Irish finance minister says new EU calculation could add over 1 percent to GDP

(Reuters) - New EU rules on calculating economic output could boost Ireland's gross domestic product by over 1 percent and mean a little less austerity next year, Finance Minister Michael Noonan said on Wednesday.

Irish Bonds Rise, Yields Drop to Record in Market Return

Ireland’s 10-year yield fell to a record as the nation auctioned government bonds for the first time since 2010, the latest sign the euro region’s financial woes are abating.

Greece posts budget surplus in 2013 at central government level

ATHENS: Greece's central government posted a primary budget surplus of 700 million euros last year and will also post a surplus at the more closely-watched general government level, making it eligible for further debt relief, its deputy finance minister said on Tuesday.

Lower-rated euro zone debt rallies on improving economic data

LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Lower-rated euro zone bonds rallied on Friday as a drop in Spanish unemployment and a move by Portugal's president to side with the government on the 2014 budget added to signs the region is coming out of its crisis.

Inquiry blames Cypriot ex-president for crisis

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) -- The "reckless" economic policies of Cyprus' former president are mainly to blame for the financial crisis that brought the country to near bankruptcy, an independent inquiry concluded Monday.

Euro Zone Returns to Growth

The euro-zone economy emerged more strongly than expected from its longest postwar contraction in the three months to June, but a resolution to its banking and fiscal crises remains a distant prospect.

Slovenia adopts debt cap to stave off crisis

LJUBLJANA: Slovenia's parliament on Friday imposed a cap on public spending in an attempt to convince foreign investors that the small eurozone country will not need an international bailout.

Greek fiscal targets are unrealistic: Bank group

ATHENS: Heavily-indebted Greece was set fiscal targets that were not achievable, in contrast to Ireland, which is emerging as a success story, a global bank lobby group said this week.

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.

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.

Spain Budget Concentrates on Spending Cuts Over Revenue

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain announced a detailed timetable for economic reforms and a tough 2013 budget based mostly on spending cuts on Thursday in what many see as an effort to pre-empt the likely conditions of an international bailout.

Crisis-Hit Nations Fight to Prepare for Olympics

With one hurdle left, something snapped. It wasn't a bone or anything that serious, but Greek athlete Periklis Iakovakis somehow lost power and quickly dropped from first to last in the European Championship 400-meter hurdles final, unable to summon enough energy to keep going strong.