MADRID (Reuters) – The euro zone economy has experienced a strong recovery in the third quarter even though the most recent incoming data in August have been less robust, European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos said on Tuesday. “In the third quart... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – German manufacturers’ recovery from lockdown measures continued last month, with output growing at the fastest pace since February 2018, a survey showed on Tuesday. IHS Markit’s final Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for manufacturing, which... More »
BENGALURU (Reuters) – Funds recommended equity holdings be trimmed to the lowest in over four years in August, despite record-breaking gains by world stocks, as the pandemic drags on and new data suggest the nascent economic rebound is stalling, Reuters polls ... More »
1/WALL STREET WATCHES WASHINGTON U.S. lawmakers negotiating a fresh dose of stimulus have reached an impasse. Trillions of dollars injected by the Federal Reserve and huge government spending increases have stemmed coronavirus-linked economic damage, fuelling ... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The dollar slipped marginally and commodity currencies inched higher on Monday as investors were relieved by a delay in the review of the U.S.-China trade pact which left the deal intact. The moves in the Asia session were modest, as weak... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Investor morale in the euro zone rose for a fourth consecutive month in August but the low reading suggests that the coronavirus-hit economy is still in recession in the third quarter, a survey showed on Monday. Sentix’s index for the euro z... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar rose in early London trading on Monday, including versus the euro and Swiss franc, with investors focusing on fiscal stimulus in the United States and U.S.-China tensions ahead of key trade talks on August 15. After talks in Washi... More »
LONDON/TOKYO (Reuters) – Euro zone manufacturing activity expanded modestly last month, its first growth since early 2019, and Asia’s pain eased as the contraction slowed in export-reliant nations, adding to hopes the sector is emerging from the hit of the cor... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Euro zone companies continued to tap bank credit at a brisk pace in June even as the economy reopened after three months of coronavirus-related lockdown, data from the European Central Bank showed on Monday. Lending to non-financial corpo... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – The danger to the euro zone economy from the coronavirus pandemic is not yet over, European Central Bank board member Fabio Panetta told La Repubblica, adding that he saw no need to make any tweaks to the bank’s massive asset purchase progra... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Signs emerged that leaders of northern European Union countries were willing to compromise on a 1.8 trillion euro ($2 trillion) coronavirus stimulus plan on Monday as talks in Brussels extended to a fourth day. Divided and slow to respond ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – EU leaders reported some progress on Monday after three days of haggling over a coronavirus stimulus plan, sending the euro to a four-month high and Italy’s borrowing costs to lows not seen since March. An attempt to reach a compromise faile... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The euro retreated after hitting a 19-week high of $1.1467 on Monday after EU summit chairman Charles Michel said a recovery fund to revive economies hit by the COVID-19 pandemic could contain 390 billion euros in grants. EU leaders have mad... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Investors pumped money into riskier bonds and equity funds, BofA’s weekly fund flow statistics showed on Friday, as unprecedented stimulus measures helped offset worries about rising COVID-19 case numbers in the United States. The policy sup... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – A growth spurt in the balance sheets of the world’s biggest central banks has crested in recent weeks, drawing warnings from investors that any signs of backpedaling on stimulus will jolt financial markets and strangle economic recovery. The... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank will use its stimulus firepower fully even as the euro zone economy shows some signs of rebounding from its pandemic-induced recession, ECB President Christine Lagarde said on Thursday. Tackling the biggest econo... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank expects a pending European Union stimulus scheme to favour grants over loans in the funding mechanism it uses to help kick-start the bloc’s economies, bank president Christine Lagarde said on Thursday. Leaders of... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone industrial production rose in May, official estimates showed on Tuesday, but the recovery from lockdown-induced record declines March and April was lower than expected and far from offsetting past drops. Manufacturing output in t... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Euro zone banks maintained relatively easy access to credit for firms in the second quarter with the backing of government guarantees, but they will likely tighten credit standards in the following three months, the European Central Bank ... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The German economy is rebounding from a pandemic-induced slump after hitting bottom last month, a real-time indicator developed by the country’s central bank showed on Monday. Launched in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, the Bundesbank’s... