Spain announces 'extraordinary' €27bn budget cuts

Prime minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government announced Spain's most austere budget for more than three decades – the day after a million protesters took to Spanish streets.

Spain braces for nationwide general strike

Madrid, Spain (TOE) - Spanish trade unions are holding a general strike a day before the Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announces new austerity budget to meet strict guidelines set by Eurozone leaders.

Euro zone debt crisis not over despite calmer financial markets: OECD

BRUSSELS: The euro zone's public debt crisis is not over despite calmer financial markets this year, the OECD said on Tuesday, with a warning that the bloc's banks remain weak, debt levels are still rising and fiscal targets are far from assured.

Euro-Area Ministers to Decide This Week on Future of Firewall

Euro-area finance ministers will meet in Copenhagen on March 30 to weigh whether to expand the 17-nation region’s financial crisis firewall. At stake is the future of the region’s two rescue funds, the temporary European Financial Stability Facility and its permanent successor, the European Stability Mechanism.

Euro zone to bolster firewall; Spain concerns grow

BRUSSELS: Euro zone finance ministers are ready to sign off on an increase in the region's financial firewall this week, with concerns about Spain's fiscal position banishing any complacency that the currency bloc's debt crisis is a thing of the past.

Republic of Ireland falls back into recession

The Republic of Ireland fell back into recession in the last three months of 2011, official figures have shown.

Geithner Says Euro Crisis Economies Have Made Progress

WASHINGTON -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Monday said Europe's financial crisis has already caused significant damage to the U.S. recovery, and urged the continent's leaders to take further steps to shore up their economies.

Greek Parliament Approves Second Bailout

ATHENS—Greece's Parliament approved a new international bailout deal, which will see the crisis-hit country receive an additional €172 billion ($227 billion) in rescue loans, setting the stage for a round of harsh measures that the country's international creditors have set as a precondition for the funds.

Italy's Monti faces vital test on labor reform

ROME (Reuters) - Prime Minister Mario Monti began a final push on Tuesday to forge a deal with trade unions on labor reform that is a crucial test of his ability to revive Italy's chronically uncompetitive economy.

Euro-crisis dilemma: austerity vs. stimulus

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has reopened a debate as old as the euro crisis or, indeed, debt crises themselves: Cut spending to reduce public deficits or spend to stimulate growth.

IMF warns date for passing quota reforms nearing

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund on Friday warned that endorsements of its 2010 plan to double its resources remain far shy of what is necessary for approval.

UK looks set to avoid double-dip recession … with debt-fuelled recovery

Wage inflation (excluding bonuses) is running at an annual rate of 1.7% – price inflation is almost double at 3.6%.

Germany to Europe: Don't criticize us on eurocrisis leadership

The euro crisis: It sounds like an arcane finance story. But as Germany sets the tone and the rules, the crisis has great meaning for Europe's future.

UK unemployment rises by 28,000 to 2.67m, ONS reports

UK unemployment rose by 28,000 to 2.67 million during the three months to January, with the unemployment rate at 8.4%, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

EU bars Hungary's 2013 aid funds, may reconsider in June

BRUSSELS/BUDAPEST (Reuters) - EU finance ministers suspended on Tuesday Hungary's access to half a billion euros in aid from next year for failing to keep its budget in check, but told Budapest it could escape the sanctions if it takes remedial fiscal action by June.

After Greek Default, Spain And Portugal Pose Major Risk

Markets have begun digesting Greece’s managed default, with the Hellenic Republic’s new bonds trading at distressed levels.

Greece Deal Triggers $3B in Default Swaps: ISDA

A committee of credit-default swaps traders will expedite an auction to settle about $3 billion of contracts tied to Greece after the nation took steps to force investors to participate in the biggest sovereign-debt restructuring in history.

Greek bailout gives Europe time to build defenses

WASHINGTON: Greece got the rescue. But it's the rest of Europe that's breathing easier. A $172 billion ((euro) 130 billion) bailout isn't likely to keep Greece from eventually defaulting on its debts and abandoning the euro, many economists say.

Analysis: Question of balance as euro zone crisis mutates

LONDON (Reuters) - With Greece's second bailout seemingly in the bag at last, Spain is shaping up as the next big test of whether euro zone policymakers can keep striking the right balance between carrot and stick to reconcile the very different interests of lenders, debtors and markets.

European Stocks Gain Before Greek Debt-Swap Deadline; EADS Rises on Payout

European stocks rose for a second day as Japan’s economy shrank less than the government initially estimated and a deadline on Greece’s debt swap approached. Asian shares and U.S. index futures gained.

Carefully Orchestrated Moves Set Stage for Greek Debt Deal

LONDON—Greece is unlikely to get all of its bondholders to agree willingly to a debt-restructuring plan before a Thursday deadline, but it repeated Tuesday that it is ready to force the deal through by other means.

Analysis: Out of intensive care, Europe risks chronic illness

(Reuters) - The euro zone is out of the emergency ward, but it may face a chronic debilitating illness rather than a rapid convalescence.

Spain planning to breach EU budget targets, warns prime minister Mariano Rajoy

Mariano Rajoy, prime minister of Spain, said the budget deficit would be 5.8pc of GDP in 2012 - more than 30pc higher than the 4.4pc target agreed by Brussels.

Euro Declines After ECB Approves Record Loans; Dollar Gains Versus Yen

The euro fell against most of its major counterparts after a liquidity injection by the European Central Bank failed to convince investors that the region’s crisis is abating.

Eurozone unemployment continues to rise

The unemployment rate in the eurozone continued to rise in January, hitting another record high.

EU says Ireland may need to revise budget

(Reuters) - Ireland may need to make further changes to its budget this year if the economy continues to deteriorate, the European Commission said on Wednesday in a draft of a report obtained by Reuters.