EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

In a nutshell: Things in Europe are bad … and getting worse.

This week, the two largest economies will have political transitions, three central banks will meet, and Greece's parliament is set to vote on key reforms.

Confusion reigns after the EU summit ends, and leaders are still at odds over a future banking union.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's assessment of current conditions, as well as data on inflation and trade, will highlight the economic calendar this week.

ECB President Mario Draghi Thursday said his bank's recent actions had worked, and pushed political leaders to get-a-move-on.

Spain's and Italy's borrowing costs dropped dramatically at the start of the month on ECB promises, but more are losing confidence in the bank's plans.

Many European banks have used easy credit from the European Central Bank to expand their balance sheet rather than use the easy credit to slim down and cut the level of risk in the assets they hold. In other words, too-big-to-fail is alive and well in the recession-plagued euro zone.

Three key U.S. housing reports Wednesday are expected to show small improvements in the market.

Most of the Asian markets dropped Tuesday as investor confidence was weighed down by the intensifying tensions between China and Japan and the increasing concerns over the euro zone debt crisis.

London copper slipped on Monday, but still retained most of the previous session's steep climb to a 4-1/2 month top as a new round of U.S. monetary stimulus measures and a weak dollar continued to support prices.

Asian stock markets ended mixed Monday after they rallied to a four-month high in the previous session following the U.S. Federal Reserve's move to boost growth in the world's largest economy with a third round of bond purchases.

The U.S. stock index futures point to a lower open Monday after the rally seen last week following the announcement of the Federal Reserve's plan to buy mortgage securities.

European markets fell Monday as investor sentiment turned negative after fears of the debt crisis affecting the euro zone were revived undermining the optimism over the stimulus measures announced by policymakers to bolster economic growth.

Most of the Asian markets dropped Monday after the rally last week when investor confidence was buoyed by the optimism that the stimulus measures announced by the central banks in the U.S. and the Europe would help revive the global economic growth momentum.

Asian stock markets posted their biggest weekly gains in almost nine months after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced that it would purchase $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities per month for an open-ended period until the labor market improved substantially.

With the Bank of Korea unexpectedly holding its policy rate at 3 percent, market participants feel that stimulus measures will be urgently needed to reinvigorate the country?s weakening economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI: DJI) gained another 53.51 points, or 0.40 percent, on Friday to close at 13,593.37, the highest level in nearly five years. However, many uncertainties remain. Here are four factors that could make -- or break -- the Dow's continued ascent.

In an attempt to boost foreign fund flow into the country, the Reserve Bank of India eased the limit of external commercial borrowings (ECB) by any individual, company or group.

Asian shares edged higher Wednesday as investors remained cautiously optimistic that a German court would approve the legality of the euro zone's bailout fund later in the day and the U.S. Federal Reserve may deliver further stimulus measures this week.

The most important court decision of 2012 will take place Wednesday in Germany, when the red-robed justices of the German Constitutional Court hand down a decision for which it is no hyperbole to say it could change the course of history. The Court is expected to rule over whether Germany is barred from contributing to the European Stability Mechanism, Europe's all-purpose bailout fund of which the German state is the major planned benefactor.

The U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open Tuesday as investor sentiment turned positive amid hopes that the Federal Reserve would announce monetary easing measures this week to revive the economic growth momentum.