Euro zone economic sentiment was unchanged in December against the previous two months, data showed on Thursday, as a more upbeat end-of-year mood in the services and retail sectors and among consumers was offset by a gloomier industry.
Tags: European Central Bank
Oil prices extend slide in commodities sell-off
Oil prices fell more than 1 percent on Wednesday after touching their lowest in nearly six years the previous session, extending losses alongside a sell-off in other commodities.
Legal challenge shows rocky path to ECB money-printing
A landmark legal opinion this week will remind the European Central Bank of the limits it faces as it advances towards money printing, while a tumbling oil price saps inflation in debt-strained Europe.
Oil-driven Asian bond rally could boomerang
Plunging oil prices have sparked a big rally in Asian government bond markets as lower fuel costs cut inflation expectations, but the rally could be built on shallow foundations as monetary policymakers remain out of step with tumbling bond yields.
ECB looking at risk-sharing mix for QE plan: sources
The European Central Bank is considering a hybrid approach to government bond purchases which would combine the ECB buying debt with risk sharing across the euro zone and, in a nod to German qualms, separate purchases by national central banks.
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The euro took another downward lurch on Friday, sinking to a 4-1/2 year low against the dollar on clear indications that the European Central Bank will soon embark on outright money-printing.
Chinese stocks were celebrating their best year in five on Wednesday while markets elsewhere in Asia were ending 2014 on a cautionary note as worries about Greece's future in the euro zone served as an excuse to take profits on crowded trades.
The head of the panel of economic experts that advises the German government said on Sunday there was no reason for the European Central Bank (ECB) to start buying up sovereign bonds now to bolster euro zone growth.
The European Central Bank has told Austria's Volksbanken group to strengthen its balance sheet by next July as it rushes to wind down its flagship unit and plug a capital hole exposed by this year's health checks on euro zone banks.
World share markets extended their 'Santa rally' into a fourth day on Monday, as a recovery in beaten-down oil prices and the ruble and more calls for quantitative easing from the ECB helped lift sentiment.
The European Central Bank should start buying government bonds to tackle poor investor confidence and low inflation in the euro zone, governing council member Luc Coene said in an interview published on Saturday.
Asian share markets rallied on Thursday after U.S. stocks enjoyed their strongest session this year when the Federal Reserve sounded upbeat on the economy and promised to be patient in removing policy stimulus.
Greece's future in the euro zone may hang in the balance once more, but investors believe the market fallout from any current political turbulence can be insulated, unlike during the region's sovereign debt crisis of 2012.
Oil producers group OPEC can ride out a slump in oil prices and keep output unchanged, its head said on Sunday, arguing market weakness did not reflect supply and demand fundamentals and could have been driven by speculators.
