The European Central Bank decided on Thursday to increase the three key interest rates by 75 basis points, making a dramatic change from the prevailing transition accommodative rates' levels to ensure a timely return to the ECB's inflation target of 2%.
As Ukraine war continues and fears that Russia could further restrict Europe's supplies of gas, increasing the chances of a recession in the Eurozone, the European common currency has fallen below the dollar for the first time in nearly 20 years.
Ireland's finance minister Paschal Donohoe has been elected as the new president of the eurozone's finance group. Donohoe succeeds former president Mário Centeno from Portugal who said in June he would not run for another term as Eurogroup president.
The Spanish government started lobbying on Wednesday for Economy Minister Nadia Calvino to take the presidency of the Euro-group, with a minister saying it would be good news if she were to replace Mario Centeno, who is stepping down.
The US has cut interest rates to almost zero and launched a US$ 700bn stimulus program in a bid to protect the economy from the effect of coronavirus. It is part of a coordinated action announced on Sunday in the UK, Japan, the Eurozone, Canada, and Switzerland.
Incoming European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde on Wednesday took aim at Germany and other thrifty Eurozone members running budgetary surpluses, saying they should increase their spending to shore up slowing growth.
Interest rates in the Euro zone will not rise until next year at the earliest, the European Central Bank has signaled amid evidence of a slowdown in the 19 countries using the single currency. The ECB also unveiled a round of fresh stimulus, offering banks cheap loans to try to help revive the economy.
The European Central Bank has confirmed it is ending its huge net asset purchase program to stimulate the Eurozone economy this month. The ECB has stopped its bond-buying scheme, worth €30bn a month, despite a recent slowdown in the bloc's recovery.
Europe’s central bankers are warning that a gradual phase-out of cash in many countries poses a serious threat to the financial system, as relying too heavily on digital payment systems exposes them to catastrophic failures in the event of cyber attacks.
Time magazine named German Chancellor Angela Merkel as its person of the year for 2015, hailing her leadership during debt and refugee crises that threatened to tear the European Union apart. In power for a decade at the helm of Europe's biggest economy, the world's most powerful woman beat runners-up, the leader of the Islamic State extremist group and Donald Trump as Time's dominant personality of the year.