European Union

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  German Finance Minister Wants to Change EU Treaties

  By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne  |  October 16, 2012

  German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is advocating changes that will allow the EU’s monetary affairs commissioner to reject national budgets and prevent non-eurozone countries, like Britain, from nixing eurozone-only measures.

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  RBS Jilted as Santander Rejects Branch Deal

  By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne  |  October 15, 2012

  Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc was left standing at the deal altar late Friday after Spain’s Banco Santander abruptly pulled the plug on the deal after winning an auction to buy 316 RBS branches.

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  EU Insurers Cut Tanker Coverage Over Iranian Oil

  By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne  |  October 12, 2012

  New and harsher sanctions imposed by the EU in July over Iran have spurred insurers themselves to interpret the rules more strictly rather than risk falling afoul of regulators.

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  Basel Capital Rules Could Be Delayed: Sources

  By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne  |  October 12, 2012

  The start date for new Basel III rules on bank capital could be pushed back by six months to a year, according to three people with knowledge of current discussions.

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  Spain Takes S&P Rating Cut

  By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne  |  October 11, 2012

  S&P not only downgraded the country’s sovereign debt rating two notches to a single level above junk, but also gave it a negative outlook. The ratings agency cited the uncertain economic and political situation in its reasoning.

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  Italy Cuts Taxes on Lowest Earners

  By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne  |  October 10, 2012

  The government also announced that it was cutting in half a planned increase in sales tax rates to a single percentage point.

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  IMF Boosts Estimate of Bank Selloffs to $4.5 Trillion

  By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne  |  October 10, 2012

  The IMF said that if political leaders fail to quell the fiscal crisis, it foresees European banks having to sell up to $4.5 trillion in assets through 2013.

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  Swiss Commodities Business May Be Revamped

  By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne  |  October 9, 2012

  Such changes could threaten Switzerland's reputation as a global commodities trading hub.

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  Spain Stalls as ECB Council Meets

  By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne  |  October 4, 2012

• Cyprus Will Be Fifth to Ask for Bailout

  By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne  |  October 4, 2012

  The country has already asked Russia for a 5 billion-euro loan.