Merkel: Germany may put more funds into ESM (by MarketWatch)

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday said Germany may be willing to provide more money for the European Stability Mechanism, the euro zone's permanent rescue fund, when it launches later this year, news reports said. Merkel acknowledged that efforts to leverage the size of the current fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, had proven more difficult than anticipated, reports said. Merkel also praised Italy's quick implementation of economic and fiscal reforms and said she sees a good chance European leaders will agree on tougher and more enforceable fiscal rules at a Jan. 30 summit meeting. Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti addressed reporters after a meeting in Berlin.