24/04/2012 | Argentina

Greece's economy will contract more than 5% in 2012, central bank chief warns

Greece's central bank chief said economy will contract a deeper than expected 5 percent this year, and urged strict adherence to reform and fiscal adjustment commitments Greece has agreed with its euro zone partners.

02/08/2012 | Argentina

'Euro zone crisis resembles Argentina's situation in 2001'

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner said today that 2the euro zone is undergoing a unprecedented, formidable speculative attack" and likened the situation "to what happened in Argentina in 2011, with the mega debt swap and the plating,” during a ceremony at the City Stock Exchange, to announce the payment of the last installment of the dollar denominated Boden 2012 bonds.

14/08/2012 | World

Euro zone economy shrinks despite German growth

The euro zone's debt-ravaged economy shrank in the second quarter, having flatlined in the first, despite continued German growth which economists said could soon be snuffed out.

11/05/2012 | World

Fitch warns euro zone of downgrades if Greece exits

Credit rating agency Fitch put the whole of the euro zone on notice today that were Greece to leave the currency bloc as a result of its current crisis, the remaining countries could find their sovereign ratings at risk.

16/05/2012 | World

Greece euro exit could hit Spain, Italy, Zoellick assures

A decision by Greece to leave Europe's common currency zone would raise big questions about the impact on Spain, Italy and other euro zone countries with big debt loads that are undergoing structural reforms, the head of the World Bank said.

19/05/2012 | World

World leaders vow to combat financial turmoil, back Greece

World leaders backed keeping Greece in the euro zone and vowed to take all steps necessary to combat financial turmoil while revitalizing their economies, which are increasingly threatened by Europe's debt crisis.

26/05/2012 | World

Four EU leaders set June 22 crisis talks

The leaders of France, Germany, Spain and Italy will meet on June 22 to discuss the euro zone crisis, said a spokeswoman for the Spanish prime minister's office.

30/05/2012 | World

Barroso: 'Euro zone should have a banking union, joint financial supervision'

The euro zone should have a banking union, joint financial supervision and bank deposit guarantees as elements of a deeper economic union that European Union leaders will discuss in June, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said today.

02/06/2012 | World

Spain wants euro zone fiscal authority

Spain proposed the set up a new fiscal authority in the euro zone which would control and harmonize national budgets and manage the European debts.

04/06/2012 | World

G7 to hold emergency eurozone talks, Spain top concern

Finance chiefs of the Group of Seven leading industrialized powers will hold emergency talks on the euro zone debt crisis tomorrow in a sign of heightened global alarm about strains in the 17-nation European currency area.

05/06/2012 | World

Japan Finance Minister: G7 to work together on Spain, Greece

The Group of Seven finance chiefs agreed in a teleconference call to work together to deal with the problems hitting Spain and Greece, Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said today.

06/06/2012 | World

Trichet: EU institutions need emergency powers

Europe's key institutions should have emergency powers to override economic and financial policies at a national level in times of crisis, Jean-Claude Trichet, former head of the European Central Bank, said today.

07/06/2012 | World

Fitch cuts Spain rating by three notches to 'BBB'

Fitch Ratings cut its rating on Spain's government debt by three notches to 'BBB' today and signaled it could lower it further by putting the country on negative outlook.

08/06/2012 | World

Spain poised to request EU bank aid

Spain is expected to ask the euro zone for help with recapitalising its stricken banks at the weekend, EU and German sources said, becoming the fourth country to seek assistance since Europe's debt crisis began.

10/06/2012 | World

Eurozone agrees to lend Spain up to 100 bln euros

Euro zone finance ministers agreed on Saturday to lend Spain up to 100 billion euros (80.7 billion pounds) to shore up its teetering banks and Madrid said it would specify precisely how much it needs once independent audits report in just over a week.

09/06/2012 | World

Lagarde says IMF ready to help with Spain's banks

The head of the International Monetary Fund said today the global lender stood ready to help monitor the assistance the euro zone intends to provide to Spain's banks, and said the size of the planned aid appeared ample.

14/06/2012 | World

Merkel rejects 'miracle solutions' for Europe, warns of 'limited German resources'

Chancellor Angela Merkel rebuffed pressure today for Germany, Europe's most powerful economy, to underwrite debt or guarantee bank deposits in the euro zone.

