SYDNEY/TOKYO Demand for the yen showed little signs of abating on Monday, with the currency reaching a fresh 17-month high, prompting the Japanese government to warn that it could take steps to weaken the exchange rate. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga t... More »
LONDON The dollar struggled to recover on Monday after its worst week in two months, with Friday’s strong U.S. labour market report having failed to change the market view that the Federal Reserve will only raise interest rates once this year, if at all. The g... More »
ATHENS/WASHINGTON International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde denied on Sunday that IMF staff would push Greece closer to default as a negotiating tactic on a new Greek bailout deal, which she said was “still a good distance away.” Lagarde ... More »
BRUSSELS Euro zone finance ministers are likely to start discussing debt relief for Greece on the sidelines of the IMF’s spring meetings in mid-April, if there is a deal by then with Athens on a reform package, euro zone officials said. Representatives of Gree... More »
HELSINKI If one fist bump could endanger Finland’s increasingly stressed tradition of consensus politics, then Prime Minister Juha Sipila and a cabinet colleague may just have achieved this dubious distinction. In a nod to popular culture, a smiling Sipila and... More »
TOKYO/SINGAPORE The dollar nudged up against the yen on Monday, after rebounding last week following a series of comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials who supported the case for more interest rate hikes than markets had anticipated. Such views helped th... More »
LONDON The dollar climbed for a fifth consecutive day against a basket of major currencies on Thursday, putting it on track for its best run of gains in almost a year, as investors moved to price in the possibility of two U.S. rate hikes this year. St Louis Fe... More »
LONDON Currency markets were off to a relatively quiet start on Monday, stabilizing after last week’s large swings, as investors geared up for Japanese and U.S. central bank policy meetings that could provide them with fresh direction. There are also interest ... More »
BRUSSELS A team of international lenders from the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund is likely to return to Athens in the coming week to begin to finalize a review of reforms, paving the way for more loan payouts and debt relief talks, officials sai... More »
LONDON Yanis Varoufakis, the self-described “erratic Marxist” who took Greece to the brink of a euro zone exit by battling creditors over the conditions for a bailout, has got a new role: advising Britain’s opposition Labour Party. The former Greek finance min... More »
BUDAPEST The euro zone’s troubles are forcing its member states to forge closer integration and Hungary will have to decide in coming years whether to give up some sovereignty in economic policy and join the group, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Monday. O... More »
SHANGHAI Financial leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies agreed to inform each other in advance about policy decisions that could lead to devaluations of their currencies, the chairman of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Saturday. ... More »
TOKYO The yen gained against key peers like the dollar and euro on Wednesday as sagging stocks and crude oil drove bids for the safe-haven currency. Undercutting upward momentum for equities, oil prices retraced earlier gains made at the week’s start and tumbl... More »
FRANKFURT It doesn’t look like much, but a boxy wooden vintage Swedish footstool isn’t just a place to rest your weary feet after cross-country skiing. It is the latest competition to hedge funds or high end real estate. And that means it will cost you $17,000... More »
PARIS Distracted by an unresolved migration crisis and negotiations on keeping Britain in the European Union, euro zone leaders could be caught unprepared by a new storm on financial markets. Global market turmoil since the start of the year has helped set war... More »
BRUSSELS International lenders are concerned with the quality of reforms in Greece, in exchange for which Athens is getting loans, the chairman of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem told the European Parliament’s economic committee on Thursday. Di... More »
LONDON The dollar turned lower against the euro in Europe on Monday as stock markets resumed their decline, wiping out gains based on Friday’s U.S. jobs report. A rise in oil prices during Asian trading helped commodity-linked currencies like the Australian an... More »
LONDON Global markets have been in turmoil since the start of the year, with stocks and commodities prices reeling, eroding inflation and making central banks increasingly dovish – a trend that could continue with more weak economic data. China, a focus of muc... More »
PARIS French President Francois Hollande ruled out on Wednesday Britain getting a veto over euro zone policies as London negotiates an EU reform package to keep the country in the bloc. On Tuesday, the head of the European Council, Donald Tusk, unveiled a draf... More »
BRUSSELS Proposals to protect Britain and other non-euro zone countries from deeper euro zone integration do not grant London the right of veto over decisions, European Council President Donald Tusk told EU leaders in a letter on Tuesday. Publishing the letter... More »
