The closure of state broadcaster ERT is threatening to tip Greece into another political crisis as shock over the shutdown ignited anger among the population, causing Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to arrange a meeting of his coalition allies to see if the battered government can survive.

Following the closure of ERT mass protests erupted across Greece, generating political fallout which led to speculation that snap elections could be held. Samaras opponent, Alexis Tsipras of the left-wing SYRIZA party called the broadcasters closure an attack on democracy and is due to hold a rally in Athens Syntagma square Monday evening.

Samaras meanwhile is due to meet with coalition partners including the leaders of the smaller socialist and leftist parties in the group and who strongly oppose ERT’s closure. They have demanded the stations immediate restoration and have urged Samaras to back down, warning that the fragile coalition could collapse if he persists with the cull of ERT. A cull that has sparked outrage among the Greek media and drawn condemnation from media groups from abroad.

Samaras on Sunday accused his coalition partners of “hypocrisy”, arguing that public service job cuts are part of austerity goals that are a government priority to maintain access to EU-IMF bailout loans.

“The elimination of 2,000 public sector jobs between now and June was signed up to by all the heads of the three parties of the governing coalition,” Samaras told a conference of New Democracy party officials.”From where should we cut these jobs apart from the undeserving ERT … one of the bastions of obscurity and privileges?” he wondered.

To ease some of the anger Samaras announced that ERT could reopen with a reduced number of staff and slimmed down news service, a stance that his coalition partners rejected.

Samaras will feel some relieve however after two opnion polls showed that while the majority of Greeks opposed the closure of ERT they also don’t want to see snap elections. The Research poll shows that 57.1% of Greeks do not want early elections to be held, whilst 40.1% would like to vote soon.

The survey also puts New Democracy narrowly ahead of SYRIZA, with a 21.4 to 21.1 percent rating. Golden Dawn was in third with 9.5 percent, PASOK in fourth with 6.3 percent, the Communist Party on 5.1 percent, Independent Greeks with 4.4 percent and Democratic Left with 3.9 percent.

Current Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates

The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3357

The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8480

The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3929

The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6572

The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7492

The Pound Sterling /Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1789

The Australian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7187

The New Zealand Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6039

(Correct as of 14:45 pm GMT)

Euro Exchange Rate News

The Euro has weakened against the British Pound and made losses against a number of its most traded peers after Monday’s trade surplus data showed that the Eurozone’s trade surplus narrowed in April.

According to Eurostat Euro-zone exports declined in April for the first time in four months as the single currency region struggles to recover from its longest recession on record. Exports fell by a seasonally adjusted level of 0.8% from March, when they increased by a revised 2.6%. The number of imports increased in April by 0.5% causing the Eurozone’s trade surplus to narrow to €16.1 billion.

One bright point was that Italy posted a trade surplus in April, mainly due to shrinking imports as the country’s recession continues. On a seasonally adjusted basis the amount of goods imported into the country fell by 0.9% on a month-by-month basis. The trade surplus of €1.9 billion contrasting with the €250 million deficit recorded at the same time last year. Exports from Germany, Europe’s largest economy, grew by 3% in April to 41.9 billion Euros, today’s report showed.

Also weighing on the single currency were weekend calls from the French government for a weaker Euro. At a conference France blamed the governments of Britain and Germany for creating the economic hardships across the European Union.

Struggling to emerge from its public debt and banking crisis, the Euro zone is looking to both foreign demand and consumers to help ignite economic growth whilst the bloc is in its longest recession since its creation in 1999.

Current Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates

The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3342

The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8486

The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3882

The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6512

The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7495

The Pound Sterling /Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1782

The Australian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7205

The New Zealand Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6062

(Correct as of 11:00 am GMT)

Euro Exchange Rate News

The Eurozone has faced many economic challenges since the onset of the global economic crisis. But undoubtedly one of the most significant hurdles it has still to overcome is the record high level of youth unemployment recorded in several of the currency bloc’s most prominent nations.

The situation is particularly concerning in countries like Spain and Greece, but even in Germany (where the unemployment rate currently sits around a twenty-year low) joblessness among the 18-25 age bracket is on the up.

As it stands there are roughly 3.6 million unemployed young people across the 17-nation currency bloc and in a recent interview for the BBC German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the situation as a ‘huge crisis’.

Merkel went on to assert that in the current climate the unemployed youth should be willing to relocate in order to find work.

She noted that in East Germany, where youth unemployment is climbing, many youths ‘only had jobs because they moved to the South.’

