ECONOMY

Irish boss of a leading Swiss bank has said that Ireland since the beginning of the 2000s was gripped by greed, complacency and materialism.

The unemployment rate in Spain is above 25 per cent for the first time - with more than half of young people out of work, new figures have revealed.

Factory closures and spending deficit have fuelled voters' doubts over ability of president to lead country to recovery

The annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, which concluded in Tokyo yesterday, was marked by growing divisions between the major powers amid a worsening outlook for the world economy.

Before the meeting even began, tensions between China and Japan over the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea led to a decision by China’s central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan not to attend.

Greece could return cap-in-hand to its European partners for a Spanish-style rescue of its ailing banking sector despite receiving billions of euros in bailout loans.

Greece’s official jobless rate has soared in the second quarter of this year as the country is suffering from its worst postwar recession and faces bankruptcy plus a potential exit from the Euro area.

A million and a half people took to the streets of Barcelona, according to police estimates, to demand independence for the autonomous Spanish region of Catalonia as the country as a whole faces crippling debt.

European Union officials are asking national governments to give up control of their banks as they try to pull the region closer together to solve its crippling financial crisis.

Crisis-hit Italy has seen the number of cash-for-gold shops quadruple in the last two years, according to an Italian think tank, with some cash-strapped citizens forced to sell their gold teeth to make ends meet.

Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer says the financial system of the Israeli regime is preparing for “a major crisis and for [the] security situation” that Tel Aviv may face following an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Greece has made progress in finding budget cuts needed to continue its bailout programme but not all work is done and inspectors will return in September for a final verdict, troika officials said yesterday.

A second Israeli who set himself on fire in protest at economic difficulties has died of his injuries, the hospital treating him said on Wednesday.

Spain’s unemployment rates have hit 25 per cent – the highest since records began after Generalissimo Franco's dictatorship.

The United Kingdom is more vulnerable than any other world nation to a worsening eurozone crisis and its economy would be hit the most if the euro falls apart - that was the verdict of new research today.

Thanks to its reliance on exports to the euro area and strong banking and financial links with the region, Britain tops a danger list of countries exposed to the eurozone (see map and table below), compiled by risk analysis consultancy Maplecroft.

The Eurozone was back on the brink last night as Spain edged towards a financial disaster that could tear the single currency apart.

Greece is in a "Great Depression" similar to the American one in the 1930s, the country's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras told former US President Bill Clinton on Sunday.

Another Israeli man has set himself on fire in the city of Yehud, two days after an Israeli protester died of burns sustained in self-immolation.

EC president says European leaders have not come to Mexico to receive lessons on how to handle the economy

Moody's downgrades four regions as reports say €1bn taken from bailed-out Bankia