European Central Bank

France now pays more to borrow than many of its companies

France now pays more to borrow than many of its own companies do. A selloff in French government debt has pushed the 10-year yield to almost 5%. The extra yield investors demand to hold French 10-year bonds instead of German…

French bond yields top Italy’s as debt crisis fears grow

France's borrowing costs have jumped to levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis, and on Thursday, Oct. 8, The New York Times, The Economist and economist Paul Krugman all warned that Europe's second-largest economy may be heading toward a…

Euro zone presses France to pass budget as bond yields jump

Euro zone finance ministers and the European Central Bank are expected to tell France on Thursday, Oct. 8, to pass a 2027 budget to calm bond markets. French borrowing costs are near 25-year highs, and senior euro zone officials have…

Euro hits 16-month low vs pound on French bond fears

France's borrowing costs stayed near 24-year highs on Wednesday, Oct. 7. Concern over the country's public finances ahead of the 2027 presidential election kept pressure on the euro, which fell to a 16-month low against sterling. France's 10-year yield briefly…

French debt fears spill into euro-area bond markets

Worries about France's public finances and politics spread across euro-area bond markets on Thursday. Risk premiums jumped well beyond Paris on the same day Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu presented a draft 2027 budget meant to calm investors.

Lagarde warns Europe against relying on foreign AI

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Thursday that Europe leaves itself exposed if it relies on artificial intelligence models built elsewhere. She also warned that the fast spread of AI through financial markets creates risks for the financial…

Rabobank sees eurozone inflation hitting 4.4% in early 2027

Rabobank has sharply raised its eurozone inflation forecasts, projecting headline inflation will peak at 4.4% year-on-year in January and February 2027 as surging oil and natural gas prices ripple through the bloc's economy, according to an analysis published this week…

Euro area inflation confirmed at 3.2% in August

Eurostat Euronext N.V. confirmed Wednesday that annual inflation across the euro area rose to 3.2% in August 2026, revised slightly downward from a preliminary estimate of 3.3%, as energy prices driven by the Iran war continued to ripple through the…

ECB’s Vujcic warns AI-fueled stock rally is prone to correction

European Central Bank Vice President Boris Vujcic warned on Tuesday that soaring market valuations fueled by the artificial intelligence boom have left equity markets vulnerable to a pullback, adding his voice to a growing chorus of concern from Europe's top…

ECB’s Kazaks says rates may need to enter restrictive territory

European Central Bank policymaker Martins Kazaks said the ECB may need to push interest rates into restrictive territory as the war in Iran drives energy prices higher and keeps eurozone inflation well above the central bank's 2% target.

Lagarde calls on governments to cut spending to fund AI and defense

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde urged eurozone governments on Friday to rein in certain areas of public spending to free up resources for what she called "necessary investments" in artificial intelligence, defense, and the energy transition — a call…

European shares slide as Brent crude tops $100 a barrel

London's FTSE 100 fell sharply on Wednesday as Brent crude surged past the $100-a-barrel mark for the first time since July, renewing inflation fears across global markets and dampening risk appetite ahead of key U.S. economic data later this week.

Japan, eurozone GDP upgrades fuel global rate hike bets

Upward revisions to second-quarter economic growth in both Japan and the eurozone have reinforced expectations that major central banks will press ahead with interest rate increases, as stronger-than-expected output adds to a global picture of resilient demand and persistent inflation.

US CPI, ECB decision loom after blowout jobs report

A blockbuster August jobs report has set the stage for a consequential week in global markets, with the release of US consumer inflation data on Friday and a European Central Bank rate decision on Thursday poised to reshape expectations for…

ECB and Fed face pivotal rate decisions in September

Central bankers on both sides of the Atlantic face pivotal interest rate choices in the coming days, with the European Central Bank set to announce its decision on Thursday, September 10, and the Federal Reserve following the week after at…

Reuters poll: All 65 economists expect ECB rate hike next week

The European Central Bank is all but certain to raise its deposit rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.50% when policymakers meet on September 10, a move that would cap what economists expect to be the shortest rate-hiking campaign…

European stocks hit one-month low as Middle East conflict drives bond rout

European equities slid to a one-month low on Wednesday as a global bond selloff and surging oil prices, fueled by escalating military conflict between the United States and Iran, weighed heavily on investor sentiment across the continent.

ECB July minutes show policymakers saw another rate hike as likely

The European Central Bank released the account of its July 22-23 policy meeting on Thursday, revealing that policymakers viewed another interest rate increase as likely necessary to return inflation to its 2% target. The minutes set the stage for a…

Eurozone bond yields ease after U.S. Treasury steps in

European sovereign debt markets are flashing warning signals as bond yields across the continent have surged to levels not seen in over a decade, driven by persistent inflation fueled by the Middle East conflict and expectations of further European Central…

Lagarde warns China competes in 40% of eurozone’s key sectors

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned on Wednesday that China now directly competes with the eurozone in close to 40% of the sectors where Europe holds a comparative advantage, up from around 25% in the early 2000s, as she…

Lagarde says Europe can’t afford to miss AI revolution

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned on Wednesday that Europe cannot afford to repeat its failure to capitalize on the first digital revolution, urging the continent to remove barriers that prevent artificial intelligence from spreading across its economy.

ECB warns AI tech stock valuations echo past bubble levels

The European Central Bank has flagged AI-driven technology stock valuations as resembling historical bubble levels, warning in its latest financial stability review that a sharp correction in U.S. technology shares remains a credible risk. The central bank stopped short of…

European bond yields hit multi-year highs as Hormuz tensions escalate

European government bond yields rose sharply on Friday, August 14, with Germany's 30-year yield climbing to around 3.72% — its highest level since 2011 — and France's 10-year yield breaching 4% for the first time since 2009, as the ongoing…

EU pushes digital euro to cut reliance on US card networks

The European Union is pressing ahead with plans for a digital euro, entering the final stretch of negotiations aimed at building a homegrown payment system that would curb the bloc's dependence on Visa and Mastercard, the American networks that process…

U.S. blindsided ECB by selling euros to boost yen, FT reports

The United States bypassed the European Central Bank when it sold euros to prop up the Japanese yen on July 31, notifying Frankfurt only after the trades had been completed — a move senior ECB officials have called an unprecedented…

Eurozone hits eight-month high as services return to growth

Eurozone business activity expanded at its fastest pace in eight months in July as a rebound in services joined a strengthening manufacturing sector, according to final survey data published on Wednesday. The recovery, however, remains overshadowed by the ongoing conflict…

US, Japan intervene to support yen as euro gains on ECB hike bets

The euro advanced against the Japanese yen on Monday, buoyed by expectations of further European Central Bank rate increases while the yen remained under pressure from longstanding concerns about Japan's fiscal position. The EUR/JPY pair traded around the 181 level…

Eurozone factory output hits 4 1/2-year high but rests on fading backlogs

Eurozone factory output surged to its fastest pace in nearly four-and-a-half years in July, but the recovery rests on shaky foundations as manufacturers burn through old orders rather than winning new business amid the ongoing Middle East conflict.

Euro hits seven-week high as dollar weakens on fading Fed hike bets

The euro climbed for a fifth consecutive session on Monday, reaching its highest level against the US dollar since June 17, as markets continued to pare back expectations for further Federal Reserve tightening. EUR/USD traded near the mid-1.1500s during Asian…

Euro climbs above 1.15 on strong growth, Fed hold

The euro surged past the 1.15 level against the dollar on Thursday, as a combination of stronger-than-expected eurozone economic growth and renewed weakness in the greenback following the Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates steady fueled broad demand for…