Merkel then commented: ‘I think it’s unfair that it is the young people especially who have to pay the bill for something they didn’t do. But there’s no way around it. We have to manufacture products or offer services in Europe that we can sell [...] With regard to jobs and growth, the Eurozone and other countries are in a difficult situation. The issue is not austerity, the issue is to get back to growth. This process is under way. Europe has to decide: how do we make a living? What do we want to produce? What do we want to manufacture? How can we cut red tape? How can we intensify trade?’

Mekel’s approach to tackling the Eurozone crisis has drawn criticism from some of the currency bloc’s most indebted and struggling nations. Whether Merkel will adopt a different rhetoric once the German general election is over remains to be seen.

The most important pieces of Eurozone news to watch out for this week include tomorrow’s German/Eurozone ZEW economic sentiment survey and Thursday’s German/Eurozone manufacturing and services PMI.

Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates As of 08:50 –

The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3323 <

The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8483 <

The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3870 <

The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6474 <

The Euro/ Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3531 <

Euro Exchange Rate News

Continually gloomy economic data, rising tensions among the populace and signs of recovery nowhere in sight, the Eurozone is set to face a decisive period over the next few months.

According to Sean Corrigan the chief investment strategist at Diapason Commodities Management, there is a ‘disconnect’ in the European financial markets. A disconnect that was created when European Central Bank President Mario Draghi told the world that he do whatever it takes to save the Eurozone.

“Markets have been happy to run with the confidence trick, but Spain gets worse week by week with its property market down by 35% from the top, joblessness gets worse every week and the Greeks have just shut down their TV services because they can’t pay for it” Corrigan told CNBC.

According to Corrigan even the easing of harsh austerity measures on the battered economies of Southern Europe could renew tension in the markets. Italy just this week announced that it would not be introducing further fiscal tightening.

The International Monetary Fund added to the grim picture after it said that Portugal, a country that has rigidly stuck to austerity measures, does not have much hope of making a recovery. The IMF reported on Thursday that the country’s outlook is very fragile despite its meeting the targets of its €78 billion bailout. Greece meanwhile was downgraded from a developed economy to an emerging market economy an event unprecedented in modern Europe.

Adding to the miserable picture was today’s data that showed that the number of European citizens in work fell for a seventh consecutive quarter. Over 19.4 million people in the Eurozone are now out of work.

Economists are arguing that data in the second half of the year will prove vital for the Eurozone. For months economists and governments have been saying that the region would begin to show signs of growth in the latter part of the year.

The chief international economist at Barclays Julian Callow is optimistic that the green shoots of recovery will emerge in the second quarter of 2013 and that Draghi’s pledge to do ‘whatever it takes’ will bear fruit.

“I think the Euro zone has learned a lot from previous crises and there will be a great concern to avoid the depths of the crisis that we’ve seen,” Julian Callow told CNBC on Friday. “There is a risk of tension and markets are certainly going to be very thin and illiquid over summer so there’s a danger that market sentiment could get knocked, but overall Europe is in a much more efficient crisis management mode so you can expect the fire fighting to come out if the conditions deteriorate very seriously from here.”

On the other hand, Ian Bremmer, president of the global political risk consultancy Eurasia Group is pessimistic about the prospects of a turnaround.

“Certainly, some of these countries have hit the bottom but there’s no reason why you’re going to see major economic growth in any of these European countries soon,” he said.

Time will tell as to who will be proven correct. GDP data for the second quarter of the year will prove crucial to giving a sense of direction for the Eurozone. Second quarter GDP will be released in August.

Current Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates

The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3315

The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8508

The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3837

The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6444

The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7500

The Pound Sterling /Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1741

The Australian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7199

The New Zealand Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6044

(Correct as of 14:45 pm GMT)

Euro Exchange Rate News

The Euro has fallen against the US Dollar and weakened against most of its most traded peers after the latest Eurozone unemployment data showed that the number of people out of work increased yet again.

Inflation across the Eurozone increased from a three-year low in May as the price of electricity, fruit and vegetables increased. According to the EU statistics agency Eurostat, consumer prices across the single currency region increased by 0.1% on the month in May. The data now puts the regions annual inflation rate at 1.4% compared to the 1.2% recorded in April.

Inflation in Germany, the Eurozone’s strongest economy, soared to 1.6% on the yea in May compared to the 1.1% posted in April. France and Italy both remained relatively flat as those economies continue to falter.

The 1.4% figure for the wider Eurozone is a long way short of the European Central Bank’s target rate of 2%. The ECB left interest rates unchanged in May slightly lowered its growth outlook and discussed a raft of other policy options it could take if the euro zone does does not emerge from recession later this year.

Adding to the Eurozone’s woes is the latest unemployment data which showed that the number of people in work across the region declined by 0.5% in the first quarter of 2013. The decline marks the seventh quarter in a row where employment has fallen. The data now means that the total employment rate across the Eurozone is down to the lowest level in seven years.

