European Union considers protecting savers against future bank collapses

BRUSSELS: Depositors should be the very last to suffer losses when a bank collapses, according to a proposal being discussed by European Union countries and seen by Reuters, which would shield savers from the kind of losses they face in Cyprus.

Euro zone sees light at end of tunnel, pitfalls remain

(Reuters) - There are no calls for celebration, no desire to relax in the corridors of Brussels but some officials believe the euro zone has turned a corner, sharpening the focus on longer-term reforms and structures.

Spain cuts growth forecasts but says no need for 'major reforms'

The eurozone’s fourth-largest economy had previously forecast that growth would fall by 0.5pc this year.

U.S. council warns of threat of cyber attacks, market runs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Regulators should guard against runs on the shadow banking system and watch out for cyber attacks on banks in coming months, the top U.S. financial stability group said on Thursday.

ECB would have to raise rates if looking at Germany only: Merkel

DRESDEN, Germany (Reuters) - The European Central Bank would have to raise interest rates if it were looking at Germany alone but is in a difficult position because economic performance across the euro zone varies widely, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday.

European rate cut hopes shore up markets

LONDON (AP) — Growing hopes that the European Central Bank will cut interest rates next month shored up markets Tuesday despite more evidence that the Chinese economy is slowing down.

Spain Has EU’s Largest Deficit, Undermining Rajoy Pickup

Spain’s budget deficit was the largest in the European Union last year, underlining the challenge faced by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy as he prepares a new plan to foster an economic recovery.

World Bank sets 'expiration date' on poverty

WASHINGTON: The World Bank gathered the might of the international community Saturday behind its audacious plan to eradicate extreme poverty within a generation.

Britain is a 'crisis economy', says Mark Carney

Speaking on the fringes of the International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings in Washington, he said: “The US is breaking out of the pack of crisis economies that include the eurozone, the UK and Japan.”

German court to hear case against ESM, ECB bond-buying in June

(Reuters) - Germany's Constitutional Court will hold a public hearing on June 11 and 12 on complaints against the euro zone's bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the European Central Bank's bond-buying program.

Christine Lagarde warns UK growth 'not good'

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, has expressed renewed concern over the health of the UK economy.

Inflation sticks at highest level since May 2012

The rate of inflation stayed at its highest level for almost a year in March, keeping up the squeeze on consumers.

BOJ Chief Says Japan's Financial System Stable

TOKYO--Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said Monday the country's financial system remains stable, despite continued high volatility in the Japanese government bond market after the central bank's introduction of aggressive monetary easing measures earlier this month.

Analysis: Euro zone bank troublespots don't come down to size

DUBLIN/LONDON (Reuters) - Though the implosion of Cyprus's bloated banking system has put other euro zone economies with outsized financial sectors such as Luxembourg and Malta in the spotlight, loan quality is the real litmus test of a country's financial stability.

G20 to consider cutting debt to well below 90 pct/GDP: Document

DUBLIN: Financial leaders of the world's 20 biggest economies will consider next week in Washington a proposal to cut their public debt over the longer term to well below 90 percent of gross domestic product, a document prepared for the meeting showed.

Euro ministers back 10 billion euro Cyprus bailout

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers backed a 10 billion euro bailout for Cyprus on Friday and the European Commission said it would try to help the island's economy grow again with better use of EU structural funds.

Cyprus reports sharp cut in size of banking sector

NICOSIA/CYPRUS: A draft bailout document between Cyprus and its international creditors shows that the size of the country's banking sector has been sharply reduced since the country's rescue package was agreed last month.

OECD warns Slovenian banks on volume of bad debts

LJUBLJANA: The OECD sounded the alarm Tuesday over the huge volume of bad debts strangling Slovenian banks but said that there was no immediate prospect of the country becoming the latest eurozone member after Cyprus to need a bailout.

Bernanke: US economy 'still far' from desired state

WASHINGTON: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday that the US economy still has far to go to recover to an acceptable state of health.

Banking union a priority for Lew in Europe

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's economic weakness and financial turmoil affect the U.S. economy, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told EU leaders on Monday, stressing the need to boost demand and move ahead with a euro zone banking union.

Portugal to cut spending after court ruling

LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's government will cut spending to meet targets agreed with its lenders after a court overturned key austerity measures, Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said on Sunday.

U.K. Says Bonus Curbs It Fought Threaten Financial Stability

Banker bonus curbs backed by the rest of the European Union imperil efforts to make lenders more resilient in crises, the U.K. said in a new attack following Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s defeated bid to block the measures.

ECB says first Cyprus bailout plan 'not smart'

The initial plan to make small savers pay for the Cyprus bailout was "not smart", the European Central Bank (ECB) president has said. ECB president Mario Draghi said a proposal to make "insured depositors" pay did not come from the ECB, the European Commission or the IMF.

Portugal faces no-confidence austerity vote

Portugal's government faces a no-confidence motion on Wednesday, brought by opposition Socialists amid mounting unhappiness with the country's austerity measures.

EU, IMF to resume inspection of Greek reforms this week

ATHENS: Auditors from the EU and IMF will resume an inspection of Greek reforms this week that was suspended just days before the banking crisis erupted in Cyprus.

Euro zone factories suffer in March, but no Cyprus impact yet: PMI

LONDON: Manufacturing across the euro zone fell deeper into decline in March, although the Cyprus bailout crisis has yet to take a toll on factory activity, a business survey showed on Tuesday.

Investors peg hopes on global economic recovery

Signs of a rebound in the US and a return to strong growth in Chiina have seen bets by hedge funds and other major investors on rising commodity prices - a proxy for a global economic recovery - climb sharply, according to figures from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the US.

Calculating the Impact of Cyprus’s Bailout

WHAT are the implications of the huge losses — 60 percent — that the Cypriot bailout is imposing on the biggest depositors of that country’s two largest banks?