Eurozone

The move by the Fed to provide liquidity to the ECB, Swiss National Bank, Bank of England and the Bank of Japan has boosted EUR/USD in the near-term but is not a game-changer medium-term. The Fed provided a a similar line of credit to the European central banks in 2008. That didn't stop EUR/USD...

The United Kingdom plans to sue the European Central Bank (ECB) over a new regulation that the UK sees as a power grab by France and Germany. The European Central Bank's proposal calls for clearing houses that handle more than 5% of the market in a euro-denominated financial product to be located...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on Wednesday that it expected slower economic growth for Asian economies than it had predicted earlier this year. The Asian Development Bank forecast growth for Asia (excluding Japan) of 7.5 percent in both 2011 and 2012, which was down slightly from its...

In response to a question, I've put together a quick recap on Greece. Greece has enough cash on hand to get to mid-October without any international aid. They could probably squeeze out another month or so afterwards by deferring some payments or selling assets. The next aid tranche (8 billion...

Watching politicians and bankers bickering over a Euro rescue on the back of Eurozone taxpayers for more or less 2 years by now, a group of Germans has staged the first protest in front of the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) on Tuesday. Some 100 protesters, organized by the fringe...

European stocks were near a two year low as French banking stocks took a beating during trading in Europe on Tuesday. There are growing concerns that French banks are facing a liquidity crisis that will worsen if Greece defaults on its national debt. French and German financial institutions are...

There has been growing talk that China will soon increase its purchases of Italian debt in a move that Italian officials hope will drive down Italy's borrowing costs. Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti is said to have met with Lou Jiwei, the head of the Chinese sovereign wealth fund China...

The stresses in the Eurozone increased over the weekend, intensifying a crisis that has been raging for months. A Greek default looks increasingly likely, as the willingness of the German public to bail out the PIIGS has deteriorated in recent weeks. On Monday, news broke regarding a possible...

A pretty interesting piece here on the good life in Norway - due to it's exposure to oil.  It's a bit like a northern European Persian Gulf.  (or in U.S. terms, it's as if the whole country is North Dakota)  While I had known about the oil aspect, I didn't realize the cost of living issues in Oslo...

During a speech made before Germany's Parliament, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned that Greece must meet all the conditions that it previously agreed to in order to receive the next round of funds from its rescue package. Greece is having problems sticking to the austerity...

Millions of Italians across Italy are thought to be taking part in a general strike to protest against their government's proposed austerity measures that were expected to amount to 45.5 billion euros. The strike is disrupting everything from transportation to manufacturing, with government offices...

Heightening uncertainties surrounding the European debt crisis weighed on market sentiment during the overnight trade, and the single-currency may continue to trade heavy throughout the remainder of the week as investors scale back their appetite for risk. Talking Points Euro: Germany Pushes...

Following a dovish Reserve Bank of Australia summary of their August 2 meeting, which already placed downside pressures on risk, data out of the Euro-zone affirmed Tuesday's bearish price action. Fundamental Headlines • Obama Says Debt-Limit Battle Hurt Economy – Bloomberg • Swiss Ponder...

The Euro may lead risky assets lower if German and French leaders fail to expand the EFSF bailout fund at a meeting today. Euro Zone GDP data may compound the selloff. Talking Points Merkel and Sarkozy to Meet in Paris, EFSF Size Likely in Focus Euro Zone, German GDP Figures to Reaffirm...

Germany is downplaying speculation that a Tuesday meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will result in some sort of agreement to create eurobonds backed by all of the eurozone members. Steffen Seibert, a spokesman for the German government, said a day...