19/06/2012 | World

Hollande: Euro zone must find own crisis solutions

French President Francois Hollande said today that he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were both aware that the euro zone needed to come up with its own solutions to solve the bloc's debt crisis rather than seek outside help.

22/06/2012 | World

Euro's big four seek way out of crisis in Rome

The leaders of Germany, France, Italy and Spain will try to find common ground in Rome today to restore confidence in the euro zone ahead of a full EU summit next week, which Italy's prime minister called a defining moment.

25/06/2012 | World

Spain asks for euro zone aid to recapitalise banks

Spain formally requested euro zone rescue loans to recapitalise its debt-laden banks today as the euro and shares fell on investor scepticism about this week's EU summit.

26/06/2012 | World

Merkel buries euro bonds as summit tension rises

German Chancellor Angela Merkel sought to bury once and for all the idea of common euro zone bonds, saying Europe would not share total debt liability "as long as I live", as the bloc's big four finance ministers met to narrow differences on how to solve a worsening debt crisis.

27/06/2012 | World

Merkel says no easy answers to end euro crisis

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said today, one day before a crunch European Union summit, that there were no quick or easy solutions to end the euro zone's debt crisis and leaders should avoid making rash promises they could not keep.

27/07/2012 | World

Spain discusses state bailout; ECB seen writing off Greek debt

Spain has at last conceded it may need a state bailout and policymakers are considering writing down Greek debt to their central banks, European officials said, as markets anticipated radical new action to pull the continent out of its debt maelstrom.

30/07/2012 | World

Wall Street dips, as European stocks hit 3-month closing high

US stocks finished mostly flat on Monday as investors paused following the best two-day run this year, with central bank meetings and a full load of US economic data looming. Meanwhile, European shares scaled three-month highs, closing above a key technical level in a bullish sign.

30/07/2012 | World

Italy's 10-year yields ease below 6% at auction

Italy's benchmark 10-year borrowing costs eased below 6 percent at auction as rising expectations of bolder policy moves to counter the euro zone's debt crisis boosted demand for debt issued by the bloc's most vulnerable members.

31/07/2012 | World

Italy's Monti sees light in euro tunnel

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said today that Europe was starting to see light at the end of the tunnel of the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis, belying a welter of deteriorating economic data.

02/08/2012 | World

After keeping interest rates on hold, ECB Draghi warns euro zone growth weak

Euro zone economic growth is weak and uncertainty about the outlook is weighing on confidence in the bloc, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said after the ECB kept interest rates on hold.

02/08/2012 | World

IMF welcomes ECB’s new aim at crisis

In response to queries regarding the European Central Bank’s latest policy meeting, the IMF came to stage to back ECB’s President Mario Draghi, who announced today they will gear up to buy Italian and Spanish bonds on the open market but would only act after euro zone governments have activated bailout funds to do the same.

16/12/2010 | World

IMF chief: Spain to avoid wider debt woes

Spain will ward off the worst of a European debt crisis without needing a rescue and there is no threat to the euro currency's existence, the head of the International Monetary Fund said.

08/01/2011 | World

Germany and France want Portugal to accept aid

Germany and France want Portugal to accept an international bailout as soon as possible in order to prevent its debt crisis spreading to other countries, German magazine Der Spiegel reported.

22/08/2012 | World

Greek PM asks EU 'bit of air' to get economy running

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras started a European charm offensive with an appeal to Germans for more time to meet Athens' borrowing obligations, but he may struggle to make his case in a series of meetings this week with EU leaders.

03/09/2012 | World

Schaeuble: European Central Bank should only supervise big banks

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble rejected today a European Commission plan to give the European Central Bank sweeping powers to monitor all euro zone banks, saying it should instead focus only on systemically important institutions.

07/09/2012 | World

Merkel defends ECB after bond-buying program announced

Chancellor Angela Merkel defended the European Central Bank as independent and strong today following an uproar in Germany over the ECB's new bond-buying program for struggling euro zone members.

