Euro Crisis

Pound Sterling At the start of the week the Pound weakened against the Euro and US Dollar due to a selloff of the currency and as speculation mounts that the US Federal Reserve will soon announce a slowdown of monetary stimulus.  The uncertainty over the Fed’s next move regarding its easing policies was the main […]

Stock markets in Europe entered the red territory in Thursday trading in response to the latest revision of the World Bank of the outlook in the 17-member single currency union of the Eurozone and of the global economy. Releasing its Global Economics Prospects, the World Bank said the Eurozone will contract even further – from […]

Pound Sterling This week has been one of gains and upward momentum for Sterling. On Monday the Pound made gains against the US Dollar and edged upwards against the Euro after May’s manufacturing PMI data rose to 51.3 from the 49.8 recorded in April. A figure above 50 signals expansion. Construction data also boosted the Pound […]

No less than the International Monetary Fund (IMF) itself admitted it had misgivings in the handling of the Greece bailout. In a 50-page report prepared by an inter-department staff team at IMF, the Fund admitted it bent its own rules to accommodate a bailout of Greece in 2010 for fear that not doing otherwise would […]

Latvia, the small state facing the Baltic Sea, is set to be bid farewell to its national currency to become the 18th state to join the single currency market, the Eurozone. The European Commission, in a report released earlier today, stated that Latvia “has achieved a high degree of sustainable economic convergence” with the Eurozone, […]

European Union rate at 11.0% The euro area, comprised of seventeen countries, seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 12.2% in April 2013, up from 12.1% in March. The EU27, comprising the members of the European Union, unemployment rate was 11.0%, unchanged compared with the previous month. In both zones, rates have risen markedly compared with April 2012, […]

The Eurozone has reached another record high unemployment rate in April 2013 as the single-currency block continues to be mired in its longest recession since its creation 14 years ago. Data from EU’s statistics agency, Eurostat, revealed seasonally-adjusted jobless rate in the 17-member bloc rose from 12.1% in March to 12.2% in April of this […]

Pound Sterling – With UK markets closed for a national holiday it was a slow start to the week for the Pound. Although Sterling went on to weaken against the US Dollar as UK retail sales dropped to a 16-month low, it was able to recoup losses as separate reports showed a surge in British house […]

The Commission is seeking to move “beyond the crisis” The European Commission has today adopted recommendations to EU Member States designed to move Europe beyond the crisis and strengthen the foundations for growth. In a statement the EC said that the “recommendations are based on detailed analyses of each country’s situation and provide guidance to […]

Global recovery is uneven but gradual. The global economy is moving forward, but divergence between countries and regions reflects the uneven progress made toward recovery from the economic crisis, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook. Historically high unemployment remains the most serious challenge facing governments. World real gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to […]