Amid the deepening euro-zone crisis, Moody's downgraded the
credit rating of both Société Générale and Crédit Agricole, two
of France's largest banks, over concerns that they hold
insufficient capital to withstand a Greek default. BNP Paribas,
France's biggest bank, denied reports that it was having trouble
raising funds in the markets. French officials insisted that the
country's financial sector was sound and did not need a further
injection of capital from the government.  A strong response
Germany nominated Jörg Asmussen, the deputy finance minister, to
be its highest-ranking official at the European Central Bank,
after the sudden resignation of Jürgen Stark as the ECB's chief
economist. Mr Stark stepped down in apparent protest at the
central bank's increasingly interventionist role in shoring up
weaker countries in the euro zone.  In an unprecedented move,
the British government sought to sue the ECB over a new rule
that requires clearing houses to be located in the euro zone if
they handle more than 5