Economy, Europe | featured news

Spain's latest credit rating downgrade has thrown into sharp relief the need to revive a banking sector that could need another 100 billion euros to cover bad debts in order to avoid exposing another weak flank in the euro zone crisis.

Far-rightist Marine Le Pen threw France's presidential race wide open on Sunday by scoring nearly 20 percent in the first round - votes that may determine the runoff between Socialist favorite Francois Hollande and conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Like Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy swept to power on a wave of hope for change. Sarkozy's wave crashed on the global financial crisis and his own failings.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti declared on Wednesday that reviving economic growth now had to take priority over belt tightening that could plunge the country deeper into recession.

The king of Spain offered an unprecedented apology Wednesday for going on an elephant-hunting safari in Africa while his subjects struggle with recession and high unemployment at home.

The global economy has stepped back from the brink of danger and signs of stabilization are emerging from the euro zone and the United States, but high debt levels in developed markets and rising oil prices are key risks ahead, the IMF said on Sunday.

Britain has decided to cooperate with the United States in a bilateral agreement to release strategic oil stocks, two British sources said, in an effort to prevent high fuel prices derailing economic growth in a U.S. election year.

Decision day for the Greek debt crisis is drawing near, and insiders are predicting that if things go awry it could cost the world economy $1 trillion.

In case you haven’t noticed, the economy is actually getting better. Noticeably better. Yes, it’s been painfully slow in coming, as we continue to tack against strong headwinds coming from Europe and the Middle East as well as the strong ebb tide created by the wind-down of fiscal stimulus. And certainly the recovery has been halting and uneven.

Unemployment across the 17 countries that use the euro ended 2011 at a record high of one person in every 10, official figures showed Tuesday, a day after EU leaders acknowledged that they would have to boost economic growth with the same urgency that they had shown in combating their nations' debts....