June 11, 2012
Euro zone finance ministers rushed Spain into an EU-funded rescue for its debt-stricken banks to pre-empt the threat of a bank run if Greece’s debt crisis flares again but any respite for Madrid and the euro may be short-lived. After …
June 7, 2012
A.M. Best Co. has removed from under review with negative implications and upgraded the issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a+” from “a” and affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) of New York-based AXA Insurance Company. Best also …
June 7, 2012
A bulletin from A.M. Best notes that the rating agency has “been actively monitoring the financial crisis and its effects on European countries, stress-testing the balance sheets of (re)insurers against their exposure to euro zone debt, equities, real estate and …
June 6, 2012
From recent news you will have learned that the euro zone crisis continues to be the 700 pound gorilla in the room of the global economy. It’s become increasingly clear that, whatever happens in Greece on June 17, the euro …
June 6, 2012
In many ways Ireland is a “microcosm for Europe,” said Danny McCoy, the Director General of the Irish Business & Employer’s Confederation (IBEC) at the EIF Forum. He described the present situation as a “crisis of government and of business …
June 5, 2012
Ireland held a referendum on Thursday, May 31 – a straight yes or no vote on whether the country would write the “Stability Treaty,” the austerity measures agreed to last fall by the 17 euro zone countries, into law. It …
June 5, 2012
Gripped by fears that Europe’s debt crisis is driving the world economy into a ditch, companies are delaying plans to raise capital and canceling deals, while investors are taking refuge in cash or any other place they think their money …
May 22, 2012
The United States and Japan are leading a fragile economic recovery among developed countries that could yet be blown off course if the euro zone fails to contain its flaring growth crisis, the OECD said on Tuesday. In its twice-yearly …
May 18, 2012
Leaders of major industrial economies meet this weekend to try to tackle a full-blown crisis in Europe where fears are growing that Greece could leave the euro zone bloc, threatening the future of the common currency. President Barack Obama, the …
May 15, 2012
If European countries are not prepared to bail out fellow euro zone members, maybe they should just abandon the whole concept of a common currency, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Monday in some of his most direct remarks …