Current Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates

The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3318

The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8519

The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3855

The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6502

The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7500

The Pound Sterling /Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1741

The Australian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7199

The New Zealand Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6044

(Correct as of 11:45 am GMT)

Euro Exchange Rate News

Top ratings agency Standard & Poor’s confirmed Spain’s credit rating at BBB- in a statement issued by analysts this morning, citing that the struggling nation’s adherence to implementing a wide-ranging structural reform programme warranted the grading.

However, as the long-term outlook remains negative a downgrade could still occur if Spain falters in its reform, the country’s economic performance worsens or the budget deteriorates ‘significantly’.

And there are still momentous hurdles Spain must overcome, such as record high levels of unemployment, uninspiring prospects for medium term growth and considerable external debt.

Standard & Poor’s have estimated that the Spanish economy will contract by 1.5 per cent in 2013 before returning to weak growth in 2014 and posting expansion of roughly 0.6 per cent. Meanwhile, unemployment will stay ‘very high, at above 26 per cent, at least until there is a sustained economic recovery.’

Although Spain has so far managed to avoid requesting a full bailout, the nation has been mired in recession for the last six years and rated just one to two levels above junk status by the three main ratings agencies.

According to the European Commission, by 2014 Spain’s debt load will have exceeded the Eurozone’s average for the first time since the common currency was introduced.

Although the Euro continues to trade strongly against the US Dollar it has dipped slightly from yesterday’s highs. The common currency has also weakened against the Pound. The British currency has been boosted in recent days by a stream of better-than-forecast economic data.

Several pieces of influential Eurozone data could impact the Euro’s movement in the hours ahead. Of particular interest will be Eurozone CPI and unemployment figures and the meeting of ministers from Germany, France, Spain and Italy.

Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates

As of 08:50

The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3339 <

The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8503 <

The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3892 >

The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6534 >

The Euro/ Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3575 <

Euro Exchange Rate News

Most of Greece’s public services are in disarray as a 24-hour general strike cripples the country.

The mass strike comes after the Greek government made the surprise move of closing down one of Greece’s biggest state broadcaster ERT, at the cost of nearly 2,700 jobs.

More than 10,000 people answered the call to protest with workers from trade unions joining forces with media workers and angry citizens. A large rally was held outside of the headquarters of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corp, (ERT). Staff at the TV station continues to carry out a sit-in refusing to leave the building. In a defiant ERT was broadcasting online again today, despite the Greek ministry of finance threatening to withdraw the licence of any private Greek TV channels which broadcast its services on their frequencies.

The closure of the broadcaster was hailed as necessary by the Greek government who are doing all they can to please their Troika paymasters by slashing jobs and spending.

The Athens based government has pledged to cut thousands of public-sector jobs as part of agreements under which it receives billions of euros in rescue loans from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Despite all of their previous actions that have resulted in job losses and misery their decision to shut down a major broadcaster is sure to ignite anger in Greeks already pushed to breaking point.

Adding to Greece’s economic pain was the release of new data that showed that the country’s jobless rate rose to 27.4% in the first quarter of 2013, a new record high, up from 26% in the last three months of 2012.

It’s the highest quarterly unemployment rate since this data series started in 1998.

“Samaras can’t tell us what to watch or not. This isn’t about ERT or about its workers any more, it’s about democracy and freedom of speech,” said Thanos Lykourias, 30, an office worker, who earns €800 a month.

The closure of the broadcasting corporation could prove to be a fatal move on behalf of Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. A political crisis has been created as a result adding to further uncertainty over the country.

Samaras’s decision to meet with his junior coalition partners, Pasok’s Evangelos Venizelos and Democratic Left’s Fotis Kouvelis, on Monday night is an attempt to prevent his administration being dragged deeper into crisis. Despite thousands of people taking part in today’s protest rally, and the opposition of Venizelos and Kouvelis, Samaras’ government appears reluctant to change course.

It claims that ERT was a huge drain on public resources and that it will reopen at a later date. But it appears the damage has already done with many protestors seeing the closure as an attack on their democracy.

Unless Samaras gets the situation under control, Greece could very well see an escalation to this current crisis.

Current Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates

The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3288

The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8479

The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3858

The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6572

The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7501

The Pound Sterling /Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1753

The Australian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7179

The New Zealand Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6004

(Correct as of 15:45 pm GMT)

Euro Exchange Rate News

According to economists Spain will drag itself out of recession in 2014 and will see growth accelerate in 2015 as the European Union eases its demands for austerity measures.

Forecasts are predicting that economic output in the struggling country will show signs of growth for the first time since 2011 in the first quarter of 2014 and will expand by 0.5% over the course of the year. The new forecast is an improvement on previous estimations of a 0.3% expansion next year. In 2015 the Spanish economy is expected to grow by 0.9%.

