European Central Bank

* HFSF disburses 18 bln euros of EFSF bonds * NBG, Eurobank, Alpha, Piraeus to regain access to ECB funding By Lefteris...

Suddenly, it has become easy to see how the euro — that grand, flawed experiment in monetary union without political union — could come apart at t...

FRANKFURT, May 16 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank has stopped monetary policy operations with some Greek banks as they have not been successfu...

BERLIN -- The head of Germany's central bank is warning that there would be no basis for further financial aid to keep Greece afloat if the country ba...

Europe's election results sound an alarm for European integration and, consequently, the wellbeing of both the region and the global economy. Let us hope that the inevitable short-term volatility is a precursor to a more decisive effort to deal with the continent's festering problems.

In arguing the case for the primacy of economic action, Krugman blithely ignores the difficult situation of central banking in the modern world.

Germany profits because the more that financial markets flee from the bonds of other nations, the more money pours into German government bunds, reducing German costs of borrowing. So, what is to be done? If Hollande is elected President of France next week and attempts to pursue a growth policy in one country, as President Francois Mitterrand tried in the 1980s, he will be punished both by money markets and by other leaders. When Mitterrand tried expansion in one country, the result was capital flight and pressure against the franc. In those years, currencies were vulnerable to conservative financial pressures. Today, with a single European currency, it's government bonds that are under attack. But it's the same story.

The quest for lasting financial stability is still fraught with risks. The latest Global Financial Stability Report has two key messages: policy actions have brought gains to global financial stability since our September report; but current policy efforts are not enough to achieve lasting stability.

Pop quiz, hotshot. You're the prime minister of Spain. It's 2005. Unemployment is at a two-decades low. Housing prices are booming. You're worried tha...

* Economic advisory group fingers boards, execs, shareholders * Regulators warned against interfering in corporate strategy ...

This week's market action serves as a vivid reminder of how dependent valuations are on central bank policies. The question for markets thus boils down to whether central banks will do more; and the issues these institutions face are extremely and increasingly complex.

* Annualised G7 growth seen at 1.9 pct in Q1, Q2 * No rush for central banks to start tightening By Leigh Thomas ...

The essence of the euro crisis is that members cannot devalue or control their own monetary policy. But the European Central Bank could have done so. If it had recognized its obligations, the crisis would not have been nearly as great.

Greece was a problem, but the collapse of Italy is not manageable. Fifty percent of the Italian debt will mature in the next two years. This is a Damocles sword, and it is not going away any time soon.

Do Greek authorities understand that, unless they play by the rules and restore their fiscal discipline, there will soon be another default... and no bailout? Nothing is less sure. This is not a few bad years; it is a different way to manage a country.

LONDON — Mass unemployment in Greece and Spain, where nearly half of those under 25 are out of work, sent the jobless rate across the 17-nation ...

There are four factors that investors need to understand well in order to navigate what is a remarkably fluid outlook for markets.

Greece has walked a lot further down the path of perdition, but we're walking the same path and it's already too late to return.

BRUSSELS — European finance ministers insisted Wednesday on much tighter oversight of Greece's spending and austerity efforts, despite politicia...