euro zone

The Greek debt crisis has been dominating the headlines again, as the Euro Zone came to an agreement on the second Greek bailout deal earlier this week. As a part of this deal, Greece will perform a debt swap and the current debt holders are expected to accept a 53.5% haircut on the bonds they are...

The euro zone unexpectedly shrank in February, adding to fears that Europe might be about to fall back in to recession. The latest survey results from Markit Economics' purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed that the index fell back to 49.7 in February, down from 50.4 in January. The results are...

Greece and finance ministers from the other 16 euro zone countries agreed to terms for Greece to receive a 130 billion euro ($172 billion) aid package that they hope will help Greece to avoid a default on its burdensome debt. Although the latest deal between Greece and the finance ministers is...

Japanese authorities reported a trade deficit for last month that was the biggest January trade deficit on record. A strong yen, after effects from last year's natural disasters and weakening demand in China and Europe were the major contributing factors to Japan's growing trade deficit. The...

2011 has been a tough year for the Euro Zone countries. The sovereign debt crisis has shaken investors' confidence in the Euro currency and bond yields of a number of Sothern European countries have been at record highs. These red flags have been big enough to catch credit agencies attention too...

European politics have been one of the main forces moving the U.S. markets in the past couple months. Traders have become accustomed to comments by politicians whose names are unpronounceable and daily rumors that can cause the Dow Jones Industrial Average to swing up and down hundreds of points...

The euro zone reported a current account surplus of EUR0.5 billion in September. The euro zone swung to a current account surplus in September, versus an upwardly revised deficit of EUR5.9 billion in August.

It's a great time to be an opposition in Europe. With sliding economic growth and unpopular bailouts, it's very easy to score points. And we all know that opposition leaders will say anything to get elected and that those in power will do anything to keep it. The euro is slipping here, down 40 pips...

by Rebecca Wilder Expect Neither ‘Sustainable' nor ‘Comprehensive' From Euro Area Leaders On Sunday, Merkel and Sarkozy promised a “sustainable and comprehensive” solution to the euro debt crisis ahead of the November 3-4 G20 meeting. Along with this rather grand announcement are absolutely no...

What would you call Merkozy's latest? Reading about 20 stories on the comments from Merkel and Sarkozy. It has been described as a pledge, a vow, an agreement. Other say they have reached a deal, reached a pact or hatched a plan. What they really said: they will deliver a plan to recapitalize...

Risk appetite collapses and the dollar puts in for its first advance in six active trading sessions. A coincidence? Absolutely not. There is really only one serious attribute the greenback posses that can attract capital: liquidity. In deeper markets, investors can find reduced volatility (smaller...

Merkel and Sarkozy call for closer euro zone economic governance, headed by Van Rompuy. All 17 nations should introduce balanced budget amendments to constitutions by mid-2012. Calls for financial transaction tax. They did not propose common euro bonds, or increasing size of EFSF; Ireland asked to...

With the recent news of a possible resignation by Italy's economic minister, Giulio Tremonti, it appears that Italy is experiencing a debt crisis on the scale of which Europe has never seen. Aside from Greece, Italy has the euro zone's highest sovereign debt ratio relative to its economy....

Germany's highest court has begun hearing a challenge to the bailout agreements the country made with struggling Euro Zone member states, according to Reuters. Ruling conservative politicians have argued that the bailout goes against the German constitution. While it isn't likely that the...

Monday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced plans to rollover Greece's existing debt held by French banks. The plan could set the stage for a broader European effort to salvage the ongoing crisis in Greece. Yet, the plan rests on credit agencies not cutting Greece's debt to default,...