HOW IS EUROPE DOING? THE ECB WEIGHS INHOW IS EUROPE DOING? THE ECB See electronic code book. WEIGHS INKids aren't the only ones who get a report card before heading off for summer vacation Summer vacation (also called summer holidays or summer break) is a vacation in the summertime between school years in which students are off for 3 months, depending on the country and district. . On June 15 the European Central Bank European Central Bank (ECB) Bank created to monitor the monetary policy of the countries that have converted to the Euro from their local currencies. The original 11 countries are: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, , headed by Jean-Claude Trichet Jean-Claude Trichet (born December 20, 1942) is a banker was born in Lyon, France, trained as an engineer at the École nationale supérieure des Mines de Nancy and later as a civil servant at the Institut d'etudes politiques de Paris (best known as Sciences Po) and the Ecole , published its biannual bi·an·nu·al adj. 1. Happening twice each year; semiannual. 2. Occurring every two years; biennial. bi·an Financial Stability Review--a report grading how the euro zone has dealt with the tumultuous past six months. The ECB's grade: a so-so B-. Actually, that's not too bad, considering it's the first time the 16-nation zone has had to cope with a raging crisis. But the zone is hardly home free. The ECB predicts Europe's banks may have to write off $283 billion more by the end of next year. That's on top of the $366 billion they've already kissed goodbye, for a possible total of $649 billion. The ECB doesn't mince words about ominous near-term risks, either. So how does the zone rate a B-? The central bank's praise falls into several categories. National guarantees for bank bonds "has been helpful for securing access to medium-term funding when needed." The ECB's own moves on May 7--including longer-term refinance Refinance 1. When a business or person revises their payment schedule for repaying debt. 2. Replacing an older loan with a new loan offering better terms. Notes: When a business refinances they typically extend the maturity date. options for banks and the purchase of euro-denominated bonds to increase market liquidity and free up capital--beefed up banks' funding options. And the ECB congratulated itself on cutting the zone's base interest rate to a record low of 1%. See "Has Europe Done Enough to Stop the Financial Crisis?" 
|
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion