Europe
History shows East Europe pitfalls on way to euro
FEATURE - Investors are already betting Eastern Europe's road to the euro will be remarkably short, but the history of European monetary union shows just how many hairpin bends and potholes still litter the way.
ECB Monthly Bulletin March 2002
REPORT - The European Central Bank published its March 2002 Monthly Bulletin on 14 March.
ECB Issing says eurozone econ hit bottom in '01
FRANCE - Europe's economic slowdown hit bottom at the end of last year and growth should be back above 2% by the end of 2002, European Central Bank Chief Economist Otmar Issing says in an interview with Les Echos Tuesday.
ECB Press Conference
PRESS CONFERENCE - Introductory statement by Willem F. Duisenberg, President of the European Central Bank, Christian Noyer, Vice-President of the European Central Bank, Frankfurt am Main, 7 March.
US finance chief backs steel moves
US - US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill has rejected suggestions from Europe that America's push to protect the domestic steel industry is simply a matter of treating the symptoms of an overvalued dollar.
Speech by Susan Schmidt Bies of the Fed, 28 Feb
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'Strengthening the Financial System of the 21st Century through Sound Accounting and Disclosure' Bies said "It has become clear in recent months that some companies have not been completely transparent in their application…
Final day for euro changeover
EUROPE - Two months after it was introduced as a cash currency on 1 January 2002, the euro will finally become the sole legal tender in the 12 countries in the eurozone.
Currencies consigned to history
FEATURE - "A piece of Europe in our hands" is how Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission, greeted the launch of the euro.
Manchester United player joins eurozone collection
FEATURE - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer from Manchester United has teamed up with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on his return from Europe to collect soon-to-be obsolete currency.
Speech by Eva Srejber of Sveriges Riksbank, 13 Feb
SPEECH - In the speech titled 'A reunited Europe - the roles played by Sweden and the Riksbank' Srejber said "When the Riksbank makes its inflation forecasts, central and eastern Europe will move gradually from being a brief footnote to becoming an…
Some EU countries already vying for No. 2 ECB spot
EUROPE - Just days after Wim Duisenberg announced he would resign next year as president of the European Central Bank, some countries began suggesting they would like one of their own in the central bank's No. 2 seat, which opens up at the end of May…
ECB's Noyer - Euro Undervalued Vs Dollar
EUROPE - European Central Bank Vice President Christian Noyer said Wednesday the euro is undervalued against the dollar, but added it was "very difficult" to tell when the euro would rebound.
Duisenberg to leave ECB in July 2003
EUROPE - Wim Duisenberg, the Dutch president of the European Central Bank, is to resign next year.
Eurozone interest rates unchanged
EUROPE - The European Central Bank (ECB) has left its key interest rate unchanged at 3.25%.
ECB on collision course over plan to regulate EU
EUROPE - The European Central Bank has put itself on a collision course with European financial regulators, including Britain's Financial Services Authority, over the ECB's ambitions to play a role in banking supervision.
ECB head predicts harmonisation call
EUROPE - Wim Duisenberg, European Central Bank president, yesterday forecast the introduction of euro notes and coins would lead to public demand for more harmonisation in the European Union, with particular focus on taxes.
Reform of EU securities rules moves a step closer
EUROPE - The European parliament yesterday took a decisive step towards acceptance of the Lamfalussy plan for speeding the reform of European Union securities market regulation.
A question of balance at the ECB
ARTICLE - Although the European Central Bank is independent and sets policy on a eurozone-wide basis, a huge effort is made to keep representation of the constituent nations in balance.
European Commission predict eurozone rebound
EUROPE - The eurozone economy may have shrunk during the last three months of 2001, but it is due for a rapid rebound, the European Commission has calculated.
Shoppers and forgers move to euro
EUROPE - Two weeks after the launch of euro notes and coins, more than 90% of transactions in Ireland are being made in the currency, the country's official changeover body said.
ECB chief: Prices safe from euro launch
EUROPE - Fears of rising prices across Europe as retailers cash in on the change to the euro have been confounded, according to the head of the European Central Bank.
Treasury publishes annual update on convergence
The Treasury last week published, and submitted to the European Commission,the UK's 2001 Convergence Programme, "Maintaining Economic Stability".This is the fourth annual update to the UK Convergence Programme publishedin line with the EU Stability and…
Singing the euro's praises
EURO - The achievement of introducing the euro received praise from the IMF and tinges of regret have been observed in countries choosing not to be part of it. In the eurozone itself measures were being taken to combat over-eagerness for the new currency.
Eddie George doubtful on euro
UK - Sir Edward George, the governor of the Bank of England, has pitched into the ongoing debate about potential British entry into the euro, saying that a single economic policy across Europe was a "disadvantage".