G20 meets amid debt, currency concerns

PARIS, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- The instability of Europe's economy and questions about the strength of European banks greeted the world's top finance ministers Friday in Paris.

French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said private investors likely will experience greater-than-expected losses on their holdings of Greek bonds beyond the 21 percent included in a July rescue plan for the country, The Washington Post reported.

The Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in Paris shifted from discussions about controlling world food prices and reforming the international monetary system to talks about how to keep a global economic slowdown from falling into a new recession, the Post said.

Ministers also are trying to calm new uneasiness between the United States and China and focus pressure on Europe over its ineffective response to government debt and banking problems.

The G20 meeting is occurring just days after the U.S. Senate approved a bill that would impose tariffs on countries found to be manipulating their currency for economic gain. The United States has been most vocal in its allegations that China has been manipulating its currency, the yuan. In response, China lowered the trading range for the yuan.