Falling growth, high inflation risks to stability: RBI

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Risks to India's macro-economic stability have increased on the back of an economic slowdown, high inflation, and ballooning fiscal and current account deficits, the Reserve Bank of India said in a report on Friday.

Americans blame Republicans more than Democrats for 'fiscal cliff'

WASHINGTON: Americans blame Republicans in Congress more than congressional Democrats or President Barack Obama for the current " fiscal cliff" crisis, as the deadline approaches for action to avert big tax increases and spending cuts, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Thursday.

Japan PM adviser urges unlimited BOJ easing, higher price goal

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan should buy more long-dated government bonds and a wider variety of risk asset types, including foreign bonds, to achieve 2 to 3 percent inflation, Koichi Hamada, a special economic adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said on Thursday.

Stocks Stir After Holiday

Stocks were slightly higher on Wall Street on Wednesday, ahead of the resumption of negotiations over the federal budget in Washington.

Egypt says stability key to fixing economy: PM

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil said on Tuesday that political stability was crucial to luring back foreign investors and tourists to help plug a yawning budget deficit and heal the country's ailing economy.

Banking industry's year of shame ends in a blizzard of Libor revelations

The pledge made by one UBS trader – "I'm a man of my word" – seems a fine sentiment, until the realisation dawns that the promise he is making is to do "one humongous deal" with a broker to help him manipulate the Libor rate.

IMF warns French economy vulnerable to downturn

PARIS: The International Monetary Fund warned Friday that the French economy, the eurozone's second-largest, is vulnerable to a downturn because of its shrinking share of the export market and ossified labor market and urged the government to do more, faster to stay competitive and keep its finances under control.

European Stocks Post Fifth Weekly Gain; SBM Shares Surge

European stocks rose for a fifth week, posting the longest stretch of weekly gains in four months, as investors awaited developments in U.S. budget negotiations to avoid automatic tax hikes and spending cuts.

Singapore c.bank seeks to rein in credit card borrowing

SINGAPORE, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Singapore's central bank has proposed changes to rules regarding the issue of credit cards and unsecured loans to individuals, in a bid to prevent those with credit problems from taking on more debt.

UK data point to meager growth, public finances worsen

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's dominant services sector posted meager growth in October, which may be just enough for the economy as a whole to avoid contraction in the last three months of 2012.

US economy grew at 3.1 per cent in July-September

WASHINGTON: The US economy grew at an annual rate of 3.1 percent over the July-September quarter as consumers spent more and state and local governments added to growth for the first time in nearly three years.

Asian shares slip as US budget talks sour, BOJ eases

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares retreated from near 17-month highs on Thursday and commodities fell as negotiations to avert a U.S. fiscal crunch turned to personal taunts, putting at risk a timely solution as well as the health of the world's largest economy.

Cyprus could default on loan payments due this month

NICOSIA: Cyprus could default on loan payments due this month unless it can reach an agreement on a bailout with international lenders within days, a government official said on Monday.

Moody’s Gets No Respect as Bonds Shun 56% of Country Ratings

The global bond market disagreed with Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s more often than not this year when the companies told investors that governments were becoming safer or more risky.

Hungary government, central bank in "alliance" from 2013

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - A leadership change at Hungary's central bank next year will allow the government to build a strategic alliance with the bank to boost the economy, Economy Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy said on Saturday.

Euro zone recession likely deepened in Q4: PMIs

LONDON: The euro zone recession has deepened in the current quarter after the bloc's private sector contracted for the 11th straight month in December, a purchasing managers' index suggested on Friday.

Eurozone moves a decisive step closer to banking union

European leaders were expected to push ahead with plans for winding up or shoring up weak eurozone banks on Thursday night, hours after sealing agreement to put the European Central Bank in supervisory authority over financial institutions in the single currency area.

Markets firm despite ongoing US budget concerns

LONDON (AP) — Stock markets rose on Tuesday as investors hoped U.S. leaders would eventually thrash out a budget deal needed to keep a slew of tax increases and spending cuts from hitting the world's largest economy.

U.S., UK bank seizure plans focus on absorbing losses: regulators

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Both the United States and United Kingdom have developed viable approaches to seizing and unwinding failing global financial institutions, but more work is needed on the UK side to ensure that losses can be adequately absorbed, American and UK regulators said on Sunday.

Don't Rely on Banking Union to Solve Euro Zone Crisis

Conventional wisdom has it that the euro zone needs a banking union to solve its crisis. This is wrong. Not only are there alternatives to an integrated regulatory structure for the zone’s 6,000 banks, but centralization will undermine national sovereignty.

Consumer confidence plunges on "fiscal cliff" fears

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Americans' outlook on the economy and their finances took a turn for the worse in early December, likely due to anxiety about the potential for higher taxes resulting from contentious discussions in Washington over fiscal issues, a survey released on Friday showed.

ECB sees gloomy 2013, but holds rates

The European Central Bank slashed its growth and inflation forecasts for 2013, raising the prospect of a further easing in monetary policy next year, after it kept interest rates on hold Thursday.

Eurozone downturn may have bottomed out: Markit

BRUSSELS: The eurozone may be past the worst of its economic downturn, a key indicator signalled on Wednesday, probably because the European Central Bank has underpinned confidence and because of underlying strength in the German economy analysts said.

ECB to hold rates, guidance for 2013 eyed

(Reuters) - The European Central Bank may give a guide to next year's policy path when it delivers fresh forecasts for the euro zone economy on Thursday at a meeting where it is expected to leave interest rates at a record low.

Australia lowers key interest rate to 3 percent

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point Tuesday, taking it to its lowest level since the global financial crisis, as slower growth in China, uncertainty over the U.S. outlook and stubbornly weak conditions in Europe undermine the Australian economy.

EFSF, European Stability Mechanism Ratings Cut by Moody’s

The European Stability Mechanism and European Financial Stability Facility were downgraded by Moody’s Investors Service, which cited a high correlation in credit risk present among the entities’ largest financial supporters.

Bank of England fears that financial system needs more capital

Bank of England policymakers have ordered UK banks to make a more "honest" assessment of hidden losses on their balance sheets and warned they will be forced to find ways to fill a shortfall that could be up to £60bn.

European Commission Approves Bailout of Four Spanish Banks

The European Commission on Wednesday approved a payment of €37 billion, or $48 billion, from the euro zone bailout fund to four Spanish banks on the condition that they lay off thousands of employees and close offices as part of their restructuring.

ECB ready for bond purchases if conditions met: Coeure

HONG KONG: The European Central Bank is ready to buy sovereign bonds of euro zone countries that require assistance and agree to fiscal adjustment programmes, European Central Bank Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said on Wednesday.

Greek bankruptcy averted for now

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — European and global financial leaders have agreed to release €44 billion ($57 billion) in critical loans to Greece and provide billions in additional debt relief in order to help the country stabilize its ailing economy.

Spain says first bank recapitalisation 37 billion euros

BRUSSELS: The first injection of loans to recapitalise Spain's broken banking system will amount to 37 billion euros (nearly $50 billion), Spain's Finance Minister Luis De Guindos said Monday.

UK downgrade looms 'but it could be a help'

Chancellor George Osborne's attempts to cling onto the nation's triple-A credit rating look doomed but the loss would be "symbolic, not catastrophic", the UK's biggest bank says.

EU, IMF working on Greek debt compromise: Official

ATHENS: The EU and the International Monetary Fund are working on a compromise to break deadlock on Greece's debt mountain which has held up the latest rescue loans, a Greek finance ministry source said on Friday.

Spain starts 2013 funding with 3.9 billion-euro bond sale

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain sold nearly 4 billion euros of bonds with ease at an auction on Thursday that kicked off its funding program for a daunting 2013 when Madrid must shoulder regional debt needs and will struggle to meet deficit targets.

Public Anger Over Europe’s Budget, and Wine Cellar, Bubbles Before Talks

BRUSSELS — Amid wrangling over how much money the European Union spends at a time of grinding austerity across the Continent, Martin Ehrenhauser, an Austrian member of the European Parliament, lobbed a sobering question this summer at the union’s Brussels bureaucracy: How many bottles of booze does it have stocked in its wine cellars?

Banking sector reform: don't tear up Vickers proposals, warns Osborne

George Osborne, the chancellor, has urged the independent commission on banking standards to avoid "tearing up" the consensus on financial reform by pushing for a more radical separation of retail and investment banking.

Greece Waits Nervously for Vital Bailout Funds

Euro zone finance ministers are likely to approve the next tranche of loans to Greece on Tuesday although the money is unlikely to be disbursed before December and a deal on debt reduction may need further talks.

