EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

Sovereign debt crises in peripheral Europe threaten to bring down the overall euro zone economy because European banks are heavily expose those debt.

Greece's international lenders have agreed to provide the debt-ridden country with the third installment of a loan – valued at 9-billion euros -- but warned that the Greeks must make an extra effort to address its deficit next year.

As Ireland appears to be on the verge of resolving its debt crisis, the focus may now shift to yet another fiscally-troubled peripheral euro nation, Portugal.

As comments from Dublin and Brussels strongly hint at the possibility of Ireland formally seeking international financial support sooner or later, analysts are mulling the chances of a possible bailout of the stricken Celtic Tiger by the robust Chinese Dragon.

Ireland is open to talks with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a bailout program for its failed banks, EU Economics and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said after a Tuesday night meeting of eurozone finance ministers and officials in Brussels.

The European Union (EU) cannot survive if it fails to solve the debt crisis plaguing the continent, warned EU president Herman Van Rompuy.

Ireland's grip on the slippery debt-mired track is giving way fast as bond yields widened to a level with Greece’s before Athens went broke and was bailed out, fueling speculation that the country could be soon looking for international financial assistance.

Peripheral Europe faces waning public demand because of austerity measures, conditions that make exports difficult, and a banking sector that has not recovered well from the financial crisis. All this comes at a time when recovery is still fragile and the risks of a double-dip recession are real.

For big U.S. banks, Basel III will likely have limited impact in the short-term because of its generous phase-in timeline