INTEREST RATES AT ECB EXPECTED TO REMAIN ON HOLD. The European Central Bank (ECB) is expected Thursday to leave interest rates on hold at their historic low of 1 per cent, but to raise its economic growth forecasts amid signs that the recession could be starting to draw to an end. In particular, this follows the release of figures Wednesday by the European Union's statistics office Eurostat confirming that the eurozone's two biggest economies - Germany and France - climbed out of recession ... Read More

EUROPEAN BANKS INCREASES PROFITS DURING ECONOMIC CRISIS. The European Central Bank (ECB) made 17 billion euros (24.26 billion dollars) thanks to the financial crisis, Dutch daily newspaper Volkskrant reported on Tuesday. Volkskrant calculated the ECB received 19.2 billion euros in interest originating from the nearly 14,000 billion euros in loans it provided since September 2008. Most banks subsequently deposited their loans with the ECB, which paid them 2 billion euros in interest. One 442-billion-euros loan provided to the bigger European ... Read More