12/09/2012 | World

German court backs euro rescue fund with conditions

Germany's Constitutional Court gave a green light for the country to ratify the euro zone's new bailout fund and budget pact, but insisted the German parliament have veto powers over any future increases in the size of the fund.

14/09/2012 | World

Euro zone officials urge Spain to clarify aid

Euro zone finance ministers pressed Spain today to clarify whether it will seek financial support after the announcement of the European Central Bank's new bond-buying programme brought Madrid's borrowing costs sharply lower.

21/09/2012 | World

IMF chief urges Europe to act to move beyond crisis

European policymakers must move quickly to coordinate and implement decisions they have taken to move the euro zone beyond its current debt crisis, the head of the International Monetary Fund said.

25/09/2012 | World

Merkel: 'We need to take a deep breath to overcome this crisis'

Speaking at a meeting of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), Merkel acknowledged that Germany was "not an island" that could disconnect from economic developments in Europe and the world economy.

25/09/2012 | World

Italian PM Mario Monti says he won't run for election

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said he would not run in elections due in spring, in an interview in which he said Italy no longer risked igniting a debt crisis in the euro zone.

01/10/2012 | World

Euro zone joblessness risks 'economic disaster'

The EU warned today of an "economic and social disaster" if joblessness among young Europeans continued to rise, calling for a joint effort to combat record high unemployment in the countries which share the euro.

04/10/2012 | World

ECB holds rates, Draghi eyed on Spain

The European Central Bank kept its interest rates on hold today as markets awaited signals from its President Mario Draghi about when he might pull the trigger on his new bond-buying plan.

05/10/2012 | World

Merkel to visit Greece as money running out

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will make her first visit to Greece next week since the euro zone debt crisis erupted, in a show of support for Athens after it said it would run out of money at the end of November without fresh international aid.

08/10/2012 | World

Euro zone launches bailout fund

Euro zone finance ministers launched their permanent 500 billion euro bailout fund but said Spain, the country widely expected to be first to draw on it, was taking steps to overhaul its economy and did not need a bailout for now.

10/10/2012 | World

IMF calls for action as euro zone crisis festers

The IMF prodded the world's rich countries for swifter action as Europe's debt crisis drags on while the United States and Japan show scant progress handling their budget deficits.

13/10/2012 | World

Spanish aid request from euro zone seen in November

Spain could ask for financial aid from the euro zone next month and if it does the request would likely be dealt with alongside a revised loan programme for Greece and a bailout for Cyprus in one big package, euro zone officials said.

17/10/2012 | World

Rome brushes off IMF aid call for Italy

The International Monetary Fund called on the eve of a European Union summit for both Spain and Italy to seek euro zone assistance to draw a line under the bloc's debt crisis, but Rome has rebuffed the idea and Madrid seems likely to apply alone.

08/11/2012 | World

ECB holds rates, waits for call to unlock bond plan

The European Central Bank held its main interest rate at 0.75 percent, deferring any cut in borrowing costs while it assesses the extent of the euro zone's economic downturn and waits for a cue to use its new bond-purchase program.

08/11/2012 | World

Draghi: economic outlook weak, not improving

The European Central Bank expects the euro zone economy to remain poor, ECB President Mario Draghi said after the bank left interest rates unchanged today.

15/11/2012 | World

Euro zone falls into second recession since 2009, data shows

The debt crisis dragged the euro zone into its second recession since 2009 in the third quarter despite modest growth in Germany and France, data showed.

26/11/2012 | World

Euro zone, IMF secure deal on cutting long-term Greek debt

Euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund clinched agreement on reducing Greece's debt in a breakthrough to release urgently needed loans to keep the near-bankrupt economy afloat.

27/11/2012 | World

OECD cuts global economic forecasts

The OECD slashed its global growth forecasts today, warning that the debt crisis in the recession-hit euro zone is the greatest threat to the world economy.

30/11/2012 | World

Draghi: euro zone set for second-half 2013 recovery

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said that budgetary consolidation in the euro zone would entail a short-term economic impact but the bloc was on track for a recovery in the second half of 2013.

