ECB's readiness to act again doesn't mean it should do so now: Weidmann

(Reuters) - The European Central Bank has moved toward a "quantitative easing philosophy" but should not automatically use its remaining policy tools right away, Governing Council member Jens Weidmann said.

French lawmaker says 'unavoidable' to scrap deficit target : Les Echos

(Reuters) - The head of France's ruling Socialist party told Les Echos newspaper on Wednesday that it was "unavoidable" that France would abandon an EU target to cut its public deficit to 3 percent of GDP next year.

Banks to return 3.7 billion euros in crisis loans to ECB next week

(Reuters) - Banks will return 3.712 billion euros ($5.05 billion) in long-term crisis loans to the European Central Bank next week, ECB data showed, after the ECB started to charge banks for holding their excess cash overnight and promised more long-term loans.

Did Europe misdiagnose debt crisis and make it worse?

(Reuters) - At the height of the euro zone debt crisis, with Portugal's economy nearing collapse, the European Commission told the government in Lisbon that it had to slash wages if it was ever going to boost competitiveness and grow again.

Euro Weakens Sharply Following Draghi Comments

The euro weakened sharply, and prices of German government debt rose, after comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi raised the possibility of easing measures to stave off deflation in the euro zone.

Here comes the euro zone growth data

LONDON (Reuters) - The euro zone and its constituent parts will report fourth quarter economic growth numbers at the end of the week, offering policy makers at the European Central Bank a needed snapshot of the bloc's underlying strength. Recent evidence has been mixed.

Inflationary pressures easing in euro zone: ECRI

(Reuters) - Inflationary pressures in the euro zone remain in a downtrend, likely adding to fears about deflation in the 18-nation bloc, an indicator designed to predict cyclical trends showed.

Euro hits two-year high as banks shore up balance sheets

LONDON, Dec 27 (Reuters) - The euro jumped to its strongest level against the dollar in more than two years on Friday as banks adjusted positions for the year end.

'Europe faces deflation threat'

Europe faces a threat of deflation, which it seems unlikely to be willing to fight. Core inflation in the euro zone fell sharply in October to just 0.8 per cent a year, the lowest since early 2010 and a level which sets the red deflation light flashing.