Morning Digest: Merkel says EU ready to act as Spain downgraded

Click to View in Browser 06/8/2012 Merkel says EU ready to act as Spain downgraded MADRID/BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe was ready to act to ensure stability in the euro zone as Spain's credit rating was cut by three notches on Thursday amid expectations it may soon seek EU help for banks beset by bad debts.. Insight: In Greece, a painful return to country roots KONITSA, Greece (Reuters) - Thirteen years after abandoning rural Greece for a career in graphic design, Spiridoula Lakka finds herself in the last place she expected to end up - watering a patch of lettuce and herbs in her sleepy village.. Stock index futures signal early losses PARIS (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.69 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.6 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.54 percent at 0800 GMT.. Pulitzer Prize-winner Trethewey named U.S. poet laureate NEW YORK (Reuters) - Natasha Trethewey, author of three poetry collections and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, was named on Thursday as the 19th U.S. poet laureate, becoming only the second Southerner appointed to the position.. Opposites attract as Sharapova and Errani meet PARIS (Reuters) - Twenty four centimeters in height, $17 million in prize money and a universe of celebrity status separate Maria Sharapova from Sara Errani, but these two worlds will collide in the French Open final after both swept aside their opponents on Thursday.. Google keeps EU regulator waiting on concessions BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google has yet to offer EU regulators concessions to address concerns it may have abused its market dominance, the EU's antitrust chief said on Thursday, raising the prospects of a bruising battle between the two sides.. U.S. pushes for more global cooperation in space WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States wants more global cooperation in space including joint war games and combined operations with allies, and is pushing for data-sharing deals with France, Japan and other countries, a U.S. defense official said in an interview.. Estonia president has tweet for "smug" Paul Krugman TALLINN (Reuters) - The president of small euro zone nation Estonia took to the Twitter-sphere on Thursday to launch a bitter attack on renowned economist Paul Krugman after the U.S. Nobel laureate questioned the Baltic state's economic recovery from a deep crisis.. Related Video Syria fighting continues amid global condemnation Police rescue 13-year-old kidnap victim Great Debate It's shortsighted for Congress to eliminate census data Waffling on climate change? Consult friends, not science A daily digest of breaking business news, coverage of the US economy, major corporate news and the financial markets. Register Today   The latest Reuters articles on M&A, IPOs, private equity, hedge funds and regulatory updates delivered to your inbox each day. Register Today   » MORE NEWSLETTERS - 3 Times Square New York, NY 10036 USA © Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters Ensure delivery of Reuters Newsmails, add mail@nl.reuters.com to your address book. Details Subscribe to other Reuters newsletters. Unsubscribe from this newsletter. Follow us on Twitter Friend us on Facebook Forward to a friend