European equities were set for a sixth straight week of gains on Friday, fuelled by a dramatic slide in the euro on the back of the European Central Bank's bond-buying plan that has kept euro zone yields near record lows.
Tags: Quantitative easing
At near zero inflation, ECB may expand QE program
European Central Bank may expand quantitative easing program as the inflation is hovering at near zero level of 01. percent for August. ECB Vice-President also indicated that QE program may be widened further.
Deflation? Oil's 45 percent rebound could be markets' next headache
Whisper it, but the next challenge for financial markets and policymakers may not be deflation, but the remarkable surge in oil prices from the six-year low touched in January.
Fitch downgrades Japan, joins Moody's in warning on fiscal policy
Fitch Ratings downgraded Japan's credit rating by one notch after the government failed to take steps in this fiscal year's budget to offset a delay in a sales tax increase, the agency said on Monday.
Dollar steps back, outlook still solid on diverging monetary policy paths
The dollar took a step back on Wednesday but retained a bulk of its overnight gains after currency bulls scooped up the greenback following the tumble induced by weak U.S. non-farm payrolls late last week.
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European shares rose to fresh seven-year highs on Friday, extending a two-month rally fueled by the European Central Bank's money printing program which starts in the coming weeks.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday he hopes the central bank continues with its bold monetary easing campaign to achieve its 2 percent inflation target.
Asian stocks extended a global rally on Friday after the European Central Bank launched a landmark bond-buying stimulus program that buoyed investors' risk appetite, drove bonds higher and kept the euro pinned near 11-year lows.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Wednesday, a government spokesman said, ahead of a key ECB meeting at which the bank is poised to announce a scheme to print fresh money to buy state bonds.
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.
Greek leftwing opposition leader Alexis Tsipras said the European Central Bank (ECB) could not exclude Greece if it decides to move to a full "quantitative easing" program to stimulate the euro zone's faltering economy.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the risk of the central bank not fulfilling its mandate of preserving price stability was higher now than half a year ago, and reiterated its readiness to act early this year should it become necessary.
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.
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.