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – France will back Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino for the presidency of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday, a stance echoed by France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Dri... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The euro zone economy will drop deeper into recession this year and rebound less steeply in 2021 than previously thought, the European Commission forecast on Tuesday, with France, Italy and Spain struggling the most due to the COVID-19 pan... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Around one fifth of German companies (21%) believe their survival is threatened by the coronavirus crisis, Germany’s Ifo institute said on Monday, with travel agents, hotels and restaurants particularly concerned. “We could see a wave of ins... More »
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The risk of a deeper economic euro zone recession than predicted in the European Central Bank’s (ECB) baseline scenario has diminished, ECB governing council member Klaas Knot said on Friday. “Recent data solidifies the confidence in our ... More »
LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) – Sixteen banks from Germany, France and three other euro zone countries on Thursday said a “truly European” payments system was expected to be up and running in 2022 to fully digitalise a region where half of all retail payments are sti... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank is lowering the bar for bank mergers in the euro zone, hoping to encourage an elusive wave of consolidation in a sector plagued by low profits and unresolved issues inherited from the last financial crisis. In a ... More »
BRUSSELS/MADRID (Reuters) – Finance ministers of Spain, Ireland and Luxembourg are in the running to chair meetings of the powerful Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers, with euro zone officials saying it is likely to be a close race between the Spanish an... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – A string of positive economic indicators in the euro zone confirm that a recovery is on its way but the bloc may still need years to reach pre-crisis levels of activity, European Central Bank policymaker Klaas Knot said on Thursday. “I wo... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – BlackRock’s Investment Institute said on Tuesday it was “warming up” to European assets following what it called the eurozone’s “impressive” efforts to tackle the coronavirus. The research arm of the world’s biggest fund manager said two fac... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. dollar was slightly lower in North American morning trade on Monday, stabilizing after a move higher overnight on a sell-off in risk assets over rising fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections. The dollar index =USD, which... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The Australian dollar fell nearly 2% on Tuesday after China’s education ministry warned students to carefully consider studying there amid tension between the trading partners. The dollar found some footing, rising against tearaway commodity... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank is contemplating whether to extend a request to banks to hold off on dividend payments and share buybacks, and hopes to provide more clarity in July, Andrea Enria, its chief bank supervisor said on Tuesday. The E... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A plunge in household spending and investment pulled down euro zone gross domestic product in the first quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic struck, but the fall was slightly smaller than first estimated, the European Union’s statistics office... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank expects the euro zone to suffer a deep recession this year, with losses only partly made up in 2021 as pandemic-related restrictions weigh on output for an extended period. In what ECB President Christine Lagarde... More »
(Reuters) – The European Central Bank beefed up its bond-buying programme on Thursday in its latest effort to support a euro zone economy pummelled by more than two months of shutdowns to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. Following are highlights of ECB Pres... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Euro zone manufacturers appear to have passed their nadir, a survey showed on Monday, but activity is still contracting sharply as government-imposed lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic keep demand in check. Many countries in the bloc ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar steadied against the euro on Wednesday even as the common currency remained supported by news of a proposal for an economic recovery package to help the euro zone region recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The euro EUR=EBS wa... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The coronavirus crisis may have dealt a lethal blow to the idea that the euro could one day replace the dollar as the world’s preferred currency, by exposing euro zone frailties and cementing the U.S. Fed’s role as global lender of last reso... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s DIHK chambers of industry and commerce expect Europe’s largest economy to shrink at least 10% this year due to the coronavirus crisis, its president said on Tuesday, a much more pessimistic view than the government’s forecast. “Thi... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Investors are bearish on stocks, especially riskier assets, and expect a slower economic recovery as the risk of a second wave of infections from the novel coronavirus persists, a BofA fund manager survey showed. World stocks have bounced ba... More »
