China reported a trade surplus of $26.66 billion in August amid the slower-than-expected growth in exports and imports, raising concern that the world's second largest economy isn't doing enough to stimulate the economy and avert a slowdown.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Thursday the “euro is irreversible” and announced a new bond-buying plan “Outright Monetary Transactions,” or OMTs, aimed at lowering the struggling euro zone countries’ borrowing costs which would serve as a “fully effective backstop.”
The United States is getting ready to finalize a deal for $1 billion in debt relief for Egypt, a move that could set a new tone for Egypt-U.S. relations.
The biggest event this week is Friday's Jackson Hole meeting. While this week's economic calendar is rather packed, Wall Street seems to care more about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech at the Kansas City Fed's annual economic symposium.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced support for Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann on Sunday, saying she welcomed his warnings about the handling of the euro zone debt crisis and saw his influence within the European Central Bank as positive.
Local governments in China are getting ready for major stimulus spending worth as much as 1.1 trillion dollars, despite warnings about the possibly detrimental effects.
The Egyptian government Wednesday sought a $4.8-billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to help boost the country's economy struggling to recover from a political turmoil since last year's uprising that led to the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.
China's manufacturing activity fell in August compared to that in July, according to the preliminary HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index released Thursday.
Both Juncker and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who Samaras will meet on Friday, are under enormous political pressure to act tough with Greece and are expected to offer little room for renegotiation.
Hungary's best and brightest are feeling pinched by an increasingly demanding government.
Investors rewarded Portugal's efforts to trim its budget gap by sending the credit-default swaps on Portugal to a low of 725 basis points on Thursday, down from 1,515 in January and 1,237 in May, according to Bloomberg. The implied probability of Portugal defaulting on its debt fell to 46 percent from 73 percent.
Asian markets gained this week on buoyed investor confidence with indications of an improving U.S. economy and the hopes of an announcement of stimulus measures by China to regain the economic growth momentum.
With China’s economy continuing to slowdown in 2012 market participants feel it is imperative that stimulus measures be implemented to regain the growth momentum.
China's manufacturing activity grew at a slower pace in July compared to that in the previous month, increasing concerns over a slowdown in the economic growth of the country.
While Greece awaits the latest round of bailout cash from international lenders, the country is fast approaching a new payment deadline and has until the end of August to repay a ?3.2 billion ($2.6 billion) bond or face the catastrophic consequences of defaulting on its debts.
Most of the Asian markets fell in the week following the revival of the investor concerns about the deepening debt burden faced by the euro zone and worsening global economic growth.
