Germany's Merkel meeting with Italy's Monti in Berlin for financial crisis talks BERLIN - New Italian Premiere Mario Monti is heading to Berlin for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel in his first official visit to the German capital, expected to focus largely on the European financial crisis. The meeting later Wednesday comes after Merkel met in Berlin on Monday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and on Tuesday evening with International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde. Merkel and Sarkozy also plan to travel to Italy on Jan. 20 before a European summit at the end of the month. Italy is a key focus because of its size, huge debt load and need to borrow heavily in the first quarter. The yield on its 10-year bonds is hovering around the 7 percent level that is widely considered to be a danger mark.