Statement by the EC, ECB, and IMF on the Sixth Review Mission to Portugal

Staff teams from the European Commission (EC), European Central Bank (ECB), and International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited Lisbon during November 12 - 19 for the sixth quarterly review of Portugal’s economic program.

Banks shrink as job cuts near 160,000

Major banks have announced about 160,000 job cuts since early last year and with more layoffs to come as the industry restructures, many will leave the shrinking sector for good as redundancies outpace new hires by roughly two to one.

US industrial production drops 0.4 percent

WASHINGTON (AP) — Superstorm Sandy depressed U.S. industrial output in October, the latest indication that the storm could temporarily slow the economy.

Euro-Area Exports Fell in September as Economy Contracted

Euro-area exports fell in September as the region’s economy slipped into a recession for the second time in four years.

IMF suggests Europe should act to reduce Greece debt

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund suggested Thursday that Europe should act to reduce Greece's debt, insisting the Fund itself was not prepared to contribute more to the country's bailout.

Spanish banks halt evictions amid growing protests

MADRID (AP) — Spain's major banks agreed on Monday to suspend some evictions of homeowners unable to pay their mortgages after hundreds of thousands of Spaniards lost their homes during the crushing economic crisis and two recently committed suicide.

Official: China can meet 7.5 percent growth target

BEIJING (AP) — China's sharp economic downturn has ended after trade and consumer spending improved in October but the world's second-largest economy is not ready for a recovery and exporters face tough conditions, officials said Saturday.

German Bonds Advance as Reports Show European Slowdown Deepening

Germany’s government bonds rose for a third week as data showed the economic slowdown is spreading to Europe’s largest economies, underpinning the case for the region’s central bank to cut interest rates to boost growth.

Bank of England hands QE income to Treasury

The Bank of England has said it will give the Treasury the interest it earns on certain government debts it holds.

ECB, Bank of England hold interest rates

LONDON (CNNMoney) -- Europe's leading central banks kept interest rates unchanged Thursday despite a worsening near-term outlook for the region's economy.

Draghi says ECB plan allows for unlimited bond buys

(Reuters) - The European Central Bank's new bond-buying program allows for unlimited interventions in sovereign debt markets and should dispel concerns about a euro zone break-up, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Wednesday.

Changes Are Approved to Ease Germans’ Costs for Welfare Programs

BERLIN — Leaders from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition agreed Monday on a raft of changes to social welfare programs aimed at easing costs for average Germans, to bolster the government’s sagging popularity less than a year before parliamentary elections.

Greece makes austerity push, workers gear for strike

ATHENS: Greece's government presented a new austerity package to parliament on Monday as a week of strikes and protests kicked off over proposals that lawmakers must approve if the country is to secure more aid and stave off bankruptcy.

G20 finance chiefs to begin talks to tackle eurozone crisis

MEXICO CITY: G20 finance chiefs begin Sunday two days of talks aimed at quelling fears of a global economic downturn amid a persistent eurozone debt crisis and a looming fiscal crunch in the United States.

Royal Bank of Scotland set for talks to settle Libor-rigging claims

Royal Bank of Scotland is preparing to enter talks with regulators to settle Libor-rigging claims, its chief executive said on Friday, as the bailed-out bank prepares to face a major fine for the attempted manipulation of the key interest rate.

Bank of England gets long to-do list for overhaul

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England needs to overhaul its internal structures to address a patchy forecasting record and open up to a broader range of views on the economy, three independent reviews of the central bank's operations recommended on Friday.

Data points to slow healing in labor market

(Reuters) - Companies added jobs in October at the fastest pace in eight months, a sign of modest healing in the labor market just days before a presidential election that could hinge on the economy.

Greek recession worse than forecast next year

ATHENS: The Greek recession will be even worse than expected next year, according to a draft budget tabled in parliament on Wednesday.

Sandy: Damage estimated at up to $20bn

Businesses on the US East Coast have continued to be disrupted by storm Sandy, with total damage estimated at between $10bn and $20bn (£6bn-£12bn).

Eurozone crisis: Spain has no immediate need for help, says ECB's Ewald Nowotny

VIENNA: Spain has no immediate need of help from the European Central Bank's new bond-buying programme and should try to refinance itself before requesting aid, ECB policymaker Ewald Nowotny said.

9 more banks under scrutiny in Libor investigation

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- A state investigation into whether some of the world's biggest banks manipulated key global interest rates has widened to 16 institutions, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Treasury Real Yields Turn Positive as Inflation Slows

Treasury 10-year note yields exceeded the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge for the first time since 2011 as a report showed price increases slowed during the third quarter.

Dodd-Frank forces European banks to review U.S. deals

(Reuters) - Some European banks are ordering their brokers to rein in and even quit trading some derivatives with U.S.-based peers in a protest against tough new American rules.

Greece says wins more time from creditors but no deal confirmed

ATHENS: Greece's finance minister announced Wednesday he had agreed on a new austerity package with its international creditors and won more time to fix the debt-crippled nation's finances -- but the European Central Bank insisted there was no deal yet.

Spain sells debt despite regions, recession

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain sold more short-term debt than planned on Tuesday, with demand shored up by expectations the country will ask for aid after ratings for some of its most indebted regions were cut to 'junk'.

EU hopes for Greece bailout funds deal soon

BRUSSELS: The European Commission said Monday it hopes Greece and its international creditors will reach within days an agreement on extra measures Athens must take to get its next tranche of bailout funds.

Ukraine's economy nears post-election crunch time

MAKIYIVKA, Ukraine (Reuters) - Crumbling concrete pillars resemble ancient Greek temples, abandoned and overgrown, next to slag heaps that smell like piles of rotten eggs just a mile away from the center of the Ukrainian town of Makiyivka.

Egypt studying joint bourse trading with Turkey

CAIRO: Egypt's bourse is studying an alliance with the Istanbul Stock Exchange that would allow investors in the two countries to trade on each other's markets.

GDP figures to show Britain's double-dip recession is over

The double-dip recession will be officially declared over this week when the Office for National Statistics reveals that the economy grew by around 0.7pc in the months to September.

EU summit: France says bank deal helps eurozone fusion

The French president says a deal to start building a banking union on 1 January will enable the eurozone to speed up economic integration.

European Union leaders meet as Spain bailout looms

BRUSSELS: Spain edged closer on Wednesday to asking for bailout aid after months of hesitation on the eve of a summit where European Union leaders aim to strengthen the bloc's shaky foundations.

BoE's Tucker: Worst may still be ahead for banking

The "worst may still be ahead" for the banking system, the Bank of England's deputy governor has told a gathering of leading bankers.

UK pushing for curbs on ECB in banking union

(Reuters) - Britain and other European countries have deep concerns about a banking union in the euro zone, although there are signs of a compromise to limit the powers of the European Central Bank (ECB) in countries outside the euro, a UK minister told Reuters.

UK inflation expected to fall to lowest level in three years

Inflation is expected to have dropped to its lowest level for nearly three years in September, but there are fears the respite may only be brief as energy bills start to rise.

EU's Van Rompuy warns Cameron over sensitive budget issues

(Reuters) - The European Union's top official fleshed out his ideas for a separate budget for euro zone countries on Thursday, and indirectly warned British Prime Minister David Cameron about using the proposal for his own political gain.

Europe's outlook darkens as German growth fades

BERLIN (AP) — Europe's economic outlook darkened further Thursday when top economists slashed their growth forecasts for Germany and warned that public support for more financial aid to struggling countries was evaporating.

Global financial risks have increased, says IMF

Risks to global financial stability have increased in the past six months despite efforts by policymakers to make the financial system safer, according to the International Monetary Fund.

EU fin mins blocked on thorny banking union

LUXEMBOURG (AP) — Europe made little progress Tuesday in its efforts to secure the region's stricken financial system and ensure that failing banks never risk an entire country's economy again when finance ministers from the 27-country European Union failed to agree on how a single banking supervisor should be set up.

Euro zone launches $650 bn rescue fund as Greece, Spain struggle

LUXEMBOURG: The eurozone unlocked on Monday its 500-billion-euro crisis war chest, the European Stability Mechanism, amid worries over Greece and as Spain agonised over whether to call for a full bailout.

Greece to continue austerity talks with international lenders

ATHENS: Greece will continue talks with international lenders next week on new austerity measures for the debt-ridden country to clinch its next loan tranche, the finance minister said on Saturday, with both sides saying progress had been made.

