Eurozone Economy

Inflation in the 20 countries that use the euro currency slowed to 6.9 per cent in March, the lowest level in a year, with food costs still on the rise while energy prices fell, making a sharp turnaround after months of punishing increases. Consumer prices in the eurozone dropped from the 8.5 per cent recorded in February, according to data released Friday by the European Union's statistics agency, Eurostat. The inflation has dropped to its lowest level in a year since since peaking at 10.6 per cent in October. But prices for food, alcohol and tobacco rose by a painful 15.4 per cent, faster than the previous month's 15 per cent, in a sign that European consumers are still getting squeezed. Energy prices, however, fell 0.9 per cent an abrupt change of direction after rising at double-digit rates over the past year. Russia's war in Ukraine pushed up prices for natural gas used to heat homes and generate electricity, fueling overall inflation, but the latest reading indicates that a

A fresh 18% drop in embattled Swiss lender Credit Suisse led the wider European banking index lower

The European Central Bank is still leaning towards a half-percentage-point rate hike on Thursday, despite turmoil in the banking sector, given high inflation

Shares were mostly higher Monday in Europe and Asia after strong data on the U.S. economy sent Wall Street to its best close in six weeks. Germany's DAX gained 0.4% to 15,644.08 and the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.7% at 7,397.31. London's FTSE 100 edged 0.1% lower to 7,941.38. The future for the S&P 500 gained 0.2% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2%. On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 1.6% to cap its first winning week in the last four as easing yields in the bond market relieved pressure on Wall Street. It's found some stability following a swift rise and fall to start the year. The Dow industrials climbed 1.2%, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 2%. In Asian trading Monday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.2% to 20,603.19 and the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.2% to 3,322.03. At the annual session of China's rubberstamp legislature, the government set this year's economic growth target at around 5% as it tries to rebuild business activity following the end .

MSCI's broadest index of world shares dipped 0.2%, hovering near 7-week lows. The STOXX 600 index slid 0.3% and Wall Street's S&P futures were down 0.6%

French President Emmanuel Macron advocated Tuesday for his contested plan to increase the pension eligibility age as part of the pro-business policies he has promoted since he took office in 2017, saying people need to work a little longer to make the system financially sustainable. Macron visited the Rungis International Market in the southern suburbs of Paris for his first public discussion with French workers since lawmakers started debating the government's pension-reform legislation earlier this month, prompting series of strikes and protests. The bill, which the Senate expects to start considering on March 2, would push back the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 and require people to have worked for at least 43 years to be entitled to a full pension, amid other measures. People know that yes, on average, you have to work a little longer, all of them, because otherwise we won't be able to finance our pensions properly, Macron said. All French retirees receive a state pensio

At a more macro level, Fitch now expects world GDP to grow by 2.4 per cent in 2022 - revised down by 0.5 percentage points (ppt) since the June assessment

Eurozone inflation accelerated to 3.4 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in September, reaching a 13-year high, according to a flash estimate published on Friday by Eurostat

The European economy grew by an unexpectedly large 12.7% in the third quarter as companies reopened after severe coronavirus lockdowns, but the rebound is being overshadowed by worries

Draft budget plans published by member states on the European Commission website indicate the 19-country bloc will slide to an aggregate fiscal deficit of €976 billion

The economy of the 19 countries that use the euro shrank by 11.8 per cent in the second quarter, the biggest decline on record and slightly less than originally reported, according to updated figures

"Corona has caused unprecedented economic damage. It is an economic catastrophe of exceptional proportions," said Peter Hein van Mulligen, chief economist at the Dutch statistics office

On an annualised basis, EU economies shrank by 14.4%, and eurozone economies by 15%, the sharpest recorded contractions

For the currency union as a whole it was the biggest decline since the records started in 1995. For the broader 27-country European Union, not all of whose members use the euro, output sagged 11.9%

IHS Markit's composite flash PMI for the euro zone jumped to 57.5 this month, its highest since April 2011

The global economy is set for growth this year of 3.5 percent before reaching 3.7 percent next year

Economic growth was strongest in Netherlands, Latvia, Spanish economy grew above average

GDP increased 0.6% on the quarter, after slightly downwardly revised 0.5% in Q1