SYDNEY January updates on Asia’s mammoth factory sector released on Monday showed the new year began much as the old one ended – with too much capacity chasing too little demand. China was again the epicentre of disappointment as its official measure of manufa... More »
TOKYO/SYDNEY The yen nursed broad losses on Monday and the euro struggled for traction after the Bank of Japan adopted negative interest rates, heightening expectations that the European Central bank will ease policy too, making European bond yields slide. The... More »
LONDON European stocks succumbed to another slide in oil prices on Wednesday as markets waited cautiously to see what the Federal Reserve’s reaction will be to what has been a brutal start to the year for world markets. Asian and particularly Chinese bourses .... More »
LONDON The dollar struggled to gain traction on Wednesday, with investors awaiting the outcome of a Federal Reserve meeting for clues whether bets on a single U.S. interest rate rise in 2016 are justified. Australia’s dollar meanwhile hit a three-week high AUD... More »
DAVOS, Switzerland Central banks still have more firepower they can use to counter a slowdown in global growth, which does not change the outlook for recovery in the euro zone, European Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said on Wednesday. In an interview... More »
SINGAPORE/TOKYO The safe haven yen sagged on Tuesday as China’s fourth-quarter economic growth matched expectations, but its losses were likely to be limited amid persisting worries about the global economic outlook. The dollar rose 0.4 percent against the yen... More »
LONDON China’s yuan again dominated moves on major foreign exchange markets on Monday, driven 1 percent higher against the dollar in offshore trade after reports of another round of aggressive intervention by Beijing. With Chinese stocks sinking a further 5 pe... More »
LONDON World stocks fell to near 2-1/2 year lows on Monday as a fresh pounding for Chinese markets left Asia at a four-year trough and sent oil and commodity markets sprawling again. Europe’s main bourses saw a more steady start to the week but investors were ... More »
PARIS Economic conditions are stabilizing in China and the outlook is for steady growth in the euro zone, while the U.S. and UK economies are losing steam, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Monday. The Paris-based OECD said tha... More »
BERLIN Economic sentiment in the euro zone deteriorated more than expected in January as an economic slowdown in China and its impact on the world economy unsettled investors, survey data released on Monday showed. The Frankfurt-based Sentix research group’s i... More »
LONDON Moribund. Decrepit. Sclerotic. Popular words to describe the economy shared by the 19 countries of the euro zone – but perhaps no longer apt. Very slowly – and primarily because of massive stimulus from the European Central Bank – the euro zone is showi... More »
BENGALURU/NEW YORK The global economy finished last year on a fragile footing, with factory activity in China shrinking for the 10th month running in December, while euro zone manufacturing picked up but U.S. activity slowed. Coming on a day of volatility in A... More »
FRANKFURT The European Central Bank will keep monetary policy easy for as long as necessary in light of risks such as slower growth in emerging economies, its chief economist said in an interview with a Belgian newspaper. The ECB cut its deposit rate earlier t... More »
SYDNEY/TOKYO The dollar drifted lower in light Asian trading on Monday amid doubts about how far and fast the Federal Reserve would raise U.S. interest rates next year. The dollar eased to 121.20 yen JPY= and further away from Friday’s brief peak of 123.59. Th... More »
ATHENS Greece faces relatively low debt servicing needs in the coming years and further debt relief is not a matter of urgency, Greek financial daily Naftemporiki quoted European Central Bank Governing Council member Jens Weidmann as saying on Thursday. “In 20... More »
LONDON Britain and Italy said on Tuesday that they agree on the need to reform the European Union to protect the rights of the bloc’s non euro zone members, promote business and tackle the migration crisis. Britain is renegotiating some of the terms of its EU ... More »
FRANKFURT Hints by Mario Draghi ahead of last Thursday’s ECB rate meeting that the euro zone may need another big injection of money backfired, stiffening the resolve of more conservative central bankers who criticized him for raising expectations too high, so... More »
FRANKFURT The European Central Bank looks set to continue to support the economy as the euro zone’s upswing broadens and strengthens, Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Thursday. “The ECB has been accommodative … supportive for the economic recovery a... More »
PARIS France’s far-right National Front is set to score huge gains in regional elections on Sunday, redrawing the political landscape of the euro zone’s second-biggest economy as it gears up for the next presidential election in 2017. The anti-immigration, ant... More »
FRANKFURT European Central Bank President Mario Draghi called on Thursday for euro zone member states to do more to improve the economy. Saying that the ECB’s easy monetary policy has been “a success”, Draghi said there nonetheless needed to be more. “Actions ... More »