Poor European states face clash over future aid funds

(Reuters) - Poor European Union states must fight hard to prevent richer members from cutting development aid for the rest of this decade or growth across the entire bloc could be undermined, the head of the EU executive said on Friday.

US Fed says low interest rates are likely until 2015

The Federal Reserve is likely to keep US interest rates at the current near-zero rate until 2015, minutes from its September rate-setting meeting have shown.

Spain says convinced will find investors for bad bank

LONDON (Reuters) - Spain's Economy Minister said on Thursday he was certain the country would find interest from the private sector for the 'bad bank' it is setting up to park billions of euros in soured real estate assets.

ECB seen keeping interest rates on hold

BRDO PRI KRANJU, Slovenia (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is expected to hold interest rates when it meets on Thursday to allow time for new details to emerge on the health of the euro zone economy and for Spain to ask for aid.

EU says banks should split risky trading from banking

A European Union advisory group says that Europe's banks should be split into separate legal entities, in order to protect ordinary retail banking from risky trading.

Europe focused on union rather than breaking up banks

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Experts may recommend this week that European banks should separate retail banking from their riskier investment arms to make them safer and soften the impact of financial crises.

Energy fuels euro inflation but ECB rate cut still on

(Reuters) - Euro zone inflation accelerated in September as energy costs soared but core prices stayed low, likely leaving the European Central Bank on track to cut interest rates soon.

Spain's banks 'need 59.3bn euros of eurozone loans'

Spain's banks will need an injection of 59.3bn euros ($76.3bn; £47.3bn) to survive a serious downturn, an independent audit has calculated.

US consumer spending rose 0.5 per cent in August

WASHINGTON: Americans boosted their spending in August even though their income barely grew. Much of the spending increase went to pay higher gas prices, which may have forced consumers to cut back elsewhere.

Confidence Weakens in Euro Zone's Core

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's new campaign to save the euro has had little or no immediate impact on the region's shrinking economy, figures published Thursday showed.

Spanish Scare Roils Europe Markets

Spain's borrowing costs rose and its stock market fell sharply on the eve of Madrid's announcement of new austerity measures, putting the shaky economy again at the center of Europe's race to preserve its currency union.

S&P warns of new eurozone recession

The eurozone economy will not grow for two years, according to a gloomy assessment of the outlook for the single currency bloc from Standard & Poor’s.

Spain's bad bank pricing to favour lenders over investors

MADRID: Spain's so-called "bad bank" is planning to take over soured property assets from struggling lenders at a modest additional discount to book value in order to protect struggling banks from further losses, three senior banking sources told a news agency.

China delays diplomatic reception with Japan

(Reuters) - China has postponed a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic ties with Japan as a result of a territorial row between the two countries, the official Xinhua news agency said on Sunday.

Bernanke wants you to buy stocks, but risk is high

Ben Bernanke hopes his latest plan to stimulate the economy will get you to buy stocks and other risky assets. Maybe you should. People who did that after two similar Federal Reserve efforts are sitting on big gains today.

IMF to Boster Financial Oversight, But Won't Become Global Policy Arbiter

The International Monetary Fund said Friday it plans to bolster its oversight of the global banking system, but the IMF isn't likely to soon replace the other institutions such as the Financial Stability Board as the global arbiter of industry policy, as some in the fund had hoped.

Mervyn King gives green light for George Osborne to miss UK debt target

Sir Mervyn King has cleared the way for the Chancellor to ditch one of his cast-iron fiscal rules and miss his target to get the national debt under control by 2016.

Debt crisis: central bank action is work of the devil, says Germany's Jens Weidmann

The head of Germany’s Bundesbank has raised eyebrows across Europe after he appeared to compare Mario Draghi’s bond buying programme with the "devil’s work".

Policy euphoria makes way for humdrum data

LONDON (Reuters) - The world's top two central banks have administered extra-strong monetary painkillers, but the global economy will still need a lot more time to recover from its thumping debt hangover.

Barack Obama to launch auto trade case against China: Official

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama will launch a trade complaint against China over what his administration says is Beijing's unfair government backing of its auto industry, a White House official said on Sunday.

Germany says further steps needed before banks tap ESM

(Reuters) - Handing bank oversight to the European Central Bank is not in itself sufficient to allow the euro zone's rescue fund to directly assist banks, Germany's Finance Minister said, warning he expected no such deal on supervision in 2012.

Spanish bailout stance to dictate demand

(Reuters) - A Spanish bond sale next week will be a gauge of investor confidence in euro zone policymakers' latest efforts to defuse the region's debt crisis, with markets on the lookout for signs of stronger demand.

New rate-setter backs austerity, reserves view on QE

LONDON (Reuters) - New Bank of England policymaker Ian McCafferty took a cautious line on the need for another cash boost to the recession-hit British economy, saying his decision would hinge on a clearer view of the economy's health.

ECB's first bond programme goes out with a whimper

(Reuters) - The European Central Bank bought no government bonds last week before terminating its Securities Markets Programme (SMP) and replacing it with a new plan it hopes will be more effective in lowering struggling euro zone countries' borrowing costs.

Monti Says Italy Seeks Stability

CERNOBBIO, Italy—Mario Monti, the technocrat drafted to save Italy from insolvency, on Sunday inched closer to signaling he would be open to remaining prime minister of the euro zone's third-largest economy after elections next year.

IMF backs Draghi; says Spain, Italy have done enough

(Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund on Sunday strongly backed the European Central Bank's plan to staunch the euro zone debt crisis with unlimited bond purchases, saying it was ready to get involved in designing and monitoring its implementation.

Greece prime minister says country must stay in euro to be "modern and credible"

Antonis Samaras, the prime minister of Greece, says the European Central Bank's decision to start buying eurozone bonds has proved the beleaguered country must stay in the euro.

French President Francois Hollande pledges spending cuts, tax reforms

PARIS: French President Francois Hollande insisted on Friday he would press ahead with spending cuts and promised tax reforms next year, amid reports his Socialist government was watering down flagship measures such as a 75 percent tax on the rich.

ECB's Mario Draghi unveils bond-buying euro debt plan

Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, has unveiled details of a new bond-buying plan aimed at easing the eurozone's debt crisis.

Bank of Canada sticks to rate-hike message

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada doggedly stuck to the message on Wednesday that it may have to raise interest rates despite a global slowdown, predicting the domestic economy would gain momentum this year and next and inflation return to target within a year.

Italy's Mario Monti calls on EU to bring down borrowing costs

ROME: Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti called Tuesday on the European Union to recognise efforts made by countries to overcome the economic crisis by moving to bring down punishing borrowing costs.

ECB's Mario Draghi defends euro rescue measures

BRUSSELS: European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi defended on Monday controversial measures taken to tame the eurozone debt crisis, including buying up government bonds, European MPs said.

U.K. Sticks to Budget Cuts as Coalition Eyes Speedier Investment

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said his government will continue with its deficit-cutting plans amid calls from opposition lawmakers for a rethink as the economy struggles to recover from a double-dip recession.

ESM Intends to Aid Spanish Banks in ‘Near Future,’ Regling Says

The European Stability Mechanism is on track to become operational in October and intends to work directly with Spanish banks in the “near future,” said Klaus Regling, who heads the euro area’s bailout funds.

Euro leaders must act, warn reluctant EFSF investors

LONDON: Investors sent a warning shot to eurozone leaders that they are not out of the woods yet when they shunned the European Financial Stability Facility's latest bond issue, just six weeks after the eurozone's rescue fund priced its largest syndicated deal.

Asmussen: ECB Will Only Buy Bonds in Parallel With EFSF, ESM

The European Central Bank will intervene in bond markets on behalf of countries only in conjunction with the euro zone's bailout programs and only if the International Monetary Fund is involved in the reform process, an ECB executive board member said Thursday.

EFSF Plans EUR3 Billion 10-Year Bond

The European Financial Stability Facility, or EFSF, has planned to issue three billion euros ($3.7 billion) of 10-year bonds, one of the banks running the deal said Tuesday.

Debt crisis: Mario Draghi cancels Jackson Hole appearance

European Central Bank president Mario Draghi will not attend the US Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole gathering of central bankers later this week due to a heavy workload, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Spain Expects to Tap About $75 Billion in Rescue Financing for Its Banks

MADRID — Spain expects to use about 60 billion euros, or $75 billion, of the 100 billion euros of bank rescue financing offered by European finance ministers in June, according to the Spanish economy minister, Luis de Guindos.

