European Central Bank

Recession risks rise for global economy

Recent monetary policy decisions by key central banks signal a rapidly changing outlook

Donald Trump has flip-flopped from saying the war could end “very soon” to claiming the US has “plenty of time” as it pounds targets from the skies.

World’s top central banks are about to confront fresh inflation threat as war jolts oil

Much hinges on how long the conflict lasts, something markets are struggling to gauge

ECB officials recognise that the progress they have made to restore price stability after eurozone inflation shot past 10 per cent four years ago is in jeopardy.

ECB rate hike potentially closer than thought on Iran war: Governing Council member

Investors bet there is a 60% chance of an increase by June, with a 35% chance of another by end-2026

ECB president Christine Lagarde has stressed that restructuring the bloc’s “business model” would require robust financial support.
THE BOTTOM LINE

Europe’s ‘limited responsibility’ model must go

ECB’s Christine Lagarde explained what Europe must do to secure its prosperity and sovereignty. But will European leaders heed the call?

US President Donald Trump’s push to make crypto more mainstream has raised fears that US dollar-backed stablecoins could gain a foothold in Europe.

Stablecoins could pose major risks to monetary policy, ECB paper warns

European lenders are developing a regulated euro-based instrument

ECB President Christine Lagarde says the World Economic Forum is “one of the many options” she is considering once she leaves the central bank.

Christine Lagarde intends to complete her term at ECB, she tells WSJ 

The chief reassures policymakers she is still focusing on leading Europe’s most important financial institution

Christine Lagarde’s non-renewable term at the ECB runs until Oct 31, 2027.

ECB President Christine Lagarde expected to leave bank before term expires next year: report

The FT report comes only a week after Bank of France governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said that he would step down in June this year

For now, Lagarde is likely to repeat that the ECB has no exchange rate target and that the euro’s strength is merely one factor that impacts inflation.

Choppy markets threaten ECB’s ‘good place’ but rates still firmly on hold

The euro zone’s central bank has been on hold since ending a year-long run of rate cuts in June

While ECB officials concluded in December that pass-through of rate cuts remained smooth, they called for close monitoring amid worries about a sudden financial market correction.

Eurozone banks unexpectedly tighten firms’ credit standards

Concerns about the outlook for companies and the broader economy, as well as banks’ lower risk tolerance, have contributed to the move, the ECB says

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell is at the centre of a US administration’s criminal probe about the renovation of the Fed’s headquarters.

Global central bankers defend Fed’s Powell after Trump threat

Central bankers fear that political influence over the Fed would erode trust in the bank’s commitment to its inflation target