ECB chief Mario Draghi is confident that stimulus steps announced in June, helped by a weaker euro, will boost demand in the ailing eurozone economy, but stressed yesterday that the central bank stands ready to do more.

The likelihood of the US sliding into a 'double-dip' recession in the US is low, according to the president of the St Louis Federal Reserve bank.

EUROPEAN share prices fell yesterday as investors picked over last week's poor US economic data, trying to fathom whether global economies are about to fall back into recession.