Fitch: Spain aid request wouldn't prompt downgrade

MADRID (MarketWatch) -- A request by the Spanish government for additional financial support from the European Financial Stability Facility/European Stability Mechanism (ESFS/ESM) via purchases of sovereign debt in the primary or secondary market wouldn't necessarily prompt a downgrade, said Fitch Ratings on Friday.

European Commission Sets Sept. 11 to Propose New Bank Regulation

BRUSSELS — The European Commission on Friday set a target date of Sept. 11 to announce proposals to overhaul banking regulation in Europe, a key step in shoring up the euro zone against future crises.

Global shares retreat on growth, euro zone woes

LONDON (Reuters) - Global stock, bond and commodity markets saw investors selling riskier assets on Friday, as they scaled back expectations of strong stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve and fretted about the euro zone's debt troubles and widespread economic weakness.

US jobless claims rise, labor market healing very slowly

WASHINGTON: The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week, suggesting the labor market is healing too slowly to make much of a dent in the unemployment rate.

EFSF optimistic about German court verdict on ESM

MUMBAI: The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) is optimistic about the impending verdict by the German court on a petition challenging the constitutional feasibility of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

Debt crisis: Murcia could request €700m from Spanish government

Spain’s Murcia region could request up to €700m (£550m) from the central government to keep it afloat, amid growing concern over the state of the regions’ finances.

Greece must remain in eurozone, says Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras

ATHENS: Greece must remain in the eurozone, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said in an interview published Sunday ahead of a week of crucial meetings between the prime minister and EU officials.

EU Commission wants ECB to supervise all major euro banks

BERLIN: The European Commission will propose next month giving the European Central Bank supervision over all of the euro zone's major banks, Handelsblatt daily reported on Friday, citing Commission sources.

Angela Merkel warns 'time is of essence' on euro crisis

Angela Merkel warned that "time is of the essence" in tackling the eurozone crisis and voiced her support for ECB President Mario Draghi's crisis-fighting strategy.

Spain Said to Speed EU Bank Bailout on Collateral Limits

Spain is about to receive an emergency disbursement from the 100 billion-euro ($123 billion) bailout of its financial system because of restrictions the European Central Bank imposed on bank borrowing, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Shares slip, ECB hopes drive German bonds to 6-week low

LONDON (Reuters) - Worries about the slowing global economy following some gloomy data hit shares in Europe and Asia on Wednesday, although expectations of central bank action to stabilize the euro zone propped up the euro and tempered demand for German bonds.

Retail Sales Probably Increased in July: U.S. Economy Preview

Sales at U.S. retailers probably rose in July for the first time in four months as employment picked up, easing concern the expansion is faltering, economists said before reports this week.

UK recession not as deep as feared on improved construction data

Britain's recession might not be as deep as feared after better-than-expected construction figures raised the chance that official GDP figures for the second quarter would be revised up.

Bosnia probably entering recession: Central Bank

SARAJEVO: Bosnia's economy is probably heading into recession, given falling exports and industrial output in the first half of the year, Central Bank governor Kemal Kozaric said in comments published by a Sarajevo newspaper on Friday.

US weekly jobless claims fall to 361,000

US weekly jobless claims fell to 361,000, the Labor Department has said, in another sign that the jobs market has some moderate strength despite the second quarter lull in hiring.

Spain will not seek bailout if new conditions: EU source

Spain will not seek eurozone financial aid beyond an agreed rescue for its banks if more conditions than those already agreed for recapitalising lenders are attached, an EU source said Tuesday.

Don't let euro zone debate turn nasty: German foreign min

(Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Monday warned politicians to rein in the language they use about the euro zone debt crisis after a weekend of ugly exchanges in the German press over Italy and Greece.

UK's deputy finance minister plays down importance of top credit rating

LONDON: Britain's Liberal Democrat deputy finance minister played down the importance of the country's top credit rating, preserving which has been at the heart of the country's austerity-focused economic policy.

Italy plays down prospects it will tap EU rescue funds

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy does not at the moment need to ask the euro zone's rescue funds to buy its government bonds in the markets to bring down borrowing costs, Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco and Cabinet Undersecretary Antonio Catricala said on Sunday.

S&P cuts, affirms Italian banks in sweeping changes

MILAN/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ratings agency Standard & Poor's on Friday downgraded a broad swath of Italian banks, citing worries that the recession in the euro zone's third-largest economy could mean mounting losses for the country's lenders.

Europe Pauses to Consider Draghi’s Remarks

Economists, analysts and market participants continued on Friday to digest the assurances made by the president of the European Central Bank that he was willing to resume the purchase of sovereign bonds sometime in the future in concert with the euro zone’s rescue fund.

Is Europe Looking for Backdoor Seniority on Spain?

The world waits to see whether the euro zone will send its bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, into uncharted waters: Buying the government bonds of Spain.

ECB can do more to bolster the euro: Christine Lagarde

WASHINGTON: International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde is calling on the European Central Bank to take futher steps to stabilize the economy of the eurozone.

Europe's top banks feel pain from debt crisis; Q2 profits plunge

FRANKFURT: Europe's biggest banks on Tuesday took massive hits on their second-quarter profits as the eurozone debt crisis slices into earnings and adds to the pressure to boost their capital defences.

Spanish recession to last until 2014, IMF warns

Spain's unprecedented double-dip recession will last for at least a further 18 months and poses a threat to the rest of Europe, the International Monetary Fund said.

ECB could take haircut on Greek bonds in 'last chance' plan

European policymakers are working on "last chance" options to bring Greece's debts down and keep it in the eurozone, with the ECB and national central banks looking at taking significant losses on the value of their bond holdings, officials said.

German minister dismisses talk of Spain debt purchases

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble threw cold water Saturday on speculation that the eurozone's bailout fund will buy Spanish public debt.

David Cameron defends economic policies

Prime Minister David Cameron has defended the UK's economic policies, saying the government has acted "decisively" to restore confidence in its public finances.

Spain feels debt heat, Greece way off bailout terms

MADRID/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Spain paid the second highest yield on short-term debt since the birth of the euro at an auction on Tuesday, and EU officials said Greece had little hope of meeting the terms of its bailout, casting fresh doubt on its future in the euro zone.

Economy Seen Neither Too Good or Bad to Decide Election

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is predicting an election-year economy that’s neither here nor there: growth that disappoints yet keeps the U.S. from slipping back into the recession billionaire Bill Gross has indicated may happen.

Germany Pushes Back After Moody’s Lowers Rating Outlook

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government said Germany will remain Europe’s haven during the financial crisis, pushing back against Moody’s Investors Service’s decision to lower the outlook on the country’s top credit rating.

EU says mismanaged Greek banks face "revamp"

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Banks recapitalized as part of Greece's bailout may be forced to overhaul their management and governance, the European Commission said, in response to questions raised by Reuters about alleged malpractice at Greece's fourth-largest bank.

Wall Street braces for barrage of data

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Investors will have a lot to contend with this week: a deluge of earnings and economic reports are due out, including Facebook's (FB) first report as a public company and the first look at U.S. economic growth during the second quarter.

IMF to assess economic spillovers in new monitoring rules

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund approved changes to its annual economic surveillance rules on Wednesday that now make it mandatory for the Fund to assess whether the domestic policies of a country are affecting global financial stability.

Banking union in euro zone needed within months: ECB's Christian Noyer

PARIS: Euro zone countries need to establish a banking union within the coming months, European Central Bank Governing Council member Christian Noyer said on Wednesday, urging member states to speed up the pace.

IMF calls for action as euro crisis escalates

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The International Monetary Fund urged euro area policy makers Wednesday to address the worsening crisis in the currency zone.

Investors Pay to Fund EFSF Aid With Bills at Negative Yield

Investors are paying the European Financial Stability Facility for the privilege of financing Europe’s temporary rescue fund, with demand to buy its debt increasing even as yields drop below zero.

Court delay, Spanish doubts hinder Merkel euro response

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel appears to be reaching the limits of German patience on the euro zone crisis, with the Constitutional Court and members of her own coalition seeking deeper scrutiny of whether emergency measures comply fully with national law.

China’s Growth Rate Slowed in the 2nd Quarter

BEIJING — China’s growth slowed in the second quarter, adding to the worries about the ability of the world’s second-largest economy to offset low growth elsewhere.

Debt crisis: Spain's recession 'could last until 2014'

Spain's recession could drag into 2014 due to austerity measures, economists warned, after Madrid outlined a new €65bn (£51bn) cuts package.

EU watchdog warns banks still face major challenges

(Reuters) - The European Banking Authority said there remained significant challenges ahead for Europe's banks having just cleared the first hurdle to bolster their capital buffers.

