Eurozone crisis drying up credit to households: ECB

FRANKFURT: Bank lending to private households in the euro area, which has practically dried up in recent months, contracted again last month in face of the region's crippling debt crisis, ECB data showed on Wednesday.

French Market Declines

(RTTNews.com) - The French market is in negative territory on Wednesday, as worries about the fiscal cliff in the U.S. escalated with the remarks of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday.

Portugal parliament approves 2013 austerity budget

LISBON: Portugal's parliament gave final approval on Tuesday to a 2013 budget which promises a third year of recession and the biggest tax hikes in modern history to ensure international bailout terms are met.

EU leaders gear up for round two of budget negotiations

BRUSSELS: The collapse of EU talks Friday without agreeing a seven-year budget is not calamitous, the bloc will continue to function, but it does heap yet more pressure on a divided European Union mired in an intractable debt crisis.

Analysis: German hint of Greek debt relief raises euro hopes

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Three years into the euro zone's debt crisis, Germany's finance minister hinted tantalisingly last week at a potential breakthrough.

Italy's lower house approves Monti's budget plans

(Reuters) - Italy's lower house of parliament on Thursday approved a package of budget measures including a sales tax hike and a cut in some payroll taxes, aimed at helping the government reach its deficit-cutting targets.

EU budget summit ends without deal

The Brussels summit has ended without agreement on the 27-strong union's next seven-year budget.

Euro-Area Services, Manufacturing Contract for 10th Month

Euro-area services and manufacturing output shrank for a 10th month in November as the debt crisis hurt confidence, underscoring divergences in the global economy as China’s factories showed the first growth in more than a year.

France is Downgraded, Europe Goes 'From Bad to Worse'

It was bad news for France, but probably worse news for France’s neighbors: Late on Nov. 19, Moody’s Investors Service (MCO)stripped Paris of its AAA bond rating.

Greece Pushes Through Last Minute Reforms

ATHENS--Greece used special powers to pass a law introducing reforms demanded by international creditors in exchange for the country's next aid tranche in time for Tuesday's Eurogroup meeting.

Moody's Says Euro Crisis May Lurch Back into Shock

Moody's Investors Service said Friday the period of calm experienced in Europe in the past six months will come to an end without progress on area-wide reforms, potentially leading Spain and Italy losing bond market access at a time of sizeable refinancing needs.

Euro Crisis Weighs on German Economic Expectations

MANNHEIM, Germany--Economic expectations in Germany fell well below consensus forecasts in November, the latest sign that the euro zone's largest economy is likely to deteriorate over the next six months as the currency bloc's debt crisis drags on, data showed Tuesday.

U.K. Seen Shrinking This Quarter Amid Triple-Dip Risk: Economy

Britain’s economy may shrink this quarter and the risk has increased that the country will succumb to its first triple-dip recession since records began almost six decades ago, according to a survey of economists.

Eurozone falls back into recession

The eurozone has returned to recession as the region's debt crisis continues to hurt demand, figures show.

Greece needs 32.6 billion euros if bailout extended: Troika

BRUSSELS: Greece's international creditors will have to find 32.6 billion euros if they agree to extend its debt bailout by two years to 2016, as it wants, according to a draft report.

Germany Says Growth to Weaken in Winter

Germany's economy, the largest in Europe, will weaken "noticeably" during the winter months as companies hold back on investments due to the euro-zone crisis, Germany's economics ministry said Friday.

Cyprus talks with lenders as debt sustainability in focus

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus launched a last-ditch bid with potential lenders on Friday to get financial aid needed before coffers in the tiny euro zone economy start running dry.

Poland will look to rich EU states if budget vetoed: PM

(Reuters) - Poland, the biggest recipient of European Union funds, would seek common ground with countries that pay the most into EU coffers if a long-term budget proposal is vetoed, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday.

Greek vote important step, key issues remain: EU

BRUSSELS: Greece has made an important step in approving tough new austerity measures but must still pass the 2013 budget and key issues remain before it can secure the next debt aid payment, the European Commission said on Thursday.

Angst returns on German recession fears and US fiscal cliff

Stock markets skidded across the world and investors retreated to safe-haven assets on fears that Europe’s festering crisis has spread to Germany and a bitterly-divided Washington may struggle to avert a fiscal crisis.

European Union urges Greece to strike deal with creditors

VIENTIANE: European Union president Herman Van Rompuy urged Greece on Tuesday to reach an agreement with its troika of creditors so that it can receive a new financial lifeline.

UK services sector slows to 22-month low

Growth in the UK services sector grew in October, but the pace has slowed to an almost two-year low, according to "disappointing" official data.

Angela Merkel: eurozone crisis will last at least another five years

The eurozone will take at least another five years to recover from the crippling debt crisis that has hampered even Europe's most powerful economy, according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Euro Crisis Strongest Headwind, Treasury Official Says

MEXICO CITY--Senior finance officials from the world's top economies meeting this weekend in Mexico City will continue to focus on the European crisis response, a senior U.S. Treasury Department official said Friday, downplaying calls by some in Europe that the U.S. fiscal situation should be the priority.

Greece caught in trap of rising national debt

ATHENS: Greek debt has turned into a modern version of a nightmare from mythology in which the more the country cuts and taxes to climb the mountain, the deeper down it falls.

Deputy PM Clegg warns UK risks sliding to EU exit

(Reuters) - Britain faces a crisis that could end with the world's sixth largest economy leaving the European Union, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg warned ahead of a showdown over budget spending with other states in the 27-member bloc.

Greece recession and debt problems even worse

Greece's draft budget for 2013 has forecast a deeper recession and worse debt problems than previously thought.