US market up on upbeat consumer data, Eurozone boosts anti-crisis firewall to $1trillion
US markets opened in green, extending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index's biggest first-quarter advance since 1998, Crucial consumer data brought in cheer to the US market. Meanwhile, Eurozone finance ministers decided to pump in a total of 800 billion euros from 500 billion to contain the spread of the region's debt crisis. Under pressure to meet deficit targets, Spain has raised corporate taxes and slashes public spending to meet strict budget deficit target at 5.5 per cent of GDP.