Europe's stability mechanism remains elusive

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Europe has a lot riding on its latest tool to stabilize the euro currency union, but there are now more questions than answers about the European Stability Mechanism.

China's Premier vows to prevent housing bubble

China must “unswervingly” press ahead with controls to keep house prices down, Premier Wen Jiabao warned, highlighting fears of a renewed property bubble in the world's second largest economy.

Half Germans support giving more powers to Brussels-poll

(Reuters) - Around half of Germans are prepared to give up some national powers to Brussels in the pursuit of a common European Union financial policy, according to a poll by Emnid for the German magazine Focus.

The balancing act of weighing growth against safety

The financial policy committee of the Bank of England is now one year old. Its purpose is to identify and, where possible, mitigate threats to the British financial system.

Christine Lagarde: IMF to cut global growth forecast

International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde has said that the organisation's next forecast for global economic growth would be down from the 3.5% predicted in April.

ECB's Draghi: Broad Slowdown Justified Rate Cut

The European Central Bank cut its benchmark interest rates by 0.25 percentage point, bringing the refinancing rate to a record low of 0.75% and the overnight deposit rate to zero.

Merkel tells Italy benefits of reforms take time

ROME (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Italians on Wednesday they could not expect to reap the rewards of economic reforms in just a few months but that the experience of her own country showed it was worth persevering.

Europe: Sputtering toward oblivion

FORTUNE -- European leaders continue to apply flimsy Band-Aids to their gushing economic wounds in an effort to avoid making the hard decisions necessary to save the euro from oblivion.

French Banks Say EU Summit Important Step To Stability

The French Banking Federation said in a statement published late Friday that the results of the European summit Thursday and Friday are an important step towards ensuring stability in the euro zone and will build investor confidence.

Consumer spending stalls in May, incomes up just 0.2%

WASHINGTON – U.S. consumers spent no more in May than in April after seeing almost no gain in their pay. The lack of growth in consumer spending and wages suggests that a faltering job market is slowing the economy.

EU Banking Debate Shifts to Euro Area After Accord on Spain

The European Union’s push to unify bank oversight moved to the euro area after two days of talks in Brussels, putting the European Central Bank at the center of Spain’s efforts to extract its government from its banking- industry rescue.

BOE Tells Banks To Tap Buffers As Risks To Stability Mount

The Bank of England Friday urged banks to run down their emergency cash buffers to support greater lending to the U.K. economy, even as it warned the risks to financial stability have increased.

Reserve Bank Of India Warns Of Increased Risks To Financial Stability

(RTTNews) - India's financial system remains robust, but the risks to stability have increased since December largely due to global events and the dismal domestic economic performance, the country's central bank said in a report on Thursday.

France fights to avoid euro zone bank contagion

PARIS: Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Italy - France?

Europe's Tower of Babel hampers euro solution

PARIS (Reuters) - As Europe considers a leap towards closer integration to try to save the euro single currency, it resembles the biblical Tower of Babel - unable to complete an ambitious project because the residents don't speak the same political and economic language.

Spain requests bank aid, awaits Moody's cut

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain formally requested European aid for its indebted banks on Monday but the lack of details rekindled investor doubts over the financial sector, hours before Moody's was expected to cut the ratings of all Spanish lenders.

A Greek accountant despair

How bad is the economic mess in Greece? Just ask Dimitris Skiadas, a despairing Athens accountant who is struggling to keep his clients' finances in some kind of order in a fifth year of recession.

Moody's downgrade of Bank of America, Citigroup gives edge to safe-haven banks

LONDON/NEW YORK: Major ratings downgrades by Moody's will further divide the world's biggest banks based on their strength and access to cheap customer deposits.

Angela Merkel slaps down direct bank aid at crunch summit

ROME: German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated on Friday her opposition to allowing Europe's crisis funds to recapitalise debt-stricken banks directly, stressing that EU treaties did not allow this.

IMF Gets $456 Bln. Boost To Fight Crisis

(RTTNews.com) - The International Monetary Fund added $456 billion to its war chest as 12 more nations, including the BRICS, pledged new money to protect the global economy from the impact of the Eurozone debt crisis at the ongoing G20 meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico.

Worried Banks Resist Fiscal Union

The seemingly endless series of euro zone crises has European officials pushing for a banking union that would watch over and bind together the currency group’s faltering financial institutions.

G20 to confirm IMF loan pledge despite reform delay

(Reuters) - Leaders of the world's major economies are set to confirm they will make new crisis-fighting loans to the International Monetary Fund even though some emerging nations are frustrated with the slow pace of winning more power at the global lender.

World Bank warns that euro collapse could spark global crisis

The outgoing head of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, will warn the G20 summit that Europe runs the risk of sparking a Lehman-style global crisis that will have dire consequences for developing nations.

Stocks Rise, Buoyed by Hopes for Stimulus

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stocks rose Friday as investors cheered the possibility that central banks would stand ready to coordinate a global liquidity boost if needed after the Greek elections.

France seeks eurozone stability package

(Financial Times) -- France is pressing the EU to adopt a financial stability package to stem the eurozone crisis, believing negative market reaction to the €100bn bailout of Spain's banks shows the need for more comprehensive action.

Spain package important step towards union : Canada

MONTREAL (Reuters) - Canada's top policymakers endorsed on Monday the European Union's rescue package for Spanish banks as an important step toward fiscal and financial integration in the euro zone.

Global regulators chide EU on bank capital rules

(Reuters) - Global bank regulators warned the European Union it risked watering down agreed bank capital rules designed to avert another financial crisis and called for more consistency in implementing the regulations.

Spain relieved, angry over humiliating bank rescue

MADRID (AP) — Spain's grinding economic misery will get worse this year, despite the country's request for a European financial lifeline of up to €100 billion ($125 billion) to save its banks, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Sunday.

Europe bailout of Spain could cost $125 billion

MADRID: Spain will ask for a bailout for banks felled by bad real estate loans, in an about-face that European officials welcomed Saturday and said could cost up to (euro) 100 billion ($125 billlion).

Spain has successful bond sale after tough week

MADRID (AP) — Spain raised €2.1 billion ($2.62 billion) Thursday from the bond markets — but investors demanded a higher interest rate out of concern that the country's troubled banks were weighing heavily on government finances.

UK business confidence plunges on eurozone fears

Business confidence in the UK has plunged on fears over the eurozone crisis and the prospect of a Greek exit, according to a survey from Lloyds Banking Group.

Spain: No request for bailout, says minister

Spain's economy minister has dampened speculation that the country is about to seek a bailout of its bank sector.

ECB to hold the line as euro crisis deepens

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- As the euro crisis moves toward a decisive moment, the European Central Bank is under renewed pressure to stabilize the troubled currency union.

Merkel open to idea of European banking union

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday that she is open to establishing a European banking authority as a long-term solution to the continent's financial crisis.

Europe should ditch the euro, says minister who kept UK out

LONDON: European leaders must throw off the burden of the euro if they want their economies to thrive, said the former finance minister who was forced to take Britain out of the European currency system that proceeded the single currency.

Weak U.S. Hiring Adds to Global Gloom

The United States economy gained a net 69,000 jobs in May, the Labor Department said Friday, a dismal showing that reflected mounting evidence of a global slowdown.

Angela Merkel calls for 'more Europe' as response to crisis

GERMANY: German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Thursday for more powers to be transferred to the European Commission as a response to the debt crisis that threatens to tear apart the eurozone.

Eurozone set-up unsustainable, says Draghi

European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi says that eurozone leaders must decide what they want the bloc to look like in the future, because the current set-up is "unsustainable".

Stock markets extend slump on Spain bailout fears

Global stock markets posted sharp declines on Wednesday and the euro dropped to a 22-month low against the dollar on growing concern over a potential Spanish bailout.

Spanish savings banks mull merger as debt crisis bites

Three Spanish savings banks, Ibercaja, Liberbank and Caja3, are considering a merger to strengthen their balance sheets as the country's debt crisis continues to bite.

Greece faces German future as euro exit looms

Germany has reportedly drawn up a six-point plan to rescue Greece and the eurozone’s other failed economies in the same way East Germany was rebuilt after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Lloyd's of London preparing for euro collapse

The chief executive of the multi-billion pound Lloyd's of London has publicly admitted that the world's leading insurance market is prepared for a collapse in the single currency and has reduced its exposure "as much as possible" to the crisis-ridden continent.

Catalonia calls for help from central government to pay debts

European stock markets tumbled and Spain's borrowing costs shot up as the country's wealthiest autonomous region, Catalonia, called for assistance from central government to pay its bills.

