Italy’s sovereign debt crisis has been overshadowed by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s reluctant promise to resign after the country’s parliament made clear he no longer commanded a majority. Italy…
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said he will resign after losing parliamentary support.
AAP
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi appears set to become the largest political casualty so far of the Eurozone’s continuing inability to resolve its massive sovereign debt problems. Berlusconi, who…
Italy’s disturbing debt-to-GDP ratio has been decades in the making.
AAP
During protests in Rome last month, as groups of hooded protesters clashed with the police, set cars on fire, and smashed bank windows around the Piazza San Giovanni, two large speakers installed on a…
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou will use the referendum to try to win a mandate for austerity measures.
AAP
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has taken the bold step of planning a referendum on the country’s EU-imposed austerity measures, in a bid to claim a mandate for his efforts to avoid a default on…
All Blacks captain Richie McCaw and coach Graham Henry celebrate their Rugby World Cup victory.
AAP
Few would begrudge New Zealanders revelling in their rugby World Cup success. After two major disasters in the form of the Christchurch earthquake and the Greymouth coal mine explosion, some morale-raising…
Jean-Claude Trichet will step down at ECB president in November.
AAP
As the Eurozone trembles at the prospect of Greece defaulting on its debt, the winds of change are at work at the European Central Bank (ECB). ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet will step down in November…
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso says the FTT could raise 55 billion euros a year.
AAP
Momentum is building behind the global campaign to impose a tax on transactions in financial markets, with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announcing plans to introduce the measure as…
Is a partial default one of the steps to recovery for Greece?
AAP
Will Greece default and exit the Eurozone? The best-case scenario is a managed, orderly, partial default with the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), a fund created in 2010 to manage Eurozone…
World Bank chief Robert Zoellick and IMF head Christine Lagarde have doubts about global growth.
AAP
Global markets have tumbled again this week, following the downgrading of Italy’s debt rating and a series of negative comments from leaders of the world’s financial institutions. International Monetary…
If Greece’s economy collapses, it could easily lead to a breakdown of civil order.
AAP
Global markets look set for a rough week amid new concerns that Greece could default on its massive debt. The Australian share market has spent most of the day down 3% after reports that Germany could…
Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel believe an FTT can help solve Europe’s debt woes.
AAP
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have announced a plan to impose a financial transactions tax (FTT) for the Eurozone, as part of an effort stem the bloc’s worsening…
The only way out of this crisis is to dishonour some of the debt that is weighing down the global economy.
AAP
The dramatic falls in share prices of Greek debt-laden French banks overnight highlights just how closely tied the current market chaos is to the world’s worsening debt woes. Market crashes like that of…
Silvio Berlusconi has blamed international economic conditions for Italy’s worsening crisis.
AAP
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s reassurance to his parliamentary colleagues during a speech on Wednesday did little allay about fears of a crisis in Eurozone’s third-biggest economy. The Italian…
President Barack Obama: will his resolve stand as the debt clock ticks down?
As the political stand-off around the US debt crisis looks set to continue into the weekend, US President Barack Obama is being tested whether he has the courage to stand his ground. Last week the President…
Republican resolve to hurt President Obama - even at the risk of default - should not be underestimated.
AAP
I rang some people at big banks who do liquidity and balance-sheet management to see how they are preparing for the August 2 deadline for US debt funding. They seemed remarkably sanguine. The feeling is…
Boom to bailout: Ireland’s economic implosion shows the consequences of unfettered policy.
AAP
This year’s Economic Society of Australia conference saw a range of strong views expressed on what Australian policy makers have managed to get broadly right (carbon tax – hurrah!) and wrong (NBN – boo…
Nicolas Sarkozy, Christine Lagarde and Angela Merkel share a joke at Thursday’s Greece bailout talks.
AAP
European leaders signed off on a second, 109 billion euro bailout for Greece overnight, while also establishing what has been described as an “infant monetary fund” to intervene if the bloc’s sovereign…
Thursday’s make-or-break EU finance ministers meeting looks set to be a highly charged affair.
AAP
As Margaret Thatcher’s trade minister in the 1980s, Norman Tebbit devoted much of his time to dealing with the European Community – the precursor to the European Union. Routinely, at meetings in Brussels…
“Indignado” protests prove a headache for Spain’s politicians but won’t threaten a greater Europe.
AAP
As international markets react to the unrest in Greece amid fears of contagion, mass protests have also continued in fellow European Union member country, Spain. This protest movement, called the “indignant…
Despite attempts at regulatory reform, ratings agencies still act with little threat of litigation.
AAP
Standard & Poor’s downgraded Greece’s sovereign debt rating by three notches on Monday, reflecting its view that it would be next to impossible to imagine a scenario where the country could restructure…