Europe
The pact’s last stand
Political tensions have been contained by the deal on deficits, but at what cost to Europe’s fiscal regime and its single currency? William Clarke reports from Brussels.
News Analysis: News in debt
Paul Brione reports on controversial trades, very long bonds and over-issuance in sovereign debt markets.
ECB's Papademos on monetary stability, integration
In the speech 'Monetary stability and financial integration in Europe' given on 9 May Lucas Papademos of the ECB said the ECB is committed to, and will continue to support, the process of structural reform in financial markets, as well as in labour and…
Trichet says rates support growth, convergence
European Central Bank President Jean Claude Trichet said that lending rates at a six-decade low are ``appropriate'' and rejected finance ministers' concerns about economic divergences in the eurozone.
ECB Monthly Bulletin, May 2005
The European Central Bank published its May 2005 Monthly Bulletin on Thursday 12 May. The regular survey of professional economic forecasters conducted by the ECB showed the experts have downgraded their growth forecasts for the euro zone economy for…
Duisenberg reveals political interference
European Central Bank ex-President Wim Duisenberg disclosed for the first time recently that German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, French President Jacques Chirac and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi have all tried to influence the ECB's monetary…
Cyprus, Malta, Latvia included in the ERM II
At request, the ministers of the euro area Member States of the European Union, the President of the ECB and the ministers and the central bank governors of Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia and the relevant central bank decided to include the Cyprus…
Rato says 'premature' to rule out ECB rate cut
International Monetary Fund managing director Rodrigo Rato said it would be "premature" to exclude interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank while the eurozone economy remains in "a soft patch".
What has Trichet achieved as the ECB's President?
Jean-Claude Trichet has now been president of the ECB for eighteen months, and if you measure his performance by the narrow mandate of price stability, then he has done his job, this article says. Yet if you were to gauge his performance by a wider…
ECB faces criticism from Germany, Italy
The European Central Bank came under fire this week when senior German and Italian politicians called on the eurozone central bank to change its policies to help boost Europe's weak economic growth rate.
Integrated markets should boost growth says Weber
More integration of financial markets should give Europe's long-term growth prospects a much-needed boost, European Central Bank Governing Council member Axel Weber said on Thursday 28 April.
ECB's Trichet calls for debate on company profits
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet has called for a European debate on the way company profits are distributed.
High oil prices 'handicap' eurozone says Issing
European Central Bank chief economist Otmar Issing said on Tuesday 26 April that the high price of oil is a "handicap" to the euro zone economy.
ECB report confirms reserve diversification plan
The European Central Bank confirmed in its annual report on Tuesday 26 April that it is working on significant changes to its foreign reserve management strategy that would allow diversification into different financial instruments.
Trichet on the euro: One currency, one market
In a speechon 'The euro: one currency, one financial market' given on 19 April, Jean-Claude Trichet of the ECB said that inflation expectations for the dozen countries that use the euro are in line with the ECB's goal of keeping consumer price increases…
European Central Bank - Annual Report 2004
The ECB published its Annual Report for the year ended 2004 on Tuesday. Lucas Papademos said there should not be any negative economic consequences from the loosening of the stability and growth pact's fiscal policy rules if the reformed pact is…
ECB assessment of securities settlement systems
The Governing Council of the European Central Bank updated the assessment of securities settlement systems (SSSs) eligible for the settlement of collateral for Eurosystem credit operations, on Thursday 21 April.
ECB's Tumpel-Gugerell on payment systems
In a speech on 'The need for regulatory involvement in the evolution of payment systems' given on 25 April Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell of the ECB said euro zone banks are moving too slowly on the integration of payment systems, which would allow consumers…
Bini Smaghi wins MEPs' backing for ECB post
The Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee has approved the nomination of Lorenzo Bini Smaghi to the Executive Board of the European Central Bank. At the end of a confirmation hearing on 19 April, committee members voted by 16 in favour to 2 against…
ECB's Tumpel-Gugerell on EU-China relations
In the speech 'The next dimension for EU-China relations' given on 19 April, Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell of the ECB said Chinese action on foreign exchange is "crucial for the adjustment of global imbalance".
ECB nominee says growth hit by confidence
The eurozone economy "is not growing sufficiently" because of a lack of consumer and business confidence, Italy's designated appointee to the European Central Bank (ECB)'s executive board said on Tuesday 19 April.
ECB: Many years before euro can challenge dollar
A top European Central Bank policy-maker said on Friday 15 April that the process of acquiring an international role for a currency is extremely slow.
Trichet sees no cut in eurozone interest rates
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet has ruled out a cut in eurozone interest rates but suggested that the cost of borrowing was unlikely to rise either, saying inflation was under control.
ECB's Papademos on the euro and economic growth
In a speech on 'The euro and economic growth' given on 15 April, Lucas Papademos of the ECB said the structural impediments to the euro area's growth must be addressed by implementing appropriate structural measures. There are no alternative solutions…