Euro Rallies as German Factory Orders Diverge from PMI Result

German manufacturing orders increased by 2.2% in March (seasonally adjusted), thereby vastly outperforming expectations for the factory orders to decline by 0.5%, and the March rise in orders was the same as the revised 2.2% rise reported in February.

European Economic Confidence Declines More Than Forecast

ept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- European confidence in the economic outlook dropped more than economists forecast in September to the lowest in almost two years, reflecting growing concern that the worsening debt crisis could push the euro-area economy into a recession.

An index of executive and consumer sentiment in the 17- nation euro region fell to 95 from a revised 98.4 in August, the European Commission in Brussels said today. That’s the lowest since December 2009 and below the 96 projected by economists, according to the median of 31 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.

Franco-German call for 'true euro economic governance'

The French and German leaders have called for "true economic governance" for the eurozone in response to the euro debt crisis.

Speaking at a joint news conference, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged much closer economic and fiscal policy in the eurozone.

European leaders boldly decide to carry on muddling through

A BARGAIN, but not a grand one. Euro-zone leaders surprised many on March 12th by agreeing on the main elements of a deal to salve Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis. With negotiations becoming fractious and markets unnerved by further ratings downgrades on Greek and Spanish debt, there had been fears that a deal might not be reached by a deadline of March 25th, when Europe’s heads of governments conclude their next meeting in Brussels. In the event, a special summit of euro-area leaders hammered the essentials out two weeks ahead of schedule.

EU leaders reach deal on debt crisis

European leaders reached agreement in the early hours of this morning on how to tackle the debt crisis afflicting the nations using the single currency, with significant concessions from Germany.

Eastern Europe Uses Greek Crisis as Cover to Delay Move to Euro Discipline

The euro-region debt crisis is giving Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary an excuse to delay getting their economies in shape to join the single currency.

The European Union’s largest eastern members are slowing euro preparations as western governments struggle to end a debt crisis that nearly ripped the currency apart in May. Without a fixed timetable, buying the bonds of these countries is no longer a one-way bet on falling yields, said investors including Jean-Dominique Butikofer, who helps oversee about $1 billion of emerging-market debt at Union Bancaire Privee in Zurich.

EU summit to take only minor steps on debt crisis

Euro zone leaders will take the next cautious steps in their year-long effort to quell the region's debt crisis at a summit on Friday, but the meeting is unlikely to produce a breakthrough.

The top item on the agenda for the 17 heads of state and government is to agree a "competitiveness pact," a deal Germany and France are pushing the rest of the euro zone to adopt to show their commitment to overhauling their economies.

BOI Chief Sees Debt Crisis in Spain, Italy as ‘Highly Unlikely’

The euro-region rescue fund should be empowered to bail out banks and buy bonds on the market even though it’s “highly unlikely” that the debt crisis will spread to either Spain or Italy, according to Bank of Italy Director General Fabrizio Saccomanni.

“It would be useful to increase the effective size of the EFSF, which is less than its nominal value, and especially to raise its operative potential,” according to a transcript of a speech Saccomanni delivered today in Berlin. These steps should be taken even in the improbable scenario that the debt crisis extends to bigger countries such as Spain and Italy, he said.

Base metals ends higher on Euro debt crisis

The base metals complex delivered a good performance on the LME last week. Prices were driven by favorable economic data from the US and the Euro Zone released in the last week.

But, prices also took cues from developments on the crisis in Egypt. This led to major concern in the global financial markets and sharp gains further were capped on the back of these worries. The US Dollar Index (DX) closed on a flat note in the last week.