LONDON The U.S. Federal Reserve and European Central Bank are expected to deliver sharply contrasting policy decisions next month, reflecting how the world’s two largest economies have moved from the Great Recession to the Great Divide. The U.S. and euro zone ... More »
TOKYO/SYDNEY The dollar edged up to a fresh 8-1/2-month high against a basket of global currencies on Monday, while the prospect of further stimulus this week by the European Central Bank kept the euro on the defensive. The dollar index added about 0.1 percent... More »
SINGAPORE The euro languished near a seven-month low against the dollar on Monday, weighed down by expectations that the European Central Bank will ramp up its monetary stimulus next month. Most major banks have stuck firmly to the view that the euro will fall... More »
FRANKFURT The European Central Bank is ready to act quickly to boost anemic inflation in the euro zone, its president said on Friday, offering the strongest hint yet that the bank will unveil fresh stimulus measures at its Dec. 3 meeting. Mario Draghi highligh... More »
LONDON The euro hit a 6 1/2-month low against the yen and was pinned down near 7-month troughs against the dollar on Monday after the deadly attacks in Paris led to a bout of global risk aversion and kept investors cautious on the common currency. The Swiss fr... More »
BRUSSELS Greece and its euro zone creditors have reached a deal on many, but not all, issues in the program that Athens is implementing in return for loans, the head of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Sunday. Greece needs the euro zone ... More »
BRUSSELS European countries most affected by the refugee crisis may be granted some leeway on fiscal rules for a limited period of time, the head of the euro zone finance ministers said on Monday. “My own opinion is that for a number of countries there are gro... More »
PARISGlobal trade flows have fallen dangerously close to levels usually associated with a global recession, although actions taken by China and others should ensure a pick-up in 2016, the OECD said in a report on Monday. The Paris-based Organisation for Econom... More »
LONDONThe dollar edged away from a 6-1/2-month high against the euro on Monday, as investors took profits on the greenback’s surge after bumper U.S. jobs data bolstered bets on the U.S. Federal Reserve raising interest rates in December. The only major currenc... More »
ATHENSGreece’s parliament approved early Friday a bill with reforms prescribed by the country’s international lenders, ahead of a euro zone finance ministers meeting in three days which will decide if Athens qualifies for fresh bailout funds. Greece needs to l... More »
BRUSSELSThe euro zone may need to spend only 10 billion euros or less to help recapitalize Greek banks, a senior EU official said, after an ECB test showed the sector would need an extra 14.4 billion euros of capital if major risks materialized. Euro zone cred... More »
LONDONEuro zone private business growth remained tepid last month but activity in China’s services industry expanded at its fastest pace in three months, easing concerns about persistent weakness in its economy, surveys showed on Wednesday. There was little si... More »
LONDON The U.S. dollar fell on Monday, as appetite for risk waned amid downbeat Chinese factory surveys, which also lent support to the low-yielding euro and the safe-haven yen. Demand for both currencies has risen in recent times when worry about a sharp Chin... More »
LONDON Britain is seeking an “emergency brake” to allow countries which are in the European Union but outside the euro zone to delay decisions that could threaten their interests, the Financial Times reported. Britain, which is not a member of the 19-member si... More »
ATHENS They defied a vast Persian army in 480 BC, rejected Italy’s ultimatum during World War Two and told Europe to take a hike when presented with an unpalatable bailout deal in July, risking Greece’s place in the euro zone. Greeks celebrate ‘No’ Day, a uniq... More »
BRUSSELS The European Commission, which polices euro zone governments’ finances, will give more budget leeway to states that can prove to have suffered extraordinary costs to face the refugee crisis, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Tuesday. “W... More »
TOKYO The dollar dipped on Monday as the currency took a breather after scaling a 2-1/2-month high versus a basket of peers, although an improvement in risk appetite after China’s monetary easing limited the losses. Stock markets gained worldwide after China o... More »
WARSAW The euro zone needs additional measures, possibly looser fiscal policy, to secure economic growth, European Central Bank policymaker Ewald Nowotny said in an interview published on Monday. “This applies to structural reforms and fiscal policy,” he said ... More »
TOKYO The dollar was steady against the yen and euro on Friday after stronger-than-expected U.S. data kept alive prospects of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates before year-end. The Australian dollar inched up after Chinese data on Monday showed growth... More »
FRANKFURT U.S. rate hikes could have greater global repercussions than in the past and affect the euro zone more in some respects than the domestic market, European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio said on Thursday. A Federal Reserve rate rise woul... More »
