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?