Economic data shows eurozone steadier, still weak

FRANKFURT: The euro area's economy is making faltering progress toward recovery, as the latest round of figures Wednesday showed improving consumer optimism and steadier bank finances - but weak demand for loans from businesses.

Italy 2012 wage inflation lowest since 1983, half consumer price inflation rate

Italian wages in 2012 grew at less than half the rate of consumer price inflation, data showed on Monday, helping to explain the worst slump in consumer spending for more than half a century.

Spanish unemployment jumps to record 26 pct

MADRID (AP) — Spain's unemployment rate shot up to a record 26 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, leaving almost six million people out of work, the National Statistics Institute said Thursday.

France’s Moscovici Says Strong Euro Creates ‘Some Problems’

French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said the strength of the euro is hampering recover in the 17-nation economy, while also reflecting confidence that the region’s debt crisis is fading.

Merkel Rebuffs Rajoy’s Call to Do More to Boost Euro Stimulus

German Chancellor Angela Merkel rebuffed calls by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy that euro nations in better financial health should help the bloc out of its economic slump by spurring growth.

Davos 2013: G-10 ministers discuss progress on WTO negotiations

DAVOS: Ministers from G-10 countries, including the US, today held discussions on the progress made at WTO negotiations, especially issues related to the agriculture market.

Portuguese flee economic crisis

More than 2% of Portugal's population have emigrated in the past two years, since the country entered the worst recession in decades, officials say.

Eurozone business activity rises, but French downturn steepens

BRUSSELS: Private business activity across the eurozone rose to a 10-month high in January, a leading indicator showed on Thursday, but the currency bloc still hasn't returned to growth as France's downturn steepened.

Analysis: No respite for euro zone in long rebalancing slog

LONDON (Reuters) - The euro zone crisis is entering a new, treacherous phase for governments, which can only cross their fingers that slow-burn reforms will pay off before voters get fed up with austerity and high unemployment.

Protests become way of life in Spanish recession

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish workers are increasingly walking off the job to protest wage reductions and privatizations by the government as it tackles a steep public deficit that last year threatened to bankrupt the country.

UK PM to deliver long-awaited EU speech this week

(Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron is set to deliver his hotly anticipated speech about his plans for Britain's membership of the European Union this week, Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Sunday.

IMF sees up to 9.5 bilion euro Greek funding gap in 2015-2016

WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund on Friday estimated that Greece faced a financing gap of between 5.5 billion and 9.5 billion euros for 2015 and 2016 and said it had assurances from Europe the aid would be forthcoming for Athens in the final years of its international bailout.

UK construction faces 'decade of pain'

The construction industry in the UK will not recover its pre-recession peak level of output until 2022, says a study by an industry lobby group.

German Economy Shrank in Fourth Quarter

FRANKFURT — The German economy probably shrank in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to an official estimate Tuesday, as companies cut back investment in new plants and equipment because of uncertainty about the future of the euro zone.

Italy output drop shows economy in mire as poll looms

ROME: Italian industrial output fell a bigger-than-expected 1.0 per cent in November, suggesting the economy remains deep in recession as the country braces for a national election next month.

Germany's Not-So-Wunderbar Economy

Throughout the euro crisis, Germany has been the area’s growth engine and enforcer of fiscal rectitude. Now economists and policymakers are warning that Germany may be reverting to some old bad habits.

Greek parliament approves tax change under rescue terms

ATHENS: Greece's parliament early Saturday approved a new tax bill, part of the latest batch of fiscal reforms tied to the country's next slice of EU loans.

Draghi says eurozone not past turning point yet

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — European Central Bank President Mario Draghi says the euro area's struggling economy is showing early signs of improvement and should grow modestly by the end of 2013 but it is not out of the danger zone yet as it struggles with recession and too much debt.

The euro crisis no one is talking about: France is in free fall

FORTUNE -- Given investors' confidence in its sovereign debt, and its image as Germany's principal partner in the sturdy, sensible "northern" eurozone, you'd think that France endures as the co-guardian of the endangered single currency.

'Disappointing' trade deficit figures a drag on recovery renewing triple-dip fears

Britain's trade deficit narrowed in November as exports rose more than imports, but the fall was below forecasts, which economists warn will act as a drag on growth and further threatens a triple-dip recession.

Is this the year that the eurocrisis ends?

The European Central Bank has moved to shore up the euro, investors are more confident, and European leaders are surprisingly upbeat.But critics warn that Europe is not out of the woods.

Greece probes officials in Swiss tax scandal: Source

ATHENS: The Greek prosecution service has questioned two finance ministry officials close to former socialist finance minister George Papaconstantinou, who is caught up in a tax scandal shaking Greek politics, judicial sources said on Friday.

Car slump in France, Spain and Italy spells gloomy 2013

PARIS (Reuters) - Car sales in France, Spain and Italy in 2012 fell to the lowest levels in years, with December registration data underscoring the challenges facing the broader European economy.

German Bunds Snap Drop on Jobs Data; French Yields Fall at Sale

Germany’s government bonds snapped a decline from yesterday after a government report showed the nation’s jobless total increased for a ninth month in December.

UK factory activity unexpectedly rebounds in December: PMI

LONDON (Reuters) - British factory activity jumped unexpectedly in December to grow at its fastest pace since September 2011, a survey showed on Wednesday, raising the chance that the economy eked out growth at the end of 2012.

Hollande vows to revive French supertax

France's President Francois Hollande says he still plans to raise the top rate of income tax after his 75% plan was struck down on technical grounds. In a national address on New Year's Eve, he said the law would be redesigned, adding, "we will still ask more of those who have the most".