BRUSSELS European Union leaders have postponed a deeper discussion of the future of the euro zone until December because of divergent views in the biggest countries and because of the more pressing migration issue, diplomats said. EU leaders, who meet on Thurs... More »
SINGAPORE The dollar hovered near a three-week low versus a basket of major currencies on Monday, anchored by doubts that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by year-end. The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s value against a basket of... More »
LUXEMBOURG Greece must complete the first review of agreed reforms, including the governance of its financial sector, before European creditors can pump in more money to recapitalize Greek banks, the chairman of euro zone finance ministers said. Jeroen Dijssel... More »
LONDON The dollar nursed losses on Monday, falling around 0.4 percent against the euro and easing against a basket of currencies, after a weak U.S. jobs report drove traders to push back expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike to early 2016. The euro’s bou... More »
ATHENS Greece will unveil a painful 2016 draft budget on Monday meant to satisfy international creditors, projecting the economy will stay in recession next year before returning to growth in 2017, in line with the estimates by the country’s lenders. After sev... More »
BRUSSELS Greece is likely to qualify for recapitalization funds for its banks by a Nov. 15 deadline because the payment depends mainly on financial sector reforms that it can implement by then, euro zone officials said on Friday. The euro zone bailout fund has... More »
BENGALURU/LONDON World economic growth lost momentum in September, with China’s factory output shrinking again, euro zone manufacturing growth slowing, and U.S. activity steady. The latest business surveys across Asia, Europe and the Americas paint a gloomier ... More »
LONDON The dollar edged back towards a five-week high against a basket of major currencies on Monday, as investors eyed U.S. payrolls numbers and Chinese data later in the week for confirmation of bets the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates this year. Th... More »
ATHENS Greek leftist Alexis Tsipras stormed back into office with an unexpectedly decisive election victory on Sunday, claiming a clear mandate to steer Greece’s battered economy to recovery. The vote ensured Europe’s most outspoken leftist leader would remain... More »
ATHENS Greek Prime Minister-elect Alexis Tsipras has reaffirmed his dominance on the political landscape, but now faces the daunting task of building consensus in a fractious society traumatized by years of austerity, local media said on Monday. On the morning... More »
ATHENS The leftist Syriza party of Alexis Tsipras won 35.47 percent of the vote in Sunday’s Greek national election based on 99.44 percent of votes counted, the Interior Ministry said on its website. Conservative New Democracy won 28.09 percent, the ministry s... More »
LONDON A year after Mario Draghi said European Central Bank interest rates had reached bottom, euro zone money markets are discounting a fair chance they could be lowered again – regardless of rising interest rates across the Atlantic. The low bank-to-bank len... More »
SYDNEY/SINGAPORE The dollar inched lower on Monday with investors sticking to the sidelines as the countdown begins on whether the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade. The euro edged up 0.1 percent to $1.1350 EUR=, ho... More »
SYDNEY The dollar, euro and yen all got off to a slow start on Monday with investors sticking to the sidelines as the countdown begins on whether the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade. The euro stood little changed ... More »
FRANKFURT The U.S. Federal Reserve takes center stage in the coming week, eclipsing industry data from China, another grim inflation reading from the euro zone and rate decisions in Japan and Switzerland. Guessing whether the Fed hikes rates on Thursday or opt... More »
LONDON Investors pulled another $19 billion from equity funds over the past week as they sought safety in government bond funds, which have enjoyed the longest run of inflows in four years, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch said on Friday. The exodus from emerging... More »
FRANKFURT Economic growth in the euro zone is still too weak to create a sufficient number of jobs, European Central Bank Executive Board member Benoit Coeure told a French newspaper group EBRA on Friday. “Growth is still not strong enough to create a sufficie... More »
BRUSSELS International creditors expect the first review of Greek reforms under the latest bailout to start in October, bringing changes to a memorandum of understanding signed with Athens and paving the way for debt rescheduling talks, euro zone officials sai... More »
BERLIN German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that the euro zone economy was in better shape than a year ago and said reform efforts by countries like Spain and Ireland had paid off. “If we look at the euro zone as a whole, we can say that there is ... More »
TOKYO The dollar clawed back some of the ground it had lost against the yen on Monday, after skidding on mixed U.S. employment data that failed to bring much clarity to the timing of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s long-awaited interest rate hike. The dollar added ... More »
