Jean-Claude Trichet

Today is Halloween, that time of year when youngsters and adults alike, dress up for a day, and escape the norm of everyday life. They go to parties, trick-or-treating, and celebrate the holiday that allows us to pretend, if only for a fleeting moment,that we are someone else. (Check out...

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet warned the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday that the financial crisis facing the eurozone is systemic and that Europe's leaders must take decisive action in order to prevent it from escalating and spreading. Trichet will soon be stepping...

Last night, the ratings agency S&P downgraded Italian debt, but equity markets are mostly shrugging it off, with European markets higher. Why? Because it was already baked in, unlike when S&P cut the U.S. debt, sending uncertainty higher, and the financial markets into a tailspin. With...

The euro has moved down to around the 1.425 level against the US dollar in the first hours of trade in Europe. Technicians see trend-line resistance at 1.4367 with support seen at 1.4183, according to India Forex. Economists expect the European Central Bank to keep its current base rate unchanged...

The EUR/USD pair traded higher on Tuesday, approaching $1.440 at one point. Perhaps surprising was the pair's ability to trade higher despite an ultimatum by the European Union. According to Dow Jones, European Union officials threatened to force Greece into a default if Greek legislators did not...

Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, spoke Thursday morning. In his speech, he used his traditional "strong vigilance" phrase, which investors have interpreted to mean a forthcoming rate hike. Following that speech, the EUR/USD began a sharp sell-off, as currency traders...

The European Central Bank left interest rates alone this morning, keeping the key interest rate at 1.25%. While no one was expecting an interest rate at this ECB meeting, all eyes were on the press conference, to see if Trichet would utter his famous words, "strong vigilance." "Strong vigilance"...

Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, called for the creation of a European Finance Ministry on Thursday. The New York Times reported that Trichet desired the existence of an institution that would oversee spending by all countries that used the euro currency. An...

On Wednesday night, Reuters reported that China was expected to purchase a large portion of Portugal's bailout bonds. The bailout bonds will go on sale next month. The euro rallied on the news, and the hawkish sentiment expressed by European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet. Klaus...

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet described the ECB's approach to inflation as "careful monitoring", according to Bloomberg. Trichet warned that it was important to prevent commodity-price increases from affecting long-term inflation expectations. If economic agents price in...

Currencies are very complex entities and are affected by a wide array of events and decisions. Despite the volatility, this asset class has been making significant headway into investor portfolios over the past six years, as currency ETF's first debuted in the markets in 2005. Before that, currency...

Just one day after lowering the credit rating of Portugal for the second time in less than a month, Moody's Investors Service has lowered the credit rating of seven Portuguese banks. On Tuesday, Moody's lowered Portugal's credit rating to Baa1 from A3 and said that the country could see more...

The likelihood that Portugal will seek a bailout increased after the resignation of the country's prime minister, who had been trying to push through structural reforms that are needed for the country to reduce its fiscal deficit and lower its borrowing costs. Like many leaders throughout Europe...

Just weeks after lowering Spain's sovereign debt rating, Moody's Investors Service downgraded the credit rating of thirty of Spain's smaller banks on Thursday, while leaving the credit ratings of the country's three biggest banks unchanged. There is growing resistance in some of the more...

President of the European Central Bank Jean-Claude Trichet said that much more remains to be done to prevent another financial crisis but that Europe was already halfway through the needed structural reforms. The comments from Trichet came just weeks after Moody's Investors Service downgraded the...