14/12/2012 | World

Merkel says tough, painful years ahead for euro zone

07/02/2013 | World

ECB holds rates at 0.75%

07/02/2013 | World

ECB says will monitor impact of euro strength

The European Central Bank will monitor the economic impact of a strengthening euro, ECB President Mario Draghi said today, feeding expectations the climbing currency could open the door to an interest rate cut.

07/04/2011 | World

Euro zone ministers to discuss Portugal's call for aid

Euro zone finance ministers will discuss Portugal's bailout plea, including how much it needs and what reforms it could do in return, but no firm decisions are likely yet, euro zone sources said.

06/05/2011 | World

Greece denies may quit euro, European ministers meet

Top finance officials of the euro zone's biggest economies met to discuss Greece's debt crisis and Athens denied a media report that it was considering whether to leave the bloc.

13/05/2011 | World

EU says Greece needs more measures to meet bailout terms

Euro zone policymakers piled pressure on Greece to drive through more austerity after bleak economic forecasts showed the debt-choked country would miss fiscal targets without further reforms.

18/06/2011 | World

Greeks protest, almost half oppose austerity

Thousands of Greeks marched on parliament in a show of unabated public anger after Prime Minister George Papandreou vowed to push on with an austerity campaign that a poll showed half the country opposed.

02/07/2011 | World

Euro zone approves further 12 bln euros for Greece

Euro zone finance ministers will approve the next tranche of emergency aid for Greece and discuss a second three-year financing plan for Athens on July 11, euro zone officials said.

12/07/2011 | World

Europe considers Greek default, leaders to meet

European Union leaders are poised to hold an emergency summit after finance ministers acknowledged for the first time that some form of Greek default may be needed to cut Athens' debts and stop contagion to Italy and Spain.

19/07/2011 | World

Germany’s Merkel damps expectations of euro zone Greek deal

German Chancellor Angela Merkel doused expectations of any comprehensive solution to Greece's debt crisis at an emergency euro zone summit on Thursday.

21/07/2011 | World

Statement by the Heads of State or government of the Euro area and EU Institutions

Statement issued by euro zone leaders after an emergency summit of the 17-nation currency area.

11/08/2011 | World

Sarkozy, Merkel to discuss eurozone and debt crisis in Paris on Tuesday

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will discuss next Tuesday how to make the euro zone work more effectively amid persistent doubts in financial markets over Europe's ability to solve its sovereign debt crisis.

31/08/2011 | World

Merkel backs euro fund boost, faces skeptics

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet approved new powers for the euro zone's bailout fund today, kicking off a month-long battle to convince skeptics in her conservative camp to back efforts to contain the bloc's crisis.

07/09/2011 | World

Court curbs German ability to act fast on debt crisis

Germany's top court handed its country's parliament a greater say over euro zone bailouts, potentially hampering Berlin's ability to act decisively against a debt crisis which Chancellor Angela Merkel said needed a fundamental rethink to solve.

07/09/2011 | World

Soros: euro zone crisis could be ‘a lot worse than the Lehman Brothers’

Billionaire George Soros assured he believes that the current crisis of the euro zone has the ‘potential to be a lot worse than the Lehman Brothers’ in the US due to the lack of consensus in the European Union to create an authority with enough power to handle this problem.

08/09/2011 | World

ECB holds rates as recession fears mount

The European Central Bank held interest rates at 1.5 percent today and is likely to indicate that a policy tightening cycle it began in April is on hold in the face of growing evidence the euro zone's economic recovery is losing momentum.

10/09/2011 | World

Papandreou says to save Greece, stay in euro

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said today he would do whatever it takes to rescue his country from bankruptcy and stay in the euro zone, as doubts in Europe grew over its membership in the bloc.

19/09/2011 | World

International lenders say Greece must shrink state to avoid default

International lenders told Greece it must shrink its public sector and improve tax collection to avoid default within weeks as investors spooked by political setbacks in Europe dumped risky euro zone assets.

19/09/2011 | World

Euro zone contagion spreading, World Bank head says

The head of the World Bank said a drop in investor confidence was already feeding through to developing nations from a growing debt crisis in advanced economies and urged "cooperative action."

26/09/2011 | World

Obama says eurozone crisis is 'scaring the world'

US President Barack Obama said the debt crisis in Europe was "scaring the world" and that European leaders were dealing with the issue but not as quickly as needed.

