Emerging countries reach for life lines

WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- The list of countries, like Iceland, Hungary and Ukraine, seeking outside financial help may soon grow, an International Monetary Fund official said.

Iceland has sought help from Norway, Denmark and Russia. The European Central Bank has provided Hungary with a $6.72 billion line of credit and Ukraine is seeking an International Monetary Fund loan of $14 billion, the Financial Times reported Friday.

"The crisis is now hurting a lot of emerging markets," IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn told the Financial Times.

"Some of them may face balance of payments problems," said Strauss-Kahn, who pledged the IMF would do everything it could to help struggling emerging economies.