ECB official calls for urgent financial overhaul

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — A top European Central Bank official says the 17 countries that use the euro need an "urgent overhaul" of their banking and financial system to deal with the debt crisis, including a multinational authority with the power to restructure and bail out banks.

Europe's slump deepens; US, China lose momentum

LONDON: The shadows being cast over the global economy darkened this month as the euro zone's private sector declined further and China's once-booming factories faltered, business surveys showed on Thursday.

Bank hints QE could restart this summer

The Bank of England has dropped a heavy hint that it is ready to restart quantitative easing this summer if the economy continues to falter.

EU countries to tighten control of credit rating agencies

BRUSSELS: European Union countries agreed on Monday to press for new controls on credit ratings agencies, with a law to challenge the power of the debt raters whose downgrades of countries angered politicians as they struggle with an economic crisis.

Europen banks warned against raising Greek risk exposure

BERLIN: Central banks in Europe should not increase their exposure to Greece due to the high level of political uncertainty there, Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann said in a newspaper interview published on Sunday.

G8 leaders agree need for growth, stability

G8 host President Barack Obama declared the group "absolutely committed" to growth and fiscal reforms Saturday as leaders of the world's major economies tried to bridge divisions over the eurozone's deepening crisis.

Bank of Ireland says seeking to cut more than 1,000 jobs

DUBLIN: Bank of Ireland is seeking to axe more than 1,000 jobs in a voluntary redundancy deal, as part of cost-cutting measures at the group, it said on Friday.

Europe's banks on the brink

LONDON, May 17 (IFR) - The euro zone crisis was in full swing when Jean-Claude Trichet took the podium in Berlin last October 6 for his final press conference as president of the European Central Bank.

Selling taxpayer stakes in RBS and Lloyds 'could take years'

Selling off the taxpayer stakes in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group could take years, according to financial experts who also told a committee of MPs that banker bashing needed to stop to help the shares prices recover.

EU Commission wants Greece to stay in euro zone

BRUSSELS: The European Commission hopes Greece will remain part of the euro zone but Athens must respect its obligations, the European Union's executive Commission said on Monday.

Greece lurches towards new vote, hard left leads

ATHENS: Greek politicians were set to abandon their quest to form a government today, leaving the president with one final chance to avert new elections that could drive Greece out of the European single currency.

Rebuilding Through Reform: How to Ensure Global Financial Stability

While policymakers are busy trying to mitigate the damage of the recent financial crisis, they also need to be thinking ahead to the next crisis. Esther L. George, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, urges policymakers to ask what really went wrong last time — and what can be done to build a more resilient financial system for the future.

Bank of Canada says can act to protect stability

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada's low inflation mandate does not prevent it from acting, in exceptional circumstances, to protect overall financial stability, a senior official said on Monday.

Greece pressures euro, investors seek safety

LONDON (Reuters) - The euro neared a three-month low and safe-haven German bonds and the Japanese yen rose on Wednesday as political disarray in Greece and the rising costs of fixing Spain's banks fueled fears the euro zone debt crisis would take a sharp turn for the worse.

Bank of England's inflation fears put more QE in balance

A further boost to the economy through more quantitative easing will be considered by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee this week to combat recession.

Europe founders in rough financial seas

The economic crisis gripping Europe has cost prime ministers their jobs from the Netherlands to Italy.Protests, sometimes violent, against deep spending cuts have wracked European capitals. Recession has returned to Britain.

Budget Surplus Best Defense for Australian Economy, Swan Says

Returning Australia’s budget to surplus is the best defense against an uncertain global economic outlook and will continue to support the nation’s top credit ratings, Treasurer Wayne Swan said.

Bank of England expected to put QE plans on hold as inflation fears loom

The Bank of England is expected to freeze its £325bn stimulus programme, signalling it is more concerned about high inflation than Britain's return to recession.

ECB chief Mario Draghi pushes 'growth agenda'

The European Central Bank (ECB) head, Mario Draghi, has said that governments must push growth - but not at the expense of bringing down deficits.

Basel III: European Union nations face off over bank capital rules

BRUSSELS: Britain and Sweden, backed by eastern European allies, squared off with Germany, France and other EU states Wednesday over rules to harden the defences of banks against any crisis.

Europe reforms 'hard' without growth, says Robert Zoellick

WASHINGTON: World Bank president Robert Zoellick said Tuesday that Europe would struggle to achieve needed economic reforms without growth to support them.

Lloyds sets aside £375m for mis-selling as profits rise

Lloyds Banking Group, the part-nationalised bank, has aside a further £375m for compensation to people mis-sold payment protection insurance as it a reported better-than-expected quarterly profits.

Irish gov't warns euro stability at risk in poll

DUBLIN (AP) — The Irish government launched its campaign Monday to secure public support for the European Union's fiscal treaty, and warned that rejection could ravage Ireland's financial future and destabilize the euro currency.

ECB set to up the ante as eurozone fiscal compact cracks

FRANKFURT: The European Central Bank looks set to dig its heels in this week and refuse any more easy money for governments as the political resolve to rein in deficits shows signs of crumbling, analysts say.

Jobless claims remain elevated

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- First-time claims for unemployment benefits remained elevated for the third straight week, the government said Thursday, a sign that a job recovery might be stalling.

No respite seen for euro zone periphery woes: Poll

LONDON: Deeper recessions, spiralling unemployment and a failure to meet budget deficit targets will afflict the euro zone's most vulnerable economies floundering under austerity, a Reuters poll suggested on Thursday.

Gold stuck in range after Fed, equities curb losses

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold held above $1,644 on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting on interest rates offered few surprises, but gains in equities and expectations the central bank could do more if necessary to lift the economy may eventually spur buying from investors.

HSBC targets back office workers in 2,000 UK job cuts

Investment advisers and back office workers will be the main targets of 2,000 job cuts HSBC is to make in its British business as part of the bank’s efforts to reduce costs.

Euro-Zone's Private Sector Shrinking Fast

LONDON—The euro zone's private sector contracted in April at the sharpest pace since November, damaged by a steep decline in the manufacturing sector, suggesting the region won't rebound quickly from the recession recent data are pointing to.

Cyprus to make more cuts to meet deficit target

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus' finance minister said Monday that more austerity measures will be needed to meet a deficit target of 2.5 percent of gross domestic product this year.

ECB deaf to call for more action to help euro zone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - European Central Bank officials showed no sign of bending to renewed international pressure to do more to boost the euro zone's struggling economy.

Europe's Rescue Plan Falters

Europe's bold program to defuse its financial crisis by injecting cash into the banking system is running out of steam.

IMF's Lagarde: Let EU Bailout Funds Go To Banks Without Sovereign Pit Stop

Keeping a country like Spain afloat financially may not be enough to salvage its banks without direct injections of capital, according to Christine Lagarde.

IMF warns against big bank deleveraging in Europe

WASHINGTON: Growing pressure on European banks to clean up their books could deeply impact economic growth in the eurozone, the International Monetary Fund warned Wednesday.

Japan to give the IMF $60bn in loans to help stability

Japan has agreed to give the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans worth $60bn (£38bn).

Spanish minister calls on ECB to buy more bonds

Jaime Garcia-Lehaz, a deputy minister in Luis de Guindos's economy ministry, said on Friday: "They [the ECB] should step up the purchase of bonds" after the cost of insuring Spain's bonds against default surged to record levels.

Bernanke Says Promoting Financial Stability Is Key Fed Role

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank must increase its focus on maintaining financial stability in order to prevent a repeat of the crisis that triggered the worst recession since the 1930s.

Christine Lagarde says IMF needs less new funds than thought

WASHINGTON: International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said Wednesday that the Fund probably needs less new money for crisis intervention than the $500 billion earlier anticipated, crediting action by the eurozone for the change.

ECB may act to bring down Spanish borrowing costs

The European Central Bank may intervene to pull down Madrid's borrowing costs as prime minister Mariano Rajoy warned that debt had created a "vicious circle that strangles Spain".

How low can US jobless rate really fall?

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON: Gary Feeman has been searching for a job for 16 months. He's not ready to give up just yet, but the 60-year-old worries he is running out of options.

Brussels' austerity drive must be stopped if eurozone is to survive

Looking back over 2012, it was clear where it had all started to go wrong for the eurozone. Markets had rallied strongly in the first two months of the year following the decision by the European Central Bank in late 2011 to provide cheap three-year loans to commercial banks starved of credit.

SBI to look at rate cuts after RBI's credit policy

Country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) on Saturday said it will consider reducing lending rates after the announcement of the Reserve Bank's annual credit policy on April 17.