ROME (Reuters) – Grandparents hugged their grandchildren, toddlers rushed excitedly through parks and factories revived their long-stalled production lines as Italy started the slow process of unwinding Europe’s longest coronavirus lockdown. Nearly two months ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The European Central Bank meets on Thursday, the ink barely dry on its emergency bond-buying scheme, and markets are already asking what more it will do to help the euro zone economy through the coronavirus crisis. Its emergency stimulus, wh... More »
BENGALURU (Reuters) – The euro zone economy is already in its deepest recession on record, according to a Reuters poll of economists, who have stuck to a bleak outlook and worry the downturn might be even worse as coronavirus lockdowns across the bloc take the... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union leaders meeting are on Thursday expected to defer a final decision on how to finance the bloc’s economic recovery in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, diplomats and officials said. The 27 national leaders have alrea... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The euro zone’s fiscal response to the coronavirus crisis has been inadequate so far and threatens the single market, European Central Bank board member Fabio Panetta said in an editorial published by Politico. Budget action should be pro... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union countries on Thursday evening agreed the emergency credit lines from the euro zone’s bailout fund “will be available until COVID-19 crisis is over”, a draft of their deal read. Afterwards, euro countries should remain commit... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Central Bank told euro zone finance ministers that the bloc may need fiscal measures worth up to 1.5 trillion euros ($1.6 trillion) this year to tackle the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, officials told Reuter... More »
FRANKFURT/RIGA (Reuters) – It would be irresponsible of euro zone countries to leave the European Central Bank alone in the fight against an economic slump caused by the coronavirus outbreak, ECB policymaker Martins Kazaks said on Wednesday. Finance ministers ... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone finance ministers hope to agree on Tuesday on half a trillion euros worth of economic aid to finance recovery from the coronavirus, a discussion that has sown divisions as the bloc struggles with the outbreak. If they do agree, t... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Dollar borrowing costs in the foreign exchange swap markets retreated further on Monday, with swap rates against the euro and pound falling to their lowest levels in more than a decade. These moves indicate recent emergency actions by global... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Investor morale in the euro zone fell to an all-time low in April and the bloc’s economy is in deep recession due to the coronavirus, which is “holding the world economy in a stranglehold”, a survey showed on Monday. Sentix’s index for the e... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Help to euro zone members struggling under the weight of the coronavirus crisis should come from the European level, European Central Bank board member atold Greek newspaper To Vima in an interview. “This is not just a question of Europea... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – With the euro zone economy in need of help from the coronavirus pandemic, officials have until April 9 to design a package that satisfies members with completely opposing views: those calling for joint debt issuance and those fiercely agai... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund said on Monday the relaxation of the euro zone’s fiscal rules and support from the European Central Bank and the European Stability Mechanism is critical to a strong regional response to the coronavirus pa... More »
LONDON/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank told euro zone banks on Friday to skip dividend payments and share buybacks until October at the earliest and use their profits to support the economy as it is hit by the coronavirus pandemic. With large p... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has a concrete reason for putting pressure on euro zone governments to finance the fight against coronavirus with joint debt — avoiding trouble with the courts. These common “coronabonds” ... More »
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde asked euro zone finance ministers during a videoconference on Tuesday evening to seriously consider a one-off joint debt issue of “coronabonds” to help fight the coronavirus pandemic,... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The EU agreed on Friday to suspend requirements that oblige airlines to use at least 80% of their take-off and landing slots in order to keep them the following year until Oct. 24 due to the aviation industry crisis unleashed by coronaviru... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission supports all tools that would help mitigate the negative impact of the coronavirus epidemic on the EU economy, the EU executive arm said on Friday when asked about discussions to deploy the euro zone bailout fund to... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Euro zone governments should “get their acts together” and respond to the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout in a bold and coordinated way now that the ECB has secured cheap financing for it, two ECB rate-setters said on Friday... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank launched 750 billion euro emergency bond purchase scheme in a bid to stop a pandemic-induced financial rout from shredding the euro zone’s economy and raising fresh concerns about the currency bloc’s viability. W... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank slashed its forecast for Germany’s economy on the coronavirus fallout, saying it now expected the euro zone’s largest economy to contract between 4-5% in 2020 while industrial production could shrink by 10%. “Within days lockdo... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – The European Central Bank’s new bond purchase scheme will help reduce the risk of fragmentation between euro zone states, France’s finance minister said on Thursday. “The plan that the European Central Bank announced is the right one,” Bruno ... More »