29/09/2011 | World

Merkel wins Parliament battle; pushes through bailout funds

Angela Merkel won her toughest challenge yet as German chancellor by pushing through changes to a rescue fund for the euro zone debt crisis today without the humiliation of relying on opposition support.

06/10/2011 | World

Trichet sees intensified downside risks to growth

Downside risks to economic growth in the euro zone have intensified, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said today, taking a slightly more gloomy view than a month ago.

11/10/2011 | World

Russia's Putin says little role for BRICS in euro crisis

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that the crisis-hit euro zone had enough resources to resolve its own troubles without support from Russia and fellow BRICs countries.

15/10/2011 | World

G20 tells euro zone to fix debt crisis in eight days

The world's leading economies pressed Europe today to act decisively within eight days to resolve the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis which is endangering the world economy.

18/10/2011 | World

Merkel meets Mujica, dismisses debt crisis fast solution

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said today that European Union leaders would make an important step at their upcoming summit towards solving the debt crisis, but more steps would be necessary.

19/10/2011 | World

Barroso: ‘We are at a crucial moment that will define Europe’s future’

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said today he expects strong agreement at a weekend summit of European leaders for guarantees to members of the euro single currency zone and observed Europe is facing a “crucial and future defining moment.”

21/10/2011 | World

Merkel rebuffs Sarkozy on euro zone solution

France's push to use more European Central Bank money to fight the euro zone debt crisis has run into strong resistance from Germany and other EU partners, leaving Paris increasingly isolated before a crucial summit.

21/10/2011 | World

EU/IMF approve next aid tranche for Greece

Euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund have approved the payment of the next tranche of financial support to Greece, a senior euro zone source said.

23/10/2011 | World

EU leaders press Italy for reform at crisis summit

European Union leaders piled pressure on Italy today to speed up economic reforms to avoid a Greece-style meltdown as they began a crucial two-leg summit called to rescue the euro zone from a deepening sovereign debt crisis.

23/10/2011 | World

Sarkozy yields on ECB crisis role, pressure on Italy

European Union leaders made some progress towards a strategy to fight the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis, nearing agreement on bank recapitalisation and on how to leverage their rescue fund to try to stop bond market contagion.

26/10/2011 | World

German parliament gives green light to Merkel ahead of key summit

German Chancellor Angel Merkel won a parliamentary vote with a large majority today on boosting the firepower of the euro zone rescue fund, handing her a strong mandate to negotiate at a crunch EU summit later in the day in Brussels.

27/10/2011 | World

Euro leaders strike historic economic deal to save zone

The eurozone sealed a grand deal to overcome its festering debt crisis today when banks agreed to take a 50 percent loss on Greek debt. Eurozone officials announced the deal following tough talks in Brussels between leaders of the eurozone and the Institute of International Finance banking lobby to force the private sector to share the pain of Greece's debt burden.

27/10/2011 | World

Read the main points of the statement here

28/10/2011 | World

German court suspends parliament's bailout committee

A German court today suspended a parliamentary committee's right to approve urgent actions by the euro zone's bailout fund, potentially delaying decision-making in Europe's top economy on key moves to tackle the bloc's crisis.

31/10/2011 | World

Euro deal will only work if all parts implemented, says German official

A package of measures agreed by European leaders this month to stem their debt crisis will only work if all elements are implemented, German Deputy Finance Minister Joerg Asmussen said in an interview today.

31/10/2011 | World

Over 23 million unemployed in Europe, inflation high, EU reports

Over 23 million are unemployed in the 27 countries of the euro zone, the statistical office of the European Union Eurostat informed today.

31/10/2011 | World

Berlusconi urged to quit as bond yields climb

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi faced fresh calls to resign on Monday as markets turned on Italy, pushing its borrowing costs to dangerous new levels on renewed concern about a worsening of the euro zone crisis.

02/11/2011 | World

EU's Barroso urges Greece to back EU/IMF program

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso day called on Greek political leaders to come together to support the EU/IMF bailout package agreed by euro zone leaders last week.

