Greece demands €279bn from Germany in Nazi war reparations

Germany's economy minister branded Greece's demand for 278.7 billion euros in reparations from World War Two as "stupid" on Tuesday, while the German opposition said Berlin should repay a forced loan dating from the Nazi occupation.

Countdown to missed opportunity for EU economy

(Reuters) - The countdown has begun to what threatens to be a missed opportunity to revive Europe's stalled economy.

Spain Reaps Investment Boon as Rajoy Reforms Lure FDI

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s progress in luring investors back to Spain is spreading well beyond the bond market.

European Central Bank keeps rates at record 0.25% low

The European Central Bank (ECB) has kept its benchmark interest rate at a record low of 0.25%.

Global consumer confidence improves, noticeably in U.S., Japan

LONDON (Reuters) - Global consumer confidence rose in the first quarter, with a marked increase in sentiment in the United States, Japan and northern Europe, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Greek reforms hit new setback as privatisation chief resigns

In another setback for Greece's reforms, the country's privatisation chief Takis Athanasopoulos has resigned after only a few months in the job, after being charged with dereliction of duty in his former role as chief executive of the public utility PPC.

Italy center-left ally says EU must loosen budget rules

ROME (Reuters) - A leading member of Italy's center-left coalition, frontrunner in polls for this weekend's election, said on Thursday the country should seek revisions of European Union budget rules.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.