IMF's Lagarde welcomes bigger euro-zone firewall (by William L. Watts)

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Friday said she welcomed the decision by euro-zone finance ministers to temporarily boost the effective lending capacity of the region's bailout funds to 700 billion euros ($934 billion) from a planned 500 billion euros. "The IMF has long emphasized that enhanced European and global firewalls, together with the implementation of strong policy frameworks, are critical for ending the crisis and securing international financial stability," Lagarde said in a statement. She said the combination of the euro zone's temporary European Financial Stability Facility and permanent European Stability Mechanism, along with other European efforts, "will strengthen the European firewall and support the IMF's efforts to increase its available resources for the benefit of our members."