eurozone

Euro zone banks maintained relatively easy access to credit for firms in the second quarter with the backing of government guarantees, but they will likely tighten credit standards in the following three months, the European Central Bank said today.  With a pandemic-induced crisis shutting much of the euro zone economy, firms rushed to tap bank […]

Euro zone banks maintained relatively easy access to credit for firms in the second quarter with the backing of government guarantees, but they will likely tighten credit standards in the following three months, the European Central Bank said today.  With a pandemic-induced crisis shutting much of the euro zone economy, firms rushed to tap bank […]

Consumers in the euro zone returned en masse to shops in May as lockdowns were eased, estimates from the EU statistics agency showed today, signalling a sharp recovery of sales after record drops in March and April.  Sales in the 19 countries sharing the euro zone rose by 17.8% in May from April, Eurostat said, […]

The euro zone economy will drop deeper into recession this year and rebound less strongly in 2021 than previously thought, the European Commission forecast today, with France, Italy and Spain struggling the most due to the Covid-19 pandemic.   The EU executive said the 19 nation single currency area would contract by a record 8.7% […]

The downturn in euro zone manufacturing was not as bad as initially thought last month after more economies in the bloc eased restrictions imposed to quell the spread of the coronavirus.  Over 10 million people have been infected by the virus globally and more than 500,000 have died. This lead governments to impose lockdowns and force […]

Lending to euro zone companies continued to surge in May as firms relied heavily on bank credit to stay afloat amid the continent’s coronavirus-related lockdown, data from the European Central Bank showed today.  With millions of people in stuck at home and much of the bloc’s economy mothballed, activity came to a standstill in March […]

The coronavirus-hit euro zone economy probably will not return to its pre-pandemic levels until next year at the earliest, the European Central Bank’s chief economist said today. But Philip Lane said that the ECB was prepared to tweak its tools if needed.   “From today’s perspective, it looks in any case unlikely that economic activity […]

The coronavirus-hit euro zone economy probably will not return to its pre-pandemic levels until next year at the earliest, the European Central Bank’s chief economist said today. But Philip Lane said that the ECB was prepared to tweak its tools if needed.   “From today’s perspective, it looks in any case unlikely that economic activity […]

Eurozone ministers have formally approved €240 billion in credit lines to help European countries meet the crippling costs of fighting the coronavirus outbreak. The plan will be run by the eurozone’s rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism, and is a first big step for the EU’s joint effort to lift an economy projected to contract […]