European Central Bank

WASHINGTON -- For most Americans, Europe is out of sight and out of mind. We figure that the worst of its debt crisis has passed. Italy has a new government. To mute social unrest, some countries are slightly relaxing austerity policies. The European...

The calendar beckons investors to tread lightly through the stock market, according to an old saying. "Sell in May and go away" is a popular slogan among pundits because, over the years, stocks have sometimes suffered losses from May through October,...

Convinced that the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are about to ride to the rescue, investors looked past the struggling economy on two continents Friday and pushed stocks to levels not seen since before the financial crisis started raging...

The prospect of losing money in a bank savings account was once considered unthinkable, but the possibility sent Americans into a panic in the 2008 financial crisis, and the threat recently surfaced anew. This time the focus is on European banks and the...

WASHINGTON -- The International Monetary Fund recently held a conference that should concern most people despite its arcane subject -- "Rethinking Macro Policy II." Macroeconomics is the study of the entire economy, as opposed to the examination of...

WASHINGTON -- The bailout of Cyprus -- if it can be called that -- bore all the trappings of Europe's standard response to its economic crisis. The last-minute, melodramatic rescue was complex, contentious and controversial. Decisions were taken that, for...

What's a Slovenian with several hundred thousand euros in the bank supposed to do? Spread it out among at least a few different banks, that's what. Or move the money out of the country, while it's still possible. Imagine what must be on the minds of...

We've been here before. It's a weekend reminiscent of the jittery past year. Investors are on edge as they gaze at political leaders across the Atlantic for assurances they will extend a last-minute bailout to a struggling European country and...

It was a maybe, maybe not week. Investors didn't think they needed to worry about sequestration; then they thought maybe they should. The outcome of Italy's elections looked foreboding for Europe's stability, but then investors thought, with time,...

WASHINGTON -- The euro crisis is back. Actually, it never left. But there was an extended period, beginning last summer, when Europe's political, business and media elites convinced themselves the worst had passed. The European Central Bank (ECB) --...

Our European vacation from stock market angst has ended abruptly, with Italy's elections this week showing investors worldwide that they may have jumped too quickly at the conclusion that Europe's debt crisis had been tamed. Much of the financial...

Are the golden years over for gold? With prominent hedge fund managers such as George Soros selling large quantities of gold, and the price down about 16 percent from 2011's all-time peak of more than $1,900, some experts think gold's best days could be...