As growth in Germany fades, Merkel hints at shift in policy
As evidence grows that the German economy, the largest in Europe, is beginning to stall, Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed a growing willingness to use government spending to stimulate growth, a possible shift in position that could ripple across the entire eurozone.
European Central Bank holds rates steady
FRANKFURT, Germany — Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, offered a spirited defense of the wisdom of doing nothing Thursday. That was after he and his fellow policymakers dashed expectations for an interest-rate cut or other action to stimulate the still ailing eurozone economy.
France may be returning to recession, new data shows
FRANKFURT, Germany — Hopes that the eurozone could be emerging from years of torpor suffered another setback Thursday when an indicator of economic activity in the region slipped unexpectedly and suggested that France could be sliding back into recession.
European Central Bank chief tamps down optimism
FRANKFURT, Germany — The president of the European Central Bank issued a sober assessment of the eurozone economy, saying Thursday that he was “very, very cautious” about prospects for growth and acknowledging concern about shock waves from the civil war in Syria.
Greece on track for more aid, German official says
BERLIN — With Greece and its continuing debt crisis an issue ahead of Germany’s national election next month, the highest-ranking German in the European Central Bank said Monday that Athens could be eligible for additional aid and debt relief next year if it continued to fulfill promises made for assistance it is already receiving.
European leaders grapple with youth unemployment
FRANKFURT, Germany — Record youth unemployment is emerging as the most urgent problem in the eurozone, if the political rhetoric of recent days is any measure. But leaders are struggling to come up with effective ways to prevent jobless young people in countries like Spain and Greece from becoming a lost generation and source of social upheaval.
European Central Bank moves aggressively to ease euro crisis
FRANKFURT, Germany — The European Central Bank on Thursday took its most ambitious step yet toward easing the eurozone crisis, throwing its unlimited financial clout behind an effort to protect Spain and Italy from financial collapse.
European Central Bank head suggests wider rescue is possible, pending spending discipline
FRANKFURT, Germany — Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, laid the groundwork for a more aggressive response to the debt crisis Thursday, suggesting that the bank could increase its support for the European economy if political leaders took more radical steps to enforce spending discipline among members.
Bank forecasts Eastern Europe will grow more slowly due to debt crisis
FRANKFURT, Germany — A major development bank sharply reduced its growth forecast for Eastern Europe on Tuesday and warned of risks to the region’s banks, another example of how the sovereign debt crisis is radiating outside the eurozone.