Europe, Imf | featured news

Debt-crippled Ireland formally applied Sunday for a massive EU-IMF loan to stem the flight of capital from its banks, joining Greece in a step unthinkable only a few years ago when Ireland was a booming Celtic Tiger and the economic envy of Europe.

Euro zone finance ministers agreed on Tuesday to lay the groundwork for bailing out Ireland's banking sector with the IMF, but said Dublin had to decide itself whether to request the aid.

The $147 billion, three-year bailout offered to Greece by euro-zone countries and the IMF won't be enough to cover Greece's costs, an examination of Greek financial figures shows.

Greece reached agreement with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund on rescue loans to keep Athens from defaulting on its debts, a deal that will impose harsh cuts on the county's 11 million people for years.

Romania's government fell Tuesday as a parliament no-confidence vote in Bucharest triggered a political void in another struggling Eastern European economy. Prime Minister Emil Boc's cabinet mustered only ...