Italy under pressure to reduce debt
The leaders of France, Germany and the European Council have ratcheted up the pressure on Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s prime minister, to implement economic reforms. Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president,...
View ArticleCentral bankers’ salaries
The figures Eurozone unless specified. 2012 figure unless specified. Figure provided by the central bank unless specified. AUSTRIA Claus Raidl €286,000* *Salary cannot exceed that of the chancellor....
View ArticleDon’t lose sleep over our banks: Italy’s central bank chief
Despite this week’s sharp selloff of Italian bank stocks following the results of Friday’s EU-wide stress tests, Italy’s bank chief insisted that most of his country’s largest financial institutions...
View ArticleQ&A with Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco
Ignazio Visco, the governor of the Bank of Italy, has managed to keep his trademark poise though the last year on the job has been the most challenging of his career. Visco, who has been at the helm of...
View ArticleItaly spooks global financial markets
Italy’s political crisis is reverberating through financial markets, with Asia following Europe and the U.S. down. Japan’s Nikkei, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shanghai Composite were all down in...
View ArticleECB sets 2 percent inflation target, prepares greater role in fighting...
FRANKFURT — The European Central Bank will drop its just-below-2 percent inflation target in favor of a “symmetric” target of 2 percent, Europe’s most powerful financial institution said Thursday...
View ArticleEveryone’s worried about inflation — except the ECB
FRANKFURT — While European consumers fret over rising prices and economists debate the reality of a low-growth, high-inflation horror scenario, the European Central Bank’s message has stayed...
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ECB sticks to bullish tone while other forecasts darken
FRANKFURT — Just a few months ago, everyone was worried about inflation – except the European Central Bank. Today, everyone fears that the Ukraine invasion will massively hit European economic growth...
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Italy’s economy enters choppy waters
Italy’s smooth sailing is about to come to an end. A combination of factors — the “Super Mario” brand of its prime minister, negative interest rates and the chance to spend nearly €200 billion in EU...
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The ECB is now a prisoner of war
The last thing Europe needs in the face of Russian aggression is another euro crisis, forcing the European Central Bank to step in to rescue a strained currency union. Even if the central bank manages...
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Italian central banker plays down chance of big rate hike in September
ROME — The European Central Bank may refrain from another robust interest rate increase at its next meeting amid the tepid growth outlook in the eurozone, Governing Council member Ignazio Visco has...
View ArticleEurozone inflation hits fresh record, while economy grows robustly
FRANKFURT – The eurozone economy showed Friday it’s more robust than expected despite ever-raging inflation — raising pressure on the European Central Bank to hike rates more substantially in...
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How not to criticize a central bank: A lesson for Italy from some old German...
FRANKFURT — Italy’s right-wing government hasn’t made a secret of its disdain for the decisions of the European Central Bank. Yet if its gripes aren’t to backfire it might want to learn a thing or two...
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Net-zero targets risk doing more harm than good, Italian central banker warns
FRANKFURT — Net-zero targets risk doing more harm than good and should be dropped in favor of more realistic strategies to help the environment, one of Italy’s top central bankers warned. Paolo...
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Italy eyes ECB board seat gamble
FRANKFURT — The European Central Bank’s six-member strong executive board may welcome a new face later this year in a reshuffle that could see power shift from old, large member states to newer,...
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Italy accuses EU Commission of fueling domestic political row
The Italian government accused the European Commission late Friday of intervening in a domestic political issue that has “no basis in reality,” signaling a major escalation of a row over how Rome is...
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