US President Barack Obama says the financial crisis rippling through Europe is “scaring the world” and that steps taken by European nations to stem the eurozone debt problem “haven’t been as quick as they need to be.”

GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel bluntly rejected eurozone bonds as a solution to the currency area’s sovereign debt crisis, saying “collectivising debts” would not solve the problem.

EU LEADERS appointed Italy’s Mario Draghi as the next president of the European Central Bank yesterday and said another Italian would step down from the ECB’s executive board early to smooth the process.

Rome: European Central Bank executive board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi faced mounting pressure from the leaders of Italy and France to quit as part of their deal to allow fellow Italian Mario Draghi to become ECB president.

EUROPEAN Central Bank Governing Council member Christian Noyer ruled out a restructuring of Greece’s debt, calling it a “horror story” that would leave the nation shut out of financing for years.

I REFER to an opinion piece published in The Financial Times (April 12) submitted by an ECB official, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, in which he effectively admonishes Irish taxpayers, “Pay Up and Stop Whining”.

WHEN the banking crisis erupted in September 2008 experts stressed the importance of coming to terms with the crisis as quickly as possible.

Frankfurt: European Central Bank executive board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said the bank may need to raise interest rates as global inflation pressures mount.

IRELAND had a strong argument for having the EU and IMF reduce the rate of interest they are charging the country for loans due to total €67.5 billion, according to an EU official.

THE president of the European Central Bank Jean Claude Trichet gave a boost to confidence in the Irish economy when he said that it was absurd to imagine a euro member being a problem for the euro area.

THE European Central Bank is considering an increased supervisory role in the financial sector in Europe, ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said yesterday.

THE expected hike in ECB interest rates next month will damage the housing market further as higher borrowing costs will prevent thousands of potential buyers entering the market.

EUROPEAN Central Bank policymakers yesterday stressed their concern that high oil prices may curb growth and stoke inflation in the eurozone.