Why Spain’s now threatening to drag down Europe

Just when we thought the euro crisis had subsided for a bit, Spain is bursting back up as a trouble spot. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the country is “facing an economic situation of extreme difficulty.”

US Fed indicates smaller chance of more QE

Federal Reserve policymakers appear less keen to launch a fresh round of monetary stimulus as the US economy gradually improves, according to minutes for the central bank's March meeting.

Greek economy to slump 5% this year: IOBE

ATHENS: Greece's most influential think tank projected the economy would contract by 5 percent this year, taking a more pessimistic view than the European Commission and the IMF and casting a cloud over government efforts to meet fiscal targets.

RBS to pay £400m dividend to preference share holders

RBS is working on plans to “turn the tap back on” for a £350m-£400m dividend payment to preference shareholders as the bank addresses a clutch of hurdles in its quest to privatise the Government’s 82pc stake.

Eurozone boosts financial buffers to $1.1 trillion

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The 17 countries that use the euro have boosted their emergency funding for heavily indebted countries to €800 billion ($1.1 trillion) — an amount that falls short of what the currency union's international partners had said is needed to calm financial markets.

Germany's Schaeuble wants bailout aid capped at 800 billion euros

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The euro zone should not commit more than 800 billion euros in rescue aid, and tapping that money should only be available when countries promise reforms, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Thursday.

OECD urges eurozone rescue fund boost to 1tn euros

The head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has said that the eurozone needs to double its bailout fund to 1 trillion euros ($1.3tn, £836m).

UK government held talks about RBS stake sale with Abu Dhabi

The Government has discussed selling some of the taxpayer's holding in Royal Bank of Scotland to an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund as the authorities continue to look for ways to cut the state's stake in the lender.

Germany open to raise crisis firewall to $930 bn

BERLIN (AP) — Germany has backed down from its resistance to boosting Europe's financial firewalls, after Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was open to temporarily boosting the eurozone's bailout funds to €700 billion ($930 billion). But the move still falls short of what may be needed to protect Italy and Spain from collapse.

Euro rescue fund boost would calm markets: fund chief

Bolstering the eurozone's bailout fund would reassure the markets as many financial players do not believe the crisis is over, Klaus Regling, the head of the fund has told a German news magazine.

Budget 2012: IFS warns Budget is based on optimistic assumptions

George Osborne is at risk of breaking his golden economic rules because his Budget appears to be based on optimistic assumptions about tax revenues, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned.

Bank lending scheme targets smaller businesses

A £20bn government scheme to try to boost bank lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been launched by the chancellor.

Tide turns for EFSF as investors back bonds

LONDON: The European Financial Stability Facility, Europe's sovereign rescue fund, is back in investors' good books after notching up EUR17.6bn in demand this week for two syndicated bond deals hailed as a key test of buyers' appetite.

Aid drop hurts Palestinian financial stability: Israel

A drop-off in the delivery of aid to the Palestinians is threatening their financial stability, Israel warns in a report to be submitted to international donor countries later this week.

Minimum wage frozen for young people

Young people will see their take home pay fall in October after the Government froze the youth minimum wage rates over concerns that they were hindering job creation.

IMF chief Lagarde urges more global finance reform

BEIJING (AP) — The head of the International Monetary Fund warned Sunday against complacency about global finance despite improved conditions after the latest Greek debt deal and said the world urgently needs more financial reforms.

Greek jobless rate hits new record in Q4

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's jobless rate rose to a fresh quarterly record of 20.7 percent in the last three months of 2011, reflecting the country's deep economic malaise, exacerbated by austerity to repair public finances and emerge from a debt crisis.

Osborne's austerity drive cut 270,000 public sector jobs last year

More than 30,000 NHS workers and 71,000 in education were among more than a quarter of a million public sector staff who lost their jobs in 2011 as the government's austerity measures started to bite.

German Cabinet approves new EU bailout fund

BERLIN (AP) — The German government says Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet has approved the European Union's new permanent bailout fund, paving the way for it to be brought before both houses of Parliament for a vote.

Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland announce 1,900 job cuts

LONDON: Part state-owned British banks Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland announced a total of 1,900 job cuts on Tuesday, drawing the anger of the Unite trade union which said it had written to the government urging it to intervene.

Yield on new Greek bonds spikes as swap ends

New Greek bonds issued in a historic debt writedown to erase nearly a third of of Greece's debt slumped in value on Monday, the same day the bond swap operation was completed.

Next Time, Greece May Need New Tactics

The Greek government was able to legally strong-arm most of its private bondholders into accepting the debt reduction deal it completed Friday. But next time — and experts predict there will almost certainly be a next time — Greece might have much less leverage.

FSA censures Bank of Scotland for 'serious misconduct'

The Financial Services Authority issued the public censure a part of an investigation into the failure of HBOS during the wider financial crisis.

ECB leaves key eurozone rate unchanged at 1%

The European Central Bank (ECB) has left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1%.

Air France-KLM reports $1 billion loss for 2011

PARIS (AP) — Air France-KLM on Thursday reported a multimillion euro loss for 2011, which the struggling carrier called a "tough year" beset by volatile fuel prices, political upheaval and a lackluster global economy.

Lack of Trust Hurting Greek Economy

While Greece’s financial stability is the most obvious and immediate concern, confidence—or a lack thereof—is a major issue and a growing part of the equation as the rest of the world’s leaders circle the wagons in an effort to rescue this tiny country.

European Central Bank to sit tight on rates this week: Analysts

FRANKFURT: No changes in eurozone interest rates are expected this week as the European Central Bank assesses the impact of recent moves to flood the banks with cash to avert a credit crunch, analysts say.

U.S. risks persist, China in good stead so far: IMF

PUNTA DEL ESTE, Uruguay (Reuters) - A renewed drop in housing prices could thwart the U.S. economic recovery in the short term while Washington's lack of a "credible, comprehensive" fiscal plan poses a major medium-term risk, a top IMF official said.

UK banks take over €37bn in ECB loans

British banks have taken more than €37bn (£31bn) of cheap loans from the European Central Bank following last week's dash by European banks to bolster their depleted reserves .

Europe strengthens fiscal ties

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- In a widely expected move, top leaders from most European Union nations signed an accord Friday that aims to strengthen economic ties and restore confidence in the euro.

EU summit: Greek second bailout delayed another week

Greece will not get funds from a second EU/IMF bailout until its private creditors give final approval for their losses next week, EU ministers say.

Spain’s Plea for Fiscal Leniency Challenges Rules

ONLY months after they tightened the rules for the euro, Europeans are again confronting a question posed a decade ago: Is their rule book in fact a little stupid?

UK GDP growth for 2011 revised down to 0.8%

Household spending crept up 0.5% during the last three months of 2011 and government spending grew strongly, but it was not enough to prevent the wider British economy from contracting.

S&P Lowers Euro Rescue Fund Outlook to 'Negative'

Standard & Poor’s on Monday lowered its outlook on the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the fund created for bailing out debt-laden eurozone countries.

Pressure on Europe grows at Mexico G-20 meeting

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Pressure mounted on Europe Saturday to build an even bigger financial stabilization fund to head off sovereign debt concerns, with the United States, Brazil, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development all urging an increase.

France, Belgium back combining Europe's rescue funds: source

PARIS (Reuters) - France has Belgium's support for combining Europe's rescue funds in the face of German opposition, a source close to the French presidency said on Friday.

EU executive to push for bigger rescue fund, win IMF support

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission wants euro zone leaders to agree to a bigger rescue fund to nudge the IMF into backing debt-stricken European economies, despite German resistance to boosting it, the EU's top economic official said on Thursday.

China's urban migrants hold key to domestic demand

SHANGQIU, China (Reuters) - Liu Tao knows he will never be rich enough to own one of the luxury apartments in Beijing that he has been paid to decorate for more than a decade, but he's saving hard so that in another 10 years he'll have enough for a home with indoor plumbing.

EU's Juncker: Deal Will Preserve Euro Area Financial Stability

BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- Euro-zone finance ministers early Tuesday agreed an ambitious EUR130 billion rescue deal that will see Greece's private creditors take an even larger loss in order to put the debt-laden country on a sustainable footing, said Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg's prime minister and chairman of the Eurogroup.

China acts to crank up credit as lending, economy slow

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's central bank cut the amount of cash banks must hold in reserves on Saturday, boosting lending capacity by an estimated 350-400 billion yuan ($55.6-$63.5 billion) in a bid to crank up credit creation as the world's second-biggest economy faces a fifth successive quarter of slowing growth.

