The European Central Bank's bond buying program will give a decisive boost to Italy's stagnant economy, business lobby Confindustria said on Saturday, while the Bank of Italy said it would make it easier to pass reforms.
Government
Obama to propose protecting U.S. Arctic wildlife refuge from drilling
U.S. President Barack Obama will call on Congress to expand protection of Alaska's Arctic refuge where oil and gas drilling is prohibited to 12 million acres (5 million hectares), an area that includes 1.4 million oil-rich acres along the coast.
All eyes on Fed, Greece after ECB fires bazooka
After the surprises from central banks which rocked markets at the start of the year, the U.S. Federal Reserve will be watched as closely as ever this week to see that it doesn't stray from its own policy path.
Bundesbank's Weidmann: It's in interest of Greek government to do reforms
Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann said Greece, where an anti-bailout party looks set to win a snap election, would continue to need aid and would only get this by sticking to agreements, adding he hoped the new government would not make promises the country could not afford.
Goldman president urges Britain to stay in the EU
The president of Goldman Sachs has urged Britain to stay within the European Union, warning, ahead of a May general election, that an exit would put the capital's status as a major financial center at risk.
Latest News
Central banks have done their best to rescue the world economy by printing money and politicians must now act fast to enact structural reforms and pro-investment policies to boost growth, central bankers said on Saturday.
Venezuela's deepening economic troubles, and in particular the weakness of the bolivar and restrictive currency controls, have hurt U.S. corporate profits for the fourth quarter of 2014 and are set to inflict further pain this year.
National governments in the euro zone need to redouble their reform efforts to create a "genuine" economic union, ECB Mario Draghi wrote in a German magazine published on Saturday after the European Central Bank's bond-buying programme was unveiled.
Greece's leftist Syria party held onto its opinion poll lead on Friday as it campaigns to form the first euro zone government committed to scrapping austerity outright after elections this weekend.
Russian banks with at least 25 billion roubles in capital and willing to increase lending to key sectors of the economy will be able to participate in a 1 trillion rouble ($15.65 billion) recapitalization plan, Russia announced on Friday.
The Federal Reserve could be key for Wall Street next week as investors get to hear from the U.S. central bank for the first time since a series of moves by its global peers, including the European Central Bank's massive stimulus plan.
The European Central Bank agreed on Thursday to embark on a quantitative easing (QE) programme, which together with its existing schemes will pump 60 billion euros a month into the euro zone economy from this March until September next year.
A deal on a 12-nation Asia-Pacific trade pact could be concluded in mid-March, Mexico's economy minister, Ildefonso Guajardo, said on Thursday.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's crusade to win back investor confidence has entrusted policymakers with the tough mission of hiking interest rates while major central banks cut them, raising the prospect of another recession in Latin America's biggest economy.
