financial crisis News

Commentary: World Economy Entering Into Financial Hurricane Season

The North Atlantic hurricane season runs from mid-August to October, with a strong peak in storm activity around the middle of September. A less familiar but even more destructive pattern of disturbances is the financial hurricane season, which coincides with …

Citigroup Settles Securities Lawsuit for $590M

Citigroup Inc. agreed to pay $590 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit accusing it of hiding tens of billions of dollars of toxic mortgage assets, one of the largest settlements stemming from the global financial crisis. The agreement resolves claims …

Euro Zone Skirts Slump; Reprieve Seen Short-lived

The euro zone economy narrowly skirted recession in the first half of the year, but austerity programs across the region and a debt crisis weighing ever more heavily on its periphery suggest the reprieve will be short-lived. Gross domestic product …

Recession, Libor, Facebook Punish Europe’s Banks

Leading European banks reported dismal profits on Tuesday, blaming everything from the continent’s debt crisis and Spain’s property market crash to Facebook’s disastrous stock market debut. Within a space of an hour UBS of Switzerland, Deutsche Bank, BBVA of Spain …

ECB Head Sends Strong Signal Bank Will Act to Protect Euro Zone

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged on Thursday to do whatever was necessary to protect the euro zone from collapse, sending a strong signal that inflated Spanish and Italian borrowing costs were in his sights. Fears about the euro …

Euro Zone May Be Fragmenting Faster than EU Can Act

Signs are growing that Europe’s economic and monetary union may be fragmenting faster than policymakers can repair it. Euro zone leaders agreed in principle on June 29 to establish a joint banking supervisor for the 17-nation single currency area, based …

Germans Say “Nein! No! Non!” Ahead of Euro Summit

EU leaders go into a Brussels meeting today, Thursday June 28, more openly divided than at any time since the euro crisis began, with Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel showing no sign of relenting in her refusal to back other countries’ …

ANALYSIS: Big Greek Risk Morphs into More Economic Uncertainty

Greece’s election has averted the immediate threat of a euro break-up, but it does nothing to restore the magic ingredient missing in the European and global economies – confidence. Investors and corporate executives are paid to calculate risk. But they …

Lloyd’s Market Association Issues Guidance in Case of Euro Exit

The Lloyds’s Market Association (LMA) has joined central banks and other financial instiutions in preparing for a possible euro zone exit. It has issued a “note” giving insurers and brokers guidance on what they should be prepared to do in …

Deeper Euro Zone Integration to Take Time Says EU Commissioner Rehn

Tightening fiscal integration in the euro zone and surrendering more sovereignty in the name of deeper cooperation between member states may be possible only in the medium term, the EU’s top economic official said on Monday, dampening expectations of a …