Double ratings boost for Portuguese economy

Lisbon (AFP) - The Portuguese economy has received a double boost as ratings agency Moody's raised its debt rating one notch to Ba2, hours after fellow agency Standard & Poor's upgraded the country's credit outlook.

Euro-Adoption Benefits Becoming Fiction, Poland’s Szczurek Says

Benefits to adopting the euro, such as easier access to capital and foreign funding, are becoming “fiction,” Polish Finance Minister nominee Mateusz Szczurek said in an interview with Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.

Cyprus receives EU-IMF bailout funds

Cyprus has received the first instalment of a 10bn-euro bailout package from international creditors, which was agreed earlier this year.

Germany's austerity plans will beggar Europe

Has the eurozone crisis ended? Many politicians in Europe, including France's president François Hollande, seem to think so.

EU to propose bank resolution agency in 2013: Barnier

(Reuters) - The European Commission will make a proposal next year for a joint agency for shoring up or closing troubled banks, Michel Barnier, the commissioner in charge of financial regulation, said on Monday.

Fate of eurozone rests in the hands of German judges

They have the potential to throw the stock exchange into turmoil, trigger frenzy on bond markets and bring down the German government.

Economic uncertainty growing massively: ECB's Nowotny

(Reuters) - Economic uncertainty in Europe is rising "massively" as growth prospects worsen, especially for debt-strapped southern euro zone members, European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said.

Debt crisis: Sir Meryvn King warns of eurozone's 'black cloud of uncertainty'

The eurozone crisis has created a “great black cloud of uncertainty” Sir Mervyn King warned, as Germany’s Constitutional Court threatened to derail plans designed to take the region forward.

Debt crisis: Ireland hails euro 'game changer'

Ireland claimed that a deal struck at a summit of eurozone leaders was a “game changer” for the country which would help it escape a second bailout.

Doubts Linger Despite Show of Euro-Zone Unity

BRUSSELS—European leaders' new measures Friday to tackle the euro zone's debt crisis—promising to use their sizeable rescue funds more flexibly and pave the way for the European Central Bank to assume an expanded role as supervisor for the euro zone's banking sector—were welcomed as a rare bold step in the right direction.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Germany rejects rescue fund boost, Greece under pressure

(Reuters) - Germany, the only major euro zone member to retain a top-notch credit rating, refused on Monday to consider boosting the bloc's rescue fund, while Greece was under pressure to urgently break a deadlock in debt swap talks if it is to avoid an unruly default.