VIENNA (Reuters) – If the European Central Bank sees the need for further stimulus in the area of government bonds to help countries tackle the coronavirus impact, it is ready to do so, European Central Bank policymaker Robert Holzmann said on Monday. “If ther... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Investors pulled out of most asset classes, with stocks and bond funds seeing a combined $36 billion of outflows in the week to Wednesday, BofA said, amid fears of economic damage from the coronavirus epidemic. Stock markets have been sellin... More »
VIENNA (Reuters) – European Central Bank policymaker Robert Holzmann said he would not support an interest rate cut to insulate the euro zone from the effects of the coronavirus epidemic but he could consider giving firms ultra cheap loans. When asked if targe... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – The European Central Bank is prepared to support the economy if needed in the face of the coronavirus outbreak, although more action is not yet needed, ECB policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Monday. Villeroy, who is also head of ... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – G7 countries will take “concerted action” to limit the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on economic growth and their finance ministers will discuss by phone this week how best to act, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday. “... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – Roman Polanski’s film “An Officer and a Spy” collected its first Cesar Award out of 12 nominations on Friday, scooping the prize for best costume designer. Pascaline Chavanne was not at the event to collect her trophy after the entire cast an... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Italy and other euro zone countries hit by the coronavirus outbreak are expected to benefit from waivers under EU fiscal rules that will allow them to spend more to tackle the emergency, the bloc’s economics commissioner said on Wednesday.... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The euro dropped back towards $1.08 on Monday and the Australian dollar tumbled to a new 11-year low as the rapid spread of the coronavirus outside China drove fears of a pandemic and sent investors to the safety of the U.S. dollar. The safe... More »
RIYADH (Reuters) – Failure to reach a global deal on where and how much to tax digital giants such as Google (GOOGL.O), Amazon (AMZN.O) or Facebook (FB.O) would result in many digital tax regimes emerging all over the world, France’s Finance Minister said on S... More »
RIYADH (Reuters) – Leading world economies must show unity in dealing with aggressive “tax optimization” by global digital giants like Google (GOOGL.O), Amazon (AMZN.O) and Facebook (FB.O), G20 officials said on Saturday. The Organisation for Economic Cooperat... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone finance ministers discussed ways to pursue a more growth-friendly fiscal policy mix on Monday, in a potential nudge to Germany and the Netherlands to spend more as fears of a downturn grow in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic.... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The euro struggled near 3-year lows on Monday as investors worried about weakening growth in the region, while Chinese efforts to limit the damage from a coronavirus outbreak appeared to calm markets, with the yuan and Australian dollar gain... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain does not need any special arrangements in its future relationship with the European Union, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said on Monday, adding that it wants a trade agreement similar to other deals the EU has struck. Prim... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone finance ministers are set to discuss on Monday a document that calls for a more growth-friendly fiscal policy, a move that could lead to Germany’s spending more amid fears of a downturn. The 19-country euro zone has for years stu... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German economic growth will remain weak in the first quarter of 2020, weighed down by weak exports and the coronavirus outbreak in China, the Bundesbank said in a regular economic report on Monday. Europe’s largest economy stagnated in th... More »
(Reuters) – 1/CHINA ON SICK LEAVE A leap in coronavirus cases in Hubei gave markets pause, for all of 24 hours. Then attention shifted back to the global case-count and the rally resumed. But while investors are focused on containment, the world’s second-bigge... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone economic growth slowed as expected in the last three months of 2019 as gross domestic product shrank in France and Italy against the previous quarter, but employment growth picked up more than expected, official estimates showed ... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Gathered in a German mountain castle last November for an evening retreat that ended with a whiskey-tasting, rebel European Central Bank policymakers and Christine Lagarde, their newly confirmed president, made a pact. Lagarde pledged to ... More »
