Big scoops on euro-zone bailout plans, EU support for IMF

Reuters was at least eight hours ahead with a leaked document on March 9 signaling that the European Union will back a call from the International Monetary Fund to double its funds to $500 billion — a critical issue for bailing out emerging economies that G20 leaders will tackle in April. The paper spelt out the EU position on regulation and economic policy ahead of the G20 meetings, and the story was widely picked up by other news sources. This followed a March 3 scoop when Reuters was alone against Dow Jones and Bloomberg in reporting euro-zone emergency plans to bail out any member in trouble if there were a euro-zone country debt default — an issue keenly watched by the euro-zone government bond markets.