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European stocks slide on stimulus fear

European stocks fell sharply on Tuesday as investors grew increasingly concerned key central banks would step back from stimulus efforts that have been helping boost markets all year. Sentiment turned sour early off losses in Asia, after the Bank of Japan, which has helped spark price rallies worldwide with its hugely accommodative policies, stayed quiet on any new stimulus measures.

ECB and Bundesbank square off over bond-buying plan

By Annika Breidthardt KARLSRUHE, Germany (Reuters) - The European Central Bank vigorously defended its bond-buying program in a German courtroom on Tuesday, arguing that the scheme many credit with saving the euro from collapse was within its mandate and had not spawned unlimited risks.

Discussion about interest rates at ECB is 'rich': Praet

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The discussion at the European Central Bank about interest rates is "very rich", Executive Board member Peter Praet said on Tuesday, indicating there is room for further cuts. The ECB cut its main refinancing rate to 0.5 percent and kept its deposit rate a zero at its May policy meeting. ECB President Mario Draghi said then the 17-country bloc's central bank was technically ready to take the deposit rate to negative territory, which could mean banks will have to pay to park their money at the ECB overnight.

ECB's bond-buying scheme goes before top German court

The European Central Bank on Tuesday defended its controversial bond purchase scheme, credited with pulling back the eurozone from the brink of collapse last year, in front of the Germany's highest tribunal, the Constitutional Court. Critics of the ECB's "Outright Monetary Transactions" (OMT) have asked the court to examine whether the scheme is in line with Germany's Basic Law or whether it breaches the central bank's mandate.

EU threatens fines under new 'single sky' plan

The European Union unveiled Tuesday controversial plans for its decade-old dream of a single airspace, despite a strike by air traffic controllers in France and plans for protests in several countries. The plans include fines for member states that fail to meet targets for the creation of a "Single European Sky", a scheme that Brussels says will cut costs, reduce pollution and increase safety.

EU's Rehn upbeat on eurozone recovery in 2013

The eurozone's battered economies are slowly emerging from a crippling recession with growth expected to return by the second half of 2013, EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said on Tuesday. Rehn was in The Hague, where he met Liberal Prime Minister Mark Rutte as well as Finance Minister and Eurogroup finance chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem, to discuss the Commission's budget reform recommendations for the Netherlands. "The euro area's economies are slowly emerging from the recession," an upbeat Rehn told journalists at a press conference.

EU aims to revive struggling steel industry

The European Commission launched an 'action plan' Tuesday to revive a struggling EU steel industry hit by falling demand, rising costs and fierce competition from China and other emerging economies. The challenges are daunting -- the steel market has slumped, jobs are being lost and there is such massive overcapacity it would take up to seven years to bring supply and demand back into balance, the Commission said. But the industry still has a future as a major engine for growth and employment if it can build on its strengths, EU Industry Commissioner Antonio Tajani said.

ECB defends bond-buying scheme in top German court

The European Central Bank defended in Germany's highest court Tuesday a controversial bond purchase scheme that is credited with pulling back the eurozone from the brink of collapse last year. The Constitutional Court has been asked by critics of the ECB's "Outright Monetary Transactions" to examine whether the scheme is in line with German law or whether it breaches the central bank's mandate. The plaintiffs, a diverse group of German politicians, lawyers and citizens, argue the ECB is creating risks for German taxpayers that their elected representatives cannot control.

CORRECTED: ECB defends bond-buying scheme in top German court

The European Central Bank defended in Germany's highest court Tuesday a controversial bond purchase scheme that is credited with pulling back the eurozone from the brink of collapse last year. The Constitutional Court has been asked by critics of the ECB's "Outright Monetary Transactions" to examine whether the scheme is in line with German law or whether it breaches the central bank's mandate. The plaintiffs, a diverse group of German politicians, lawyers and citizens, argue the ECB is creating risks for German taxpayers that their elected representatives cannot control.

European stocks slide on central bank stimulus fear

European stocks fell sharply on Tuesday as investors grew increasingly concerned key central banks would step back from stimulus efforts that have been helping boost markets all year. Sentiment turned sour off early losses in Asia, after the Bank of Japan, which has helped spark price rallies worldwide with its hugely accommodative policies, stayed quiet on any new stimulus measures.
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