DUBLIN (Reuters) – Nine years after a devastating crash in property prices catapulted the party of Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar to power, a housing market recovery too rapid for many threatens to dump it into opposition at this week’s general election. Th... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The euro zone’s top bank supervisor blamed a “mess” of diverging laws across the bloc on Tuesday for the European Central Bank’s failure to stop Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos, who is suspected of fraud, from controlling a bank in ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said the European Union will have the upper hand in post-Brexit trade talks with the United Kingdom and questioned Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s timetable of striking a deal by the end of the year, the BBC ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he wants to lose weight in 2020, but will not do “Veganuary” – the popular practice of becoming vegan in January – as it would take too much concentration and mean giving up cheese. “I had thought of... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – China’s yuan led a rally in trade-sensitive currencies on Monday and the Australian dollar recovered some recent losses as the imminent signing of a preliminary U.S.-China trade deal boosted sentiment. The U.S.-China Phase 1 agreement, due t... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Safe-haven currencies such as the Japanese yen retreated on Thursday as the United States and Iran backed away from further conflict, with markets flipping back to a more risk-taking approach on hopes of a U.S.-China trade deal. U.S. Preside... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – Ballerinas in white tutus danced scenes from Swan Lake on the forecourt of the Paris Opera on Tuesday to protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to scrap their special pension benefits. Backed by musicians from the Paris Symphony Or... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – From Harley Davidson to Colgate-Palmolive, U.S. companies are flocking to borrow in euros and their record issuance is breathing life into a market where yields have been hammered by the European Central Bank’s renewed stimulus push. Offshor... More »
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Interest rates in the euro zone could remain historically low for years, but the European Central Bank’s (ECB) ultra-loose monetary policy risks becoming counterproductive, ECB governing council member Klaas Knot said in an interview publ... More »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank left policy unchanged at new ECB President Christine Lagarde’s first meeting on Thursday, keeping money taps wide open and further stimulus ready as the euro zone economy continues to suffer from broader global t... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union leaders are meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday for talk on climate, the EU’s long-term budget, Brexit, the euro zone and Russia sanctions, among others. Here are comments made by them on Thursday ahead of the summit.... More »
ROME (Reuters) – Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told parliament on Monday a contested reform of the euro zone’s bailout fund was in Italy’s national interest, but that it should only be adopted as a package alongside other measures. A reform of the European Sta... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Euro zone manufacturing activity contracted for a 10th straight month in November although the bloc’s battered factories may have turned a corner as forward-looking indicators in Monday’s survey appear to have passed a nadir. IHS Markit’s fi... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s export-dependent manufacturing sector contracted at a slower pace for the second month in a row in November, a survey showed on Monday, as companies sounded optimistic about their future business. IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ ... More »
MILAN (Reuters) – The head of Italy’s ruling 5-Star Movement said on Saturday the government should not sign off on a reform of the euro zone’s bailout fund until plans for a wider banking union became clearer. The comments by foreign minister Luigi Di Maio co... More »
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Euro zone inflation accelerated faster than expected in November on a rise in food and services prices, likely comforting European Central Bank policymakers even if some factors pushing up prices may be only temporary. The ECB ha... More »
ROME (Reuters) – Matteo Salvini has recently dropped threats to take Italy out of the euro zone but the hard-right leader is now alarming European authorities with a new target for his eurosceptic anger: a planned reform of the region’s bailout fund. Euro zone... More »
MILAN (Reuters) – Italy should use ongoing talks over the reform of the euro zone bailout fund, the ESM, to secure something for itself such as the appointment of an Italian to head the fund, Bank of Italy Deputy governor Fabio Panetta said on Saturday. Panett... More »
ROME (Reuters) – Proposals to reform the euro zone’s bailout fund are creating a political storm in Italy, where parties and institutions are battling over whether Rome should try to block the reform at the EU level. A draft of the reform was agreed by euro zo... More »