04/11/2011 | World

Minister announces Greece has dropped referendum plan

Greece has dropped its plans to hold a controversial referendum on the country's euro zone membership, which had threatened to plunge the bloc into a crisis, the country's finance ministry said today.

07/11/2011 | World

IMF's Lagarde urges euro zone to redouble efforts

The head of the International Monetary Fund urged the euro zone today to redouble efforts to overcome its sovereign debt crisis and said the global economy faced increasing risks of a slowdown.

09/11/2011 | World

Merkel says Europe must achieve ‘breakthrough’

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said today in some of her most dramatic rhetoric since the euro zone crisis erupted two years ago that it was high time for Europe to achieve a "breakthrough" on changes to its ground rules.

10/11/2011 | World

Merkel puts euro split fears to rest

German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected today the idea that her government might favor a smaller euro zone, saying her only goal since the beginning of the debt crisis has been to stabilise the bloc in its current form.

14/11/2011 | World

Merkel: 'If the euro falls, Europe falls'

As technocrats leaders in Italy and Greece rush to form governments as they sought to limit the damage from the euro zone debt crisis – and the euro climbed on relief that a key Italian bond auction drew decent demand from investors – German chancellor Angela Merkel stepped up to defend Europe’s common currency.

14/11/2011 | World

Greek PM: existing policies have worsened downturn

Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said the policies tied to Athens' international bailout had worsened a recession and pushed unemployment higher, but the problem could be mitigated with reforms.

14/11/2011 | World

Lagarde warns crisis must be solved to avoid negative spiral

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, warned that it is necessary to solve the crisis in the euro zone to avoid that the global economy enters in a “negative spiral of distrust and weakened growth.”

15/11/2011 | World

Greek GDP shrinks 5.2%, reports says

The European Union's Statistics office Eurostat released today seasonally unadjusted flash estimates for third quarter 2011 of Europe’s gross domestic product.

15/11/2011 | World

Europe sustains modest growth

The 17-nation euro zone economy grew a modest 0.2% in the third quarter from the second, the EU said today, lifted by France and Germany. Germany and France, the euro zone's two biggest economies, grew 0.5% and 0.4% respectively, the European Union's statistics office Eurostat said, helped by consumer spending and business investments, particularly in Germany.

15/11/2011 | World

Monti to form new Italy government

Prime Minister designate Mario Monti will meet Italy's president on Wednesday to present a new government to face a crisis that has brought Italy to the brink of economic disaster and endangered the entire euro zone.

16/11/2011 | World

Barroso says euro zone faces systemic crisis, calls for more integration

The euro zone will not survive unless it becomes both more integrated in policymaking and more disciplined, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said today.

16/11/2011 | World

EU's Barroso: euro zone must integrate to survive

The euro zone faces a systemic crisis and will not survive unless it becomes more integrated and disciplined, possibly through a change of the European Union's treaty, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said.

16/11/2011 | World

France, Germany clash over ECB crisis role

France and Germany, Europe's two central powers, clashed over whether the European Central Bank should intervene more forcefully to halt the euro zone's accelerating debt crisis after modest bond purchases failed to calm markets.

17/11/2011 | World

Greek protests as France, Spain face squeeze

More than 30,000 Greeks took to the streets of Athens in a protest rally that marked the first public test for a new national unity government that must impose painful spending cuts and tax rises if the country is to escape bankruptcy.

18/11/2011 | World

Merkel, Cameron admit they had failed to narrow differences

At a news conference in Berlin, British Prime Minister David Cameron said the currency bloc needed a credible firewall and should use all of its institutions to fight the crisis, but his host German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she favoured a "step by step" approach.

05/12/2011 | World

Sarkozy, Merkel outline euro zone master plan after key meeting

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met in Paris today to align their positions on centralizing control of euro zone budgets to stem a debt crisis that threatens Europe's currency union.

05/12/2011 | World

Downgrade threat a clarion call for euro reform

A threat by Standard & Poors to slash credit ratings across the euro zone has sounded a clarion call, which could help Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel force through a change to the European Union treaty at a summit this week.

06/12/2011 | World

Geithner backs EU crisis plan, stresses ECB role

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner threw his weight behind a Franco-German plan to tackle the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis and said the European Central Bank had to play a major role in any solution.

