FRANKFURT, May 22 (Reuters) – Almost a year after ECB
President Mario Draghi vowed to do whatever it takes to save the
euro, a key indicator of euro zone tension is much diminished
and economic recovery will likely bring further improvement.

Little heard of before the debt crisis exploded, the
currency area’s Target2 payments system which settles
cross-border payments became big news as some economists said
its imbalances – close to a trillion euros at their peak – posed
a grave risk to the bloc.

MANNHEIM, Germany (Reuters) – German analyst and investor sentiment edged up in May after dropping sharply in the previous month, suggesting the euro zone’s largest economy is overcoming concerns over a flare-up in the bloc’s debt crisis and is back on track to a timid recovery.

Economists said the rise was considerably weaker than they had expected, probably due to the currency bloc’s weak economy weighing on morale, but it still pointed in the right direction.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Cutting the European Central Bank’s deposit rate below zero would be an effective way to help the euro zone economy, ECB policymaker Ignazio Visco was quoted as saying on Monday, sending the euro lower.

Taking the deposit rate into negative territory would mean the ECB charging commercial banks for holding their money overnight, something ECB President Mario Draghi has said the central bank was “technically ready” to do.

AACHEN, Germany/BRUSSELS, May 8 (Reuters) – The European
Central Bank still has room to manoeuvre should the euro zone
economy continue to worsen after it cut interest rates to a new
record low last week, ECB policymakers said on Wednesday.

The ECB cut its main rate to 0.5 percent last Thursday.

Yves Mersch, a member of the ECB’s six-man Executive Board,
said the bank still had tools at its disposal, but added that it
could only spur lending to small euro zone companies in
conjunction with other European institutions.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank is likely to cut the main euro zone interest rate at its monthly meeting on Thursday as the bloc’s economy has weakened further.

Since the last policy meeting on April 4, there have been few signs of the economy returning to growth, threatening the recovery which the ECB has said it expects to start in the second half of this year.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank is likely to cut the main euro zone interest rate at its monthly meeting on Thursday as the bloc’s economy has weakened further.

Since the last policy meeting on April 4, there have been few signs of the economy returning to growth, threatening the recovery which the ECB has said it expects to start in the second half of this year.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank is likely to cut the main euro zone interest rate at its monthly meeting on Thursday as the bloc’s economy has weakened further.

Since the last policy meeting on April 4, there have been few signs of the economy returning to growth, threatening the recovery which the ECB has said it expects to start in the second half of this year.

BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT, April 24 (Reuters) – ECB policymakers
rebuffed suggestions that Europe should ease up on austerity and
said that while the central bank has room to cut interest rates,
such a move would not necessarily help the economy much.

European Central Bank Vice-President Vitor Constancio said
that seeking to stimulate economies by stopping measures aimed
at cutting government debt could merely increase countries’
borrowing costs rather than triggering growth.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Comments by European Central Bank policymakers on Monday stressing falling inflation and poor growth prospects in the euro zone suggest the ECB may be leaning towards a further cut in its main refinancing rate.

ECB Vice-President Vitor Constancio said inflation had fallen “rather significantly” and a rate cut was “always a possibility”, but Governing Council member Klaas Knot said the ECB had “little ammunition left” and should use it carefully.

MANNHEIM, Germany, April 16 (Reuters) – German analyst and
investor sentiment fell sharply in April, hit by fears that a
deterioration of the euro zone crisis and a global slowdown, led
by a weakening China, could take a heavy toll on Europe’s
biggest economy.

The Mannheim-based ZEW think tank said on Tuesday its
monthly poll of economic sentiment fell to 36.3 points from 48.5
in March. The reading undershot a Reuters poll forecast of 42.0
and sent the euro down against the dollar.