Markets back Greek bailout hopes but German schism could still derail deal

Greek hopes of winning the final go-ahead for a new €130bn (£108bn) bailout when eurozone finance ministers meet on Monday could be shattered even though Athens has agreed to further bruising savings.

Zimbabwe Central Bank, Treasury Planning Banking Reforms

JOHANNESBURG – Zimbabwe rolled out a raft of measures this week to boost stability in the country's financial sector, decimated by its economic crisis and investor flight.

US jobless rate falls to 8.3% as jobs surge: Government data

WASHINGTON: The US unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent in January, its lowest level in nearly three years, thanks to an unexpected surge in hiring, government data showed Friday.

Canada ramps up fight against Volcker rule

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada stepped up pressure on Washington on Monday to rewrite its controversial Volcker rule to remove restrictions on Canadian bank activities that it says do not threaten the U.S. financial system.

GE to hire 5,000 veterans over next 5 years

WASHINGTON: General Electric Co plans to hire 5,000 US military veterans over the next five years and to invest $580 million to expand its aviation footprint in the United States this year.

Canada asks for exemption to Volcker rule

OTTAWA (Reuters) - New banking regulations proposed by Washington to avoid bailouts in the future also reach into Canada in a way that could hurt the government bond market and hinder progress on global financial reform, top Canadian officials said on Monday.

Airlines urge U.N. deal to avert carbon trade war

The call by the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) comes amid signs that the EU may be willing to soften a unilateral stance that also risks souring efforts to resolve Europe's sovereign debt crisis with Chinese support.

Greece now needs €145bn bailout to avoid collapse

Ahead of a crucial parliamentary vote to agree to a series of stark austerity measures designed to meet lenders' requirements, it emerged the so-called Troika of rescuers are preparing to plough more funds into the troubled European nation.

ET, the new alien scaring global markets

The United States is coming to be seen as a global threat, acting unilaterally with aggressive new market rules that critics say will hurt U.S. firms, foreign banks, and international markets in one swoop.

Greek euro exit less damaging now; eurozone much stronger: Dutch PM

THE HAGUE: A Greek exit from the eurozone now would be less risky than if it had happened in mid-2010 when its debt crisis first broke, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Tuesday as bailout talks in Athens went to the wire.

UBS profits slump on weak business

Profits UBS have slumped by 76% in its latest quarterly results.

Obama orders blocking of Iranian properties in US

WASHINGTON: In a move bound to rattle Tehran, US President Barack Obama on Monday issued an executive order blocking property of the Iranian government and its financial institutions in America.

Wen says Europe stability in China's interests

China's Premier Wen Jiabao said a stable Europe was key to stability at home, in comments published Sunday, at the end of a week that saw Germany's chancellor visit Beijing.

Iran threatens retaliation over oil embargo

TEHRAN: Iran's supreme leader threatened on Friday to retaliate against the West for sanctions, a day after a US newspaper said defence secretary Leon Panetta believed Israel was likely to bomb Iran within months to stop it building a nuclear bomb.

Bernanke to testify on US economy and deficit

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will likely tell members of Congress on Thursday that the slowly improving economy may need more help from the Fed and that cutting the deficit too quickly could backfire.

Exclusive: Iran's ships stopped from shipping Ukrainian grain

(Reuters) - Traders are no longer booking cargoes on Iranian ships to transport grain exports from Ukraine because of difficulties with payments following European Union sanctions on Iran, traders said on Wednesday.

Financial Stability Board to 'name and shame' countries over financial security

Mark Carney, chairman of the FSB, has launched the process to look at how the G20 agreement on banking security following the financial crisis is working. Basel III is due to enforce new capital and liquidity rules by 2019.

FSB warns Canada over household debt

The Financial Stability Board expressed concern Tuesday about high levels of household debt in Canada leaving the country's financial system vulnerable to an economic downturn.

Myanmar says it will put stability ahead of economy: report

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Myanmar President Thein Sein said his government was committed to political reform and would put the stability of the country ahead of economic development, Singapore's Straits Times newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Spain unemployment total passes five million

Madrid, Spain (TOE) - Spain’s unemployment total has passed the five million mark, the highest in 15 years, with the jobless rate shooting up from 21.5% to 22.8%., data from the statistical office INE showed Friday.

First-time unemployment claims climb

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- After plunging the week before, first-time claims for unemployment benefits ticked up last week.

How to Protect Canada from the Next Big Financial Shock: C.D. Howe Institute

TORONTO , Jan. 25, 2012 /CNW/ - Canada should improve its oversight of financial stability in the economy with a watchdog committee co-chaired by the Bank of Canada and Finance Canada , according to a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute.

Economy to be Front and Center in Obama's Speech

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- President Barack Obama plans to stress the importance of improving confidence in the U.S. economy in his State of the Union address later Tuesday, according to excerpt of the speech released to media outlets.

Financial Stability Tops List of Insurers’ Concerns: Geneva Association

A newly published study from insurance think tank the Geneva Association analyzes the principle concerns facing the industry in 2012.

Sweden Should Set Up Financial Stability Committee-Research Body

STOCKHOLM -(Dow Jones)- Sweden should establish a new committee based at its central bank with responsibility for the country's financial stability, a Swedish research body said in a report Thursday.

European central banks to book few losses from Lehman collapse

FRANKFURT: European central banks will book hardly any losses from the default of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers four years ago, Germany's Bundesbank said on Thursday.

Global Demand for U.S. Financial Assets Rises on Europe

Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Global demand for U.S. financial assets rose more than forecast in November, boosted by investors seeking shelter from the European debt crisis.

Banks find ways to recoup revenue lost to new rules

In the past two years, major U.S. banks have been hit with a trifecta of new regulations costing them billions of dollars in lost revenue.

EFSF Loses AAA Rating After S&P Downgrades France, Austria

Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The European Financial Stability Facility lost its top credit rating at Standard & Poor’s after the rating company downgraded France and Austria.

Europe must move quickly after downgrades: Merkel

(Reuters) - Ratings downgrades in the euro zone by S&P underline why Europe must seal a pact to tighten fiscal rules quickly and get its permanent bailout fund up and running as soon as possible, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday.

Obama requests another $1.2 trillion to pay US costs

President Barack Obama has formally notified Congress of proposals for a $1.2 trillion (£782bn) rise in borrowing, risking another battle with Republicans.

Loan restructuring to cast shadow over banks' Q3 nos

KOLKATA: Debt restructuring will overshadow the bad loans problems in the December quarter earnings release from banks as it may touch Rs 50,300 crore with a potential to double in the next year as utilities and steel companies fail to execute projects.

Gold eases on firm dollar, euro zone fear

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold prices lost more than half a percent on Monday, after the momentum that pushed prices up 3 percent last week fizzled as the dollar firmed with growing worries about the euro zone debt crisis.

Germany and France say debt talks advancing

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy pushed Monday to speed up Europe's efforts to control the two-year governmental debt crisis.

Money Funds Could Face More Changes

AS Europe was lurching from crisis to crisis in late October, a Norwegian lender — a $40 billion bank with a strong credit rating, four blue-chip owners and a 50-year track record — abruptly stumbled.First, Norway’s regulators turned down the bank’s request that they waive a new rule requiring it to have a more diverse portfolio.

Swiss Bank Chief Vows Not to Resign Over Currency Trades

FRANKFURT — Philipp M. Hildebrand, head of the Swiss central bank, said Thursday that he regretted currency trades that have threatened his international reputation as an advocate for tougher bank regulation, but he maintained that he had violated no laws or regulations and would not resign.

Unicredit shares fall on rights issue concerns

Italian bank Unicredit fell sharply on the Milan stock exchange after it announced the details of a 7.5bn euro ($9.8bn; £6.3bn) sale of new shares.

Manufacturing activity, employment on the rise

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Manufacturing grew at a faster pace in December, according to a closely-watched reading on the health of the sector.

Hungary Banks, Treasury Fees, South Korea Banks, CDR Financial: Compliance

Hungary’s chances of obtaining a bailout receded after lawmakers approved new central bank regulations Dec. 30 that prompted the International Monetary Fund and the European Union to break off talks last month.

U.S. Employment Probably Picked Up in Dec.

Hiring probably accelerated in December for a second month, a sign an improving U.S. labor market will bolster consumer spending in early 2012, economists said before a report this week.

Greek, Italian Bonds Slide as Bunds Have Best Year Since 2008

Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Greek and Italian government bonds had their worst years on record as Europe’s financial woes intensified, driving investors to sell securities of Europe’s most indebted nations.