12/12/2011 | World

Euro zone fiscal pact fails to restore confidence

A European summit deal to strengthen budget discipline in the euro zone failed to restore financial market confidence, forcing the European Central Bank to step in again gingerly.

19/12/2011 | World

EU leaders discuss IMF measures to create firewall against debt crisis

European finance ministers discussed ways of boosting IMF resources to build a better firewall against the debt crisis today, while also assessing plans for tighter euro zone fiscal rules that they hope will prevent the problems from worsening.

09/01/2012 | World

Merkel, Sarkozy press for quick Greek solution

Germany and France warned Greece it will get no more bailout funds until it agrees with creditor banks on a bond swap and pressed for an early deal to avert a potential default in the euro zone's most debt-stricken nation.

13/01/2012 | World

S&P downgrades France, eight other euro zone nations

Standard & Poor's stripped France of its top AAA rating and carried out a mass downgrade of half the nations in the euro zone, a move that may complicate European efforts to solve a two-year old debt crisis.

18/01/2012 | World

IMF seeks $600 billion more in funds

The International Monetary Fund is seeking to boost its war chest by $600 billion to help countries reeling from the euro zone debt crisis, but some nations insist Europe must first do more to support its ailing members, international financial sources said.

20/01/2012 | World

Italian cabinet approves deregulation package

Italy's cabinet approved legislation to deregulate some service sectors and professions in an effort to increase competition, cut costs to consumers and boost chronically weak growth in the euro zone's third largest economy.

23/01/2012 | World

Euro zone ministers reject private bondholders' Greece offer

Euro zone finance ministers rejected as insufficient an offer made by private bondholders to help restructure Greece's debts, sending negotiators back to the drawing board and raising the threat of Greek default.

25/01/2012 | World

UK’s Cameron: Euro zone must act before IMF gets new funds

New cash for the International Monetary Fund should not be considered until the euro zone takes determined action to end the crisis in the single currency area, United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron said today.

25/01/2012 | World

Merkel deflects calls for bigger euro zone firewall

German Chancellor Angela Merkel deflected pressure today to increase the euro zone's rescue fund, saying the key to reassuring markets was to restore lost trust in governments' policies.

08/02/2012 | World

Greek party leaders fail to sign off on bailout

Greek political leaders failed to sign off on a tough reform and austerity programme, the price of a new international bailout for the nation, but Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said they would try to strike a deal within hours.

13/02/2012 | World

Germany 'expressly welcomes' Greek austerity deal

Germany praised the sealing of an austerity pact on Greece, saying it showed the determination to take difficult decisions to get Greece on track of an economic recovery. Greece's parliament agreed last night on a raft of unpopular reforms in a bid to secure international aid.

14/02/2012 | World

Eurogroup drops face-to-face bailout talks as Greeks argue

Euro zone finance ministers dropped plans today for a special face-to-face meeting on Greece's new international bailout, as the cabinet in Athens argued up to the last minute on plugging a 325 million euro ($427 million)gap in its austerity plan.

20/02/2012 | World

Italy, Britain urge more EU focus on growth

Italy, Britain, the Netherlands and nine other countries called for Europe to shift its focus from tough budget cuts towards measures to create growth as the region looks headed for its second recession in three years.

22/02/2012 | World

Greece pores over bailout laws amid protests

Trade unionists, communists and pensioners angry at punishing spending cuts in Greece marched through central Athens as lawmakers set to work on legislation needed to secure payment of a second bailout for the debt-laden country.

06/03/2012 | World

Euro zone's slump in late 2011 points to recession

A collapse in household spending, exports and manufacturing sucked the life out of the euro zone's economy in the final months of 2011, the EU said today, showing the scope of the downturn that looks set to become a fully fledged recession.

12/03/2012 | World

Data confirms Italy is in recession

Italy is in recession, final data confirmed today. Italy's economy shrank 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, following a 0.2 percent decline in gross domestic product in the third quarter.

30/03/2012 | World

Euro zone leaders boost billionaire bailout fund

Euro zone finance ministers agreed today on a temporary increase in their financial rescue capacity to prevent a new flare-up of Europe's sovereign debt crisis, but markets may judge it too small to be convincing.