TOKYO The dollar nursed its losses on Monday, after dropping on mixed U.S. employment data that failed to bring much clarity as to the timing of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s long-awaited interest rate hike. Nonfarm payrolls rose a less-than-expected 173,000 last... More »
CERNOBBIO, Italy A common euro zone budget should initially be funded through joint debt issuance and taxpayers’ money should only be used at a later stage, French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday. France wants the euro zone to have its own jo... More »
LONDON/NEW YORK Global manufacturing and service sector activity expanded in August at the same pace as in July, with both the U.S. and euro zone doing better than Asia, according to purchasing manager surveys. “Scratching beneath the headline numbers, however... More »
LONDON China’s giant manufacturing industry contracted and euro zone and U.S. growth eased in August in data published on Tuesday, while the International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for world growth this year. Stocks on major markets tumbled along with com... More »
BERLIN German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Tuesday that Spain’s economic development showed that the euro zone was tackling its crisis well. “Spain is the best example that we’ve done a lot of things quite right in Europe,” Schaeuble said at a b... More »
LONDON, Euro zone manufacturing growth eased last month, despite factories barely raising prices, adding to the European Central Bank’s woes as it battles to spur expansion and inflation, a survey showed. Tuesday’s disappointing readings come almost half a yea... More »
TOKYO/SINGAPORE The dollar began the week under pressure on Monday, on track for monthly losses but off recent lows as investors kept alive hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve would raise interest rates as early as next month. The dollar index .DXY, which trac... More »
TOKYO The dollar began the week under pressure on Monday, on track for monthly losses but off recent lows as investors kept alive hope that U.S. jobs data later this week would give the U.S. Federal Reserve reason to raise interest rates as early as next month... More »
BERLIN A Greek exit from the euro zone was a possibility and remains a threat if Athens does not fulfill the conditions of its third bailout agreement, the head of the European Stability Mechanism said on Thursday. “This threat as a possibility must always be ... More »
SINGAPORE/TOKYO The dollar rose against the yen on Tuesday, pulling up from a slide to seven-month lows the previous day, but the outlook remained clouded by worries of a China-led slowdown in global growth. Traders said a rise in U.S. stock index futures and ... More »
FRANKFURT Between 50 and 60 euro zone banks will be included in next year’s stress test of top EU lenders, fewer than half of the number in the 2014 exercise, a European Central Bank spokeswoman said on Friday. The ECB is the supervisor for top banks in the si... More »
Here is a list of euro zone parliaments that must approve the new 86 billion euro ($96 billion) Greek bailout this week. Here is a list: TUESDAY, AUG. 18 AUSTRIA – Parliament subcommittee to meet on the bailout. ESTONIA – Parliament holds extraordinary session... More »
HELSINKI Greece will be a headache for the euro zone for decades, Finland’s eurosceptic foreign minister said, and called for the International Monetary Fund to participate in the Greece’s new bailout package. “Unfortunately, this problem will be in front of u... More »
BRUSSELS/ATHENS Euro zone finance ministers have agreed to lend Greece up to 86 billion euros ($96 billion) after Greek lawmakers accepted their stiff conditions despite a revolt by supporters of leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Assuming approval by the ... More »
NEW YORK The U.S. dollar fell on Wednesday to its lowest in about a month against a basket of major currencies, on doubts over whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in September given China’s devaluation of the yuan. The euro hit its highe... More »
ATHENS Greece and its international lenders reached a multi-billion euro bailout deal on Tuesday to keep the nation in the euro zone and prevent financial meltdown, officials said. Here are some of the details of what Greece is required to do for up to 85 bill... More »
ATHENS Greece hopes to conclude negotiations with international creditors by early Tuesday at the latest, a Greek official said as talks continued in Athens on a new multi-billion euro bailout. Greece’s finance and economy ministers were locked in negotiations... More »
EPIDAURUS, Greece On a stiflingly hot summer night, the ancient Greek amphitheatre of Epidaurus is packed to capacity for a performance of a 2,400-year-old play by Aristophanes — testimony to Greeks’ enduring love of theater despite years of grinding economic ... More »
ATHENS Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday that Greece was close to concluding a deal with lenders on a multi-billion-euro bailout, which he said would end doubts over its place in the euro zone. The comments were the latest in a series of unusuall... More »
ATHENS Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday Greece is close to concluding a deal with lenders on a multi billion euro bailout, which he said would end doubts over the country’s presence in the euro zone. “We are in the final stretch of conclud... More »
