Spain’s Minister of Finance and Public Administrations Cristobal Montoro The Greek stock market has plummeted 5.9 percent after Standard & Poor’s credit rating agency warned that the country has a one-in-three chance of leaving the eurozone. The minister made the remarks on Tuesday, admitting that Spain’s high borrowing costs have shut out bond markets at a time when the country seeks... 

French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici pictured on May 21, 2012at a press conference in Berlin, Germany French Finance Minister has warned that Greece’s exit from the eurozone will be on the agenda if Greek authorities do not respect the bailout deal after parliamentary elections in mid-June. “The question would be raised without a doubt…. if the Greeks themselves do not respect their... 

Logo of the Portuguese bank BPI The Portuguese bank BPI has reportedly asked for 1.3 billion euros in public aid to comply with the principles laid out by the European Banking Authority, as the financial crisis in the eurozone seems to be deepening. Banco BPI, which is Portugal’s third largest listed bank, said on Monday that it would also raise 200 million euros from private investors. The news... 

Ireland is voting in a referendum on an EU austerity pact. If Dublin does not accept tough budget deficit obligations, it would be a kiss goodbye to EU rescue money, which could be followed by default and a eurozone exit. The mooted European Fiscal Pact was initiated by Germany and France. If approved, it would oblige Dublin to strictly control its budget deficit, which reached 13.1 per cent last... 

A euro coin with the Spanish national flag in the background. The European Commission says Spain is on top of the list of the eurozone 12 critical economies as new reports show investors flee Spain amid the deepening financial crisis. Affected by Greece’s economic woes, the Commission on Wednesday listed Spain and Cyprus as two European states in “very serious” trouble. “Spain faces... 

Almost half of all Americans live in a household where at least one member received government benefits in the first quarter of 2011, according to a new report. Data from the Census Bureau revealed that 49.1 per cent of the population live in a household which gets at least one kind of government benefit with many likely to receive more than one. The figure marks a steep rise in the amount of people... 

A poor American child asking for help. The US Census Bureau’s annual report reveals that the poverty rate among American woman and children reached a 17-year record high in 2010, standing at 14.5 percent. The new report indicates that, women’s poverty rate in the United States stands at 14.5 percent which means that over 17 million people live in poverty. According to the report, a minimum number... 

Britain’s Home Office is drawing up contingency plans to restrict the number of economic migrants from Greece and other European Union nations in case the euro collapses. ­EU rules allow citizens to work anywhere in any country in the single market, including the UK, with the exception of new members Romania and Bulgaria. People looking for work abroad may see Britain as an attractive option as... 

A homeless man prepares to sleep on the floor of a sports center in Athens on January 30, 2012. A new report says around 13,000 Greek people are homeless in the capital Athens and the number of the poor in the recession-hit country is on the rise. The report by the charity organization, Praksis, which was published on Thursday says in the Greek capital of over four million, around 11,500 Greeks are... 

Moody’s Investors Service The European banking industry has suffered another crushing blow after Moody’s ratings agency downgraded the credit ratings of 16 Spanish banks, citing the weakened government’s ability to support some banks. The agency downgraded the long-term debt and deposit ratings by one to three notches for 16 Spanish banks and Santander UK PLC, a UK-domiciled subsidiary of Banco... 

Where the eurozone crisis heads will depend not on whether Greece leaves the union, but on how the situation in the region affects debt-troubled Italy and Spain, Aleksey Bachurin, head of Russian Cash Equity Trading at Renaissance Capital, told RT. ­“The important thing is not Greece itself: it’s relatively small and the investments in Greece are already written down by most banks. But the potential... 

Two policemen have been injured as hundreds of protesters hurled red paint and eggs at officers guarding Equitalia, Italy’s tax collection office, in Naples following the suicide of yet another debt-ridden Italian citizen. Demonstrators lobbed rocks and bottles at policemen clad in riot gear as the building was quickly closed to the public. The protesters claimed to have attacked the tax office... 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel left little ground to hope she would abandon or moderate the austerity program for Europe as she warned that growth on new loans would push the EU into deeper crisis. “Growth through structural reform is sensible, important and necessary,” she said during an address to the German Parliament. “Growth through debt would throw us back to the beginning of the... 

Australia will become the first major economy in the developed world to record a surplus since the start of the global financial crisis. Julia Gillard, the prime minister, has pinned her political future on a “Robin Hood” budget which includes sweeping handouts worth more than £3 billion to reverse her dwindling public support. Relying on extra revenues from mining companies, the Government... 

The euro has dropped in value following the electoral defeat of ruling parties in France and Greece. The euro has dropped in value following the electoral defeat of ruling parties in France and Greece as new anxiety about the fate of EU austerity policies rattles financial markets. The currency sank to 1.29 dollars on Monday, its lowest level since January, after Socialist Francois Hollande beat President...