The improving forecasts come after Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy managed to persuade the European Commission to ease its deadline for Spain to bring its budget deficit within EU boundaries. Rajoy managed to buy the country an extra two years of time to help support growth.

With austerity crippling the possibility of growth in the Eurozone’s struggling economies it appears that finally the European Commission has come to its senses by easing up on its insistence for punishing measures.

Austerity imposed by the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and the commission has seen up to 17% of output being wiped from the Greek economy and just as large declines for the Spanish, Italian, and other struggling economies.

“There is an expectation that the fiscal consolidation will be less of a drag than before,” said Luigi Speranza, an economist at BNP Paribas SA in London.

For the Eurozone as a whole, economists are forecasting that the single currency region will contract by 0.6% this year before growing by 1% in 2014.

Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates

As of 11:32 am GMT

The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3331 <

The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8509 <

The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3960 <

The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6654 <

Euro Exchange Rate News

Last year, with the very future of the Eurozone at sake, the European Central Bank outlined its Outright Monetary Transactions scheme. The programme, which would allow the central bank to purchase potentially unlimited amounts of a struggling nation’s debt, has been cited as turning the Eurozone crisis around by restoring confidence in the currency bloc.

However, while the as-yet untried scheme has staunch supporters it has equally vocal opponents, and as the German constitutional court debates the legality of the scheme the two factions have already started to clash.

At the opening of the proceedings Andreas Vosskuhle declared that whether or not the ECB’s measures were effective would not be a consideration when deciding if they are constitutional. He noted: ‘We will have to decide to what extent the ECB makes use of competences which have not been given to it and were not allowed to be given to it as far as the constitution is concerned, and to what extent the normal citizen is affected by this.’

German central bank chief, Jens Weidmann, has never held back when it comes to voicing his own view of the scheme and yesterday he told that court that this policy went against the ECB’s specified role of controlling inflation.
He was quoted as saying: ‘Secondary market bond purchases should not be used in my understanding in a European currency union to lower the solvency risk premiums of individual countries. Because that, among other things, threatens to annul the disciplining role of market interest rates and undermine financial responsibility.’

But executive ECB board member Joerg Asmussen fought back, arguing that the OMT scheme fell within the jurisdiction of the ECB, as nation’s receiving aid would have to adhere to tight rules.

He stated: ‘We have no doubt this strong signal was required to convince market participants of our seriousness and decisiveness in pursing the objective of price stability.’

Asmussen went on to assert that Germany’s liability under the programme was far from unlimited.

The debate is set to rumble on for some time yet, with many industry experts believing that a definitive decision will not be reached until after the German general election.

Eurozone news to watch out for today includes the publication of the ECB’s monthly report and the outcome of an Italian bond sale.

Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates

As of 08:55

The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3357 >

The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8529 >

The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4099 >

The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6857 >

Euro Exchange Rate News

In a sign that Spanish authorities are finally starting to get firm with tax evaders and fraudsters, tax officials have revealed that they are investigating the world’s most famous professional footballer, Lionel Messi.

The Spanish tax officials are investigating both the footballer and his father for allegedly defrauding the state of more than €4 million or £3.4 million. Lionel Messi and his father, Jorge is suspected of filing fraudulent tax returns for the years 2007-2009.

Messi who is currently the world player of the year signed an extended contract with Barcelona earlier this year. The player’s salary which is heavily driven by incentives is understood to be worth around at least €11 million a year.

A Spanish state prosecutor based in Catalonia lodged the complaint, signed by prosecutor Raquel Amado. It has been submitted for trial at the courthouse in Gava, the Barcelona district where the Argentina and Barcelona striker lives.

A judge at the courthouse must accept the prosecutor’s lawsuit before charges can be brought against Messi and his father.

Mesi is just the latest high profile figure to be investigated by Spanish tax officials. In May Spanish Princess, Cristina came under investigation after she had earlier been charged of being an accomplice in an embezzlement case against her husband.

Examining Magistrate Jose Castro said he has asked the tax agency for information to determine whether Cristina, daughter of Spain’s King Juan Carlos, engaged in tax evasion or money laundering between 2007 and 2010.

The embezzlement case deepened public discontent with the royal family at a time when ordinary Spaniards are struggling with 27% unemployment and a long-running recession. At the start of the year even Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was caught up in a money scandal.

Current Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates

The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3327

The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8505

The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4030

The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6730

The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7517

The Pound Sterling /Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1774

The Australian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7152

The New Zealand Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5972

(Correct as of 15:25 pm GMT)

Euro Exchange Rate News