Why the risk of Gexit contagion to other Eurozone members is lower now than in 2012 February 19, 2015 As Eurozone leaders decide whether or not to grant Greece's request for an extension to its bailout loan, ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has suggested a Greek exit from the Eurozone would present a lower a risk of contagion to other Eurozone economies than it did in 2012. In a report published today, the [...]
Eurozone disarray as Greek talks collapse February 16, 2015 Greece's crunch meeting with its fellow Eurozone states collapsed amid more bitter sniping last night, with the deadline looming for both sides to reach an agreement over the Mediterranean country’s bailout. The head of a group of Eurozone finance ministers – known as the Eurogroup – insisted after talks broke down that the onus is [...]
Eurozone trade surplus lifts as imports tumble February 16, 2015 FALLING imports and rising exports of goods pushed the Eurozone’s trade surplus to a record high in December, official data showed yesterday. The surplus increased to €24.3bn (£18bn) in December, up from €13.6bn in a year earlier. Such a strong figure should boost GDP in the troubled currency area, but also reflects the weak demand [...]
Euro slides after Greece rejects Eurozone’s bailout offer as “unacceptable” February 16, 2015 Greece has rejected the Eurozone’s “unacceptable” opening bailout offer as talks between finance ministers in Brussels broke down without an agreement on Monday. Negotiations broke up after just four hours as Greece angrily rejected the proposal that it continue with the terms of its current €172bn (£128bn) bailout, triggering the euro to drop [...]
Greece banks on 11th hour Eurozone deal February 16, 2015 Greece’s maverick finance minister Yanis Varoufakis remains adamant a deal with creditors will be struck on the country’s finances today despite farcical negotiations last week ending without even an agreement on a joint statement. “Our resolute stance on totally logical matters will, in the final analysis, lead to a mutually beneficial convergence, even at the [...]
Eurozone GDP grew 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2014 February 13, 2015 After a fractious few days for Eurozone leaders, this should come as a relief: a growth in the 18-nation bloc rose to 0.3 per cent in the final quarter of 2014, a preliminary estimate showed this morning, beating analyst estimates of 0.2 per cent. Eurostat, the region's official statistics authority, said that puts total growth [...]
Weak Eurozone dampens boost of low oil prices February 10, 2015 World growth will not surge on falling oil prices, analysts at Moody’s said today, because problems in the Eurozone and China’s economic slowdown will dampen any boost. The impact of lower oil prices may even have an adverse effect in some struggling Eurozone countries, said the author of the report. “In the Eurozone, the fall [...]
Businesses want to know that the UK has safeguards against the Eurozone, says head of BCC February 10, 2015 The head of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has said he would like Britain to be protected against getting closer to the Eurozone At the annual BCC conference today, John Longworth said the next government “must set out what it will do to protect the United Kingdom against the prospect of being [...]
A Greek exit from the Eurozone is unavoidable, warns ex-head of US central bank February 8, 2015 Greece will eventually have to leave the Eurozone, according to the ex-chairman of the Federal Reserve. Alan Greenspan, who was head of the US central bank from 1987 to 2006, told the BBC he did not believe the other members would continue to make concessions for the struggling nation. Since the radical left-wing [...]
European Commission raises Eurozone growth forecast to 1.3 per cent on crumbling oil prices and weak euro February 5, 2015 The European Commission nudged up its official growth forecast for the single currency bloc today, citing crumbling oil prices, a weaker euro and the European Central Bank's (ECB) generous stimulus package unveiled earlier this year. The Eurozone will grow at a rate of 1.3 per cent this year and 1.9 per cent in 2016, the [...]