The dollar shows a steady growth with regard to other until recently stable world currencies. But is the dollar that strong? After all, the U.S. has a state debt of 18 trillion dollars and can declare a technical default at any moment. Recent rise of the Swiss franc showed that the dollar is far from being a safe haven for investors. Global capital flows are extremely unstable It is important to understand... 

Latvia has celebrated the New Year by joining the eurozone, becoming the 18th member of the Europe-wide currency bloc. However, recent opinion polls show that a majority of Latvians oppose the move, with just one-fifth strongly in favor. The euro switchover ceremony took place Jan. 1 at the HQ of the state-owned Citatele Bank – the lender reconstituted from the collapsed Parex Bank, where Latvia’s... 

The yuan has replaced the euro to become the second most widely used currency in global trade in 2013, according to the SWIFT network responsible for international financial transactions. The share of the yuan in global trade finance has jumped from 1.89 percent in January 2012 to 8.66 percent in the form of letters of credit and collections in October 2013, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial... 

In order to deal with its economic problems and further develop, Europe needs to deregulate its market and cut bureaucracy, but it does exactly the opposite, Chris Clarke, from Nottingham Trent University Business School told RT. In Clarke’s opinion, Europe is not even making an attempt to do the right thing to turn-around its economic woes. RT: Greece is the worst-hit in these latest figures and... 

Henry Kissinger jokes about keeping people guessing location of secretive confab. According to veteran Bilderberg sleuth Jim Tucker, the secretive group could be preparing to host its annual confab within 40 miles of London, contradicting previous reports that the conference was set to return to Chantilly, Virginia. “A new possibility has evolved in the annual hunt for Bilderberg’s spring meeting:... 

Traders at work at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange European stock markets have plunged after Cyprus struck a 10-billion-euro ($13 billion) bailout deal to save the country from bankruptcy. The stocks fell on Monday afternoon after Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who heads the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, said that the Cyprus model, which includes a heavy tax on bank deposits, could... 

The European Central Bank is under pressure from US lawmakers over financial relations with the Iran. The legislators are masterminding a bill aimed at preventing the ECB doing any business with Tehran and keeping it from using the euro. The measure is more pressure by the US over Iran’s nuclear program. The draft is believed to be targeting the ECB’s cross-border payment system Target2,... 

Labor Minister of France Michel Sapin called his country a “bankrupt,” which inflicted considerable damage to the already tarnished reputation of President Hollande. The Minister later explained that he meat it ironically, but his black humor was not appreciated. The more so that bankruptcy (due to the situation in Mali and financial problems) may become a reality for France in the near... 

German tanks rumbling through the historic streets of Greek capital Athens as the conquering soldiers stage a victory parade in 1941 Greece has threatened to hit Germany with a bill for tens of billions of pounds in outstanding reparations for Nazi war crimes during the Second World War. The move is an indication of growing outrage in Athens at the strictures being placed on the Greek economy by EU... 

The European currency euro logo stands in front of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany. Business confidence has dropped in Germany to its lowest level in more than two years amid pessimism over the eurozone’s deteriorating debt crisis, data show. According to the German research institute, Ifo, the country’s Business Climate Index fell to 102.3 points in August from 103.2 points... 

An MP who represents the United Russia majority party has prepared legislative amendments that would make the Russian ruble the only valid currency in the country, and put an end to dependency on the US dollar and the Euro. Yevgeniy Fyodorov described the initiative in an interview with the Izvestia daily newspaper. He promised that the proposed bill would be made public in autumn, and declined to... 

A financial analyst says the eurozone bankers and policy makers are responsible for the bloc’s deepening economic crisis, Press TV reports. “The eurozone is really not in the bad shape that the policy makers tell us it is in. They are basically extorting us into accepting things like transforming the European stability mechanism, the new financing fund into a bank which allows them to get ten... 

Most EU members are in favor of issuing eurobonds, but Germany opposes mutual debt obligations. Don Coxe, an investor and chairman of Coxe Advisors LLP, says Berlin cannot afford to hand out more bailouts when confidence in EU banks is crumbling. ­The talks are taking place in Brussels, where EU leaders are meeting for two days to agree on new growth measures for the union. RT: In a recent blog article... 

Euro fell against the dollar in the Asian session to erase gains made yesterday. Risk was off again after comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke disappointed. He refrained from signalling immediate steps the U.S. central bank might take to spur growth in the world’s largest economy. Before Bernanke’s comments , market sentiment was high yesterday as the central bank of China... 

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...