisis

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - The head of the European Central Bank is urging governments to speed up their halting implementation of measures to stop the continent's threatening debt crisis.

Jean-Claude Trichet called on leaders "to demonstrate their sense of direction" and quickly give the eurozone's bailout fund new powers to back troubled governments.

Trichet said in an interview published Wednesday with Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper that "now is the time for effective action, implementation, verbal discipline and a stronger team spirit."

Legislators in Finland and Germany vote this week on giving the eurozone bailout fund the ability to buy government bonds, bail out banks, and lend to troubled governments quickly before they are in a full-fledged crisis.