EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

Italian bond yields rose on Monday nearly to levels seen in August when the ECB intervened to shore up debt markets, indicating new concerns that problems in the euro zone's third largest economy could threaten the entire bloc.

Stocks fell at the open on Monday as a spike in the U.S. dollar weighed on commodity prices and dried up bids on other risky assets.

Oil prices eased on Monday, with Brent slipping below $110, as the dollar rose against the yen after Japan intervened in the currency markets to stem the rise of the yen.

The yen dropped to a three-month low against the dollar on Monday after Japan intervened in the market to curb the currency's rise even as traders said more official action is needed for a sustained impact.

Markets have over-interpreted comments by incoming European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi on the bank's readiness to go on buying the bonds of troubled euro zone states, outgoing ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said.

Ask senior European Union policymakers in private what can stop the euro zone's festering sovereign debt crisis and the answer is the European Central Bank.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are backing the candidacy of the head of Switzerland's central bank to lead the Financial Stability Board, a newspaper reported Sunday.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet was quoted by a German newspaper as saying inflation in the euro zone would be very low over the next 10 years, with expectations currently for around 1.8 percent.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet was quoted by a German newspaper as saying inflation in the euro zone would be very low over the next 10 years, with expectations currently for around 1.8 percent.

Europe still has a long way to go to solve its crisis, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble was cited as saying by a magazine, noting it was key that Italy did its homework and implemented promised reforms.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said in a newspaper interview the euro zone sovereign debt crisis was not yet over and that it was too early for the all-clear signal.

The head of the European Financial Stability Facility sought to entice China on Saturday to invest in the bailout fund by saying investors may be protected against as much as one-fifth of initial losses.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said in an interview in a German newspaper to be published Sunday that the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis is not yet over and that it is too early for the all-clear signal.

The “B” rating is only a few notches above the current CCC grade on Greece and it still considered “junk” or non-investment grade.

Even as details emerge about a Eurozone deal that would see banks and insurers accept bigger losses on Greek bonds and boost the region's bailout fund, setting up for what could happen across the Atlantic won't be easy for investors.

Euro zone leaders struck a last-minute deal to limit the damage from the currency bloc's debt crisis early on Thursday but are still far from finalizing plans to slash Greece's debt burden and strengthen their rescue fund.

European leaders agreed Thursday morning that banks and other major investors in Greek bonds must take losses of up to 50 percent to prevent a Greek government default. The rescue fund is a response to global pressure to lower Greece's debt burden and attempt to contain the spreading debt contagion that threatens the euro zone.

The dark shadow of German-driven austerity measures squeezing Greece has revived historical enmities and evoked comparisons to the massive destruction of the Mediterranean country at the hands of Nazi Germany nearly 70 years ago.

The European Central Bank's incoming president signalled on Wednesday the bank stood ready to carry on buying the bonds of troubled euro zone governments, suggesting he is ready to intervene to steady markets in the face of German misgivings.

The European Union (EU)-27 has released the following joint statement on the Eurozone debt crisis summit taking place in Brussels, Belgium.

Stocks rose on Wednesday as details from the European summit to resolve the debt crisis began to emerge.