MercoPress

EU “nightmare of unemployment” debate reaches ECB, which cuts rates to record low 0.5%

Fri, 03 May 2013 02:24:00 GMT

The European Central Bank cut interest rates to a new record low on Thursday amid a chorus of calls for the Euro zone to focus on growth to end a "nightmare of unemployment" in the bloc. It was the first cut in ten months.

ECB calls on governments to promote growth and combat the tragedy of unemployment

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 04:16:00 GMT

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi urged indebted governments to move beyond spending cuts and tax hikes and introduce reforms that would boost growth and reduce the “tragedy” of unemployment.

G-20 Finance ministers to discuss effects of monetary stimuli and currency values

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 05:29:00 GMT

The finance ministers of the G20 group of nations are meeting in Moscow amid concerns that major trading powers may be heading towards a currency war. Japan's monetary stance has seen a big decline in the Yen, while the Euro has risen against a basket of currencies.

ECB leaves rates unchanged, but appreciation of the Euro turns into controversy

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 19:22:00 GMT

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi admitted on Thursday policy makers are concerned that the Euro strength will hamper their efforts to pull the economy out of recession and although the exchange rate is not a policy target, he confirmed “it is important for growth and price stability”.

France insists Euro is too strong; fears it could undermine exports

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:03:00 GMT

French President François Hollande called on the Euro zone on Tuesday to develop an exchange rate policy to help protect the common currency from “irrational movements”. His comments came amid growing concern that the Euro, now trading around 1.35 to the US dollar, is too strong and could undermine the country’s exporters and hence wider economic growth.

An optimistic Dragui sees a “positive contagion” in the Euro zone economy

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 08:32:00 GMT

European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi spoke on Thursday of a "positive contagion" in the Euro zone economy, saying that the financial situation is improving and growth is set to return in the second half of the year.

Money timidly returning to Spain after 14 months of sustained outflows

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 23:53:00 GMT

Foreign investors put more money into Spain in October than they took out, marking the second month running the country has benefited from an influx of capital. Spain registered capital inflow of 12.1 billion Euros in October, the Bank of Spain said on Friday. The figure, which excludes central bank operations, was lower than the 31 billion Euros of inflow in September.

Moody’s downgrades EU financial support funds after France loses top grade

Sat, 01 Dec 2012 07:00:00 GMT

Moody's Ratings agency announced it has downgraded the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) from "Aaa" to "Aa1," with negative outlook on each.

Draghi confirms economic activity in Euro is “expected to remains weak”

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 06:30:00 GMT

The European Central Bank (ECB) has held the benchmark Euro zone interest rate at the record low of 0.75%, as had been expected. The rate has been at this level for four months, after July's cut from 1%.

German fears of recession as business climate index drops for fifth month running

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 19:56:00 GMT

German business sentiment dropped for a fifth straight month in September to its lowest since early 2010, raising fears of recession and underlining that a bold bond-buying plan laid out by the European Central Bank is no economic blessing.