Tag: European Central Bank

Berlin's diplomatic offensive to secure the presidency of the European Central Bank (ECB), for which an Italian is also in the running, has reached a turning point as EU member states prepare to decide on the replacement of the ECB's current vice-president. In a leaked internal document, the German finance minister unveils his strategy.

A European Union inspection team has asked Greece for a more specific three-year plan to shore up the country's ailing finances, government officials said today (7 January).

While the EU admits its plan to create a Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA) across Europe will take longer than expected, consumer and banking groups argue that the scheme needs to be revised before it is rolled out any further.

A third of small or mid-sized eurozone firms have been finding it harder to get loans since the start of the year, a new report from the European Central Bank and European Commission showed on Monday.

The European Central Bank kept euro zone interest rates at 1.0% on 2 July, bolstering expectations they will stay there well into next year, and said it would start buying bonds next week.

Eurozone economic sentiment strengthened for the third month running in June, sending European stocks up as hopes grew that the worst economic crisis in decades may be easing, albeit slightly.

The euro hit its highest level against the dollar for a month yesterday (7 May), after the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its main interest rate to 1.0 percent and announced plans to buy €60bn of covered bonds. The move was part of a package of measures it hopes will stem the euro zone's economic decline and boost confidence in credit markets.

"The de Larosière report fails to tackle the main fault lines that the credit crisis has shown to exist in the EU supervisory landscape," write Professors Laurens Jan Brinkhorst (University of Leiden), Jean-Victor Louis (Université Libre de Bruxelles) and René Smits (University of Amsterdam) in a March paper.

The European Central Bank and the Bank of England cut interest rates to an all-time low yesterday (5 March), signalling that further easing was possible as ECB staff forecast the eurozone economy could shrink by more than three percent this year.

The European Central Bank and the Bank of England yesterday announced large interest rate cuts in a coordinated attempt to fend off deepening recession. Sweden's central bank had earlier led the way with its own surprise move.

The fifteen euro area countries have outlined a common strategy to inject fresh capital into their ailing banking sectors in a move which broadly replicated a blueprint presented last week by UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Italy are due to meet in Paris on Saturday to forge a common EU response to the financial crisis after the uproar triggered by suggestions to create a US-style fund to save ailing European banks.

After a black weekend that saw three national bail-outs to save Belgian-Dutch banking and insurance group Fortis, British mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley (B&B) and German Hypo Real Estate, Brussels warned that there would be no leniency in its approach to state intervention despite the spreading crisis.

As Wall Street yesterday (15 September) faced its biggest drop since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the European Central Bank (ECB) attempted to appease tensions by injecting €30 billion into European money markets.

Dealing with the financial crisis and rising fuel and food prices will be the main economic priorities of the French Presidency, France's Economy and Finance Minister Christine Lagarde told MEPs yesterday (15 July).

Amid ever increasing inflation, the President of the European Central Bank (ECB) issued a strong warning against wage increases, saying that in the current situation, higher pay could further fuel rises in commodity prices.

Tampering with exchange rates to stem the rise of the euro against the dollar would be wrong, according to a March commentary from EuroIntelligence, which argues that leaving the euro/dollar exchange rate alone would be more beneficial to both currencies.

High oil prices, heavy stutters in the US economy and global financial market instability are on the agenda of a G7 meeting in Tokyo this weekend. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank has made comments suggesting possible interest rate cuts in the euro zone.

A series of attacks by European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet on collective bargaining agreements that adapt wages to increased costs of living have been strongly criticised by trade unions throughout the EU.

The Commission has played down expectations for the EU's economy in 2008 and 2009. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank has responded to the "continued uncertainty" on European financial markets following the US sub-prime mortgage crisis by announcing further cash injections, but said higher than expected inflation meant a cut in interest rates remained out of the question. 

Responding to questions from MEPs about the recent financial turmoil, ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet and Commissioners McCreevy and Almunia highlighted the need to improve the transparency of financial markets rather than taking further regulatory action in order to avert similar crises in the future.

In a widely anticipated decision, the European Central Bank announced on 6 September that its main interest rates would remain unchanged at 4%. The bank's decision has been interpreted by financial experts as an attempt to prevent economic slowdown caused by the recent turmoil in financial markets. 

MEPs and trade unions are calling for interest-rate cuts and increased regulation of financial markets at EU level in order to avert a crisis similar to that of the US subprime mortgage, ahead of a debate with European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet in Parliament.

The European Central Bank has injected billions of euro into financial markets in order to prevent a liquidity shortage, following a major downturn of Wall Street stocks caused in part by a crisis in the US sub-prime mortgage sector. It remains unclear whether the bank will raise interest rates in September as originally planned.