euro zone

Echoing comments by American officials, leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos said that aid to the euro zone from the rest of the world would be contingent on a larger commitment by Europe.

The British government’s so-called money transfers prop up its poorer regions, keeping them from the kind of collapse suffered in euro zone nations like Greece.

Standard & Poor’s Corp. on Friday stripped France of its sterling credit rating as several other euro zone countries, including Italy, were expected to be downgraded more severely.

Beleaguered European economies are braced for a turbulent year, as widening deficits force more borrowing and added belt-tightening puts growth further out of reach.

Banks lined up for almost half a trillion euros in cheap three-year loans, part of an unprecedented effort to keep credit flowing in the euro zone.

Not using the shared currency turns out to have been a blessing for Poland, though there are signs of trouble.

Investors expressed increasing disappointment in a plan for more fiscal discipline in the euro zone; they also sold stocks after Intel lowered its sales forecast for the quarter.

On top of euro zone debt troubles, Wall Street now has to worry about sagging sales from Europe as a recession in the region seems more likely.

Worries about euro zone economies have caused a sharp drop-off in bond trading volume, causing European banks to question how much longer they will stick with bond divisions that are now overstaffed.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany appears to have adopted a strategy aimed at remaking the euro zone in her country’s likeness.