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August 5, 2011 Euro Builder Ends His Career on a Bitter Note By JACK EWING FRANKFURT — Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, has spent much of his career building and defending the euro. But now, in a bitter twist, it looks as if his career may well end with the common currency in shambles. Mr. Trichet, 68, will retire at the end of October after an eight-year term. Yet markets are crashing, bond investors have turned on Italy and Spain, and it appears certain that when Mr. Trichet returns to civilian life on Nov. 1, the...

President Obama is hanging out to dry all by himself as ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and British Prime Minister David Cameron are all wisely going ahead with austerity measures instead of the stimulus measures that Obama and his Keynesian clown advisors want.

Trichet: economy in deepest crisis since WWII Sat May 15, 6:51 am ET BERLIN – The President of the European Central Bank is quoted as saying that he still sees Europe's economy in its deepest crisis since World War II or even World War I. German News weekly Der Spiegel on Saturday reported that Jean-Claude Trichet said that since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008 "we have experienced and we are experiencing really dramatic times."

Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said it is “extremely important” to have a strong U.S. dollar.

ECB President, Jean-Claude Trichet, says inflation could 'explode' Gary Duncan, Economics Editor The President of the European Central Bank (ECB) said yesterday that inflation could explode without action being taken to quell price pressures. Jean-Claude Trichet's comments cemented expectations that the ECB will press ahead today with a controversial increase in eurozone interest rates. In his bluntest signal yet that the ECB will defy political pressure, led by President Sarkozy of France, for it to hold fire, Mr Trichet said: “If we are not resolute, there is a risk that inflation will explode. If we act decisively, then we can...

TOKYO, May 1 (Reuters) - The dollar struck a seven-month low against the yen and a one-year low against the euro on Monday, extending a slide as the Federal Reserve appears set to soon end a two-year run of credit tightening. A renewed focus on U.S. deficits after last month's meeting of Group of Seven industrialised powers, worries about Iran's nuclear ambitions and deteriorating technical signals have pummeled the dollar across the board. The yen gained across the board on solid buying by foreign hedge funds and investment banks, while some Japanese players squared positions heading into the country's Golden...

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar hit a 27-month high against the yen on Monday and edged closer to recent two-year lows versus the euro and sterling as greenback buying on yield advantage gathered momentum after a long U.S. weekend. In the absense of major data on Monday, investors, coming back from the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, pushed the dollar higher in anticipation of further rises in U.S. interest rates. The euro kept a low profile as investors awaited European Central Bank speakers including chief Jean-Claude Trichet ahead of a widely-expected 25 basis point rate hike this week. But the outlook beyond...

Tough talk on inflation, first by US Federal Reserve officials, then by Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, has got the markets rattled. Last week all the leading equity indices retreated, with the S&P 500 down 2.7 per cent, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 down 1.8 per cent, the Nikkei off 2.6 per cent and the FTSE 100 off 2.1 per cent. It looks as if investors are questioning the notion that the US, and to some extent the world economy, has entered a new "Goldilocks" phase with growth neither too hot (risking accelerating inflation) nor too cold (risking...

The euro has its sceptics across Europe's heartlands It was an idea that could barely be whispered inside Europe's corridors of power - might the European Union lose its appetite for the euro?Launched amid much fanfare in 1999, the single currency was a symbol of European unity, a sign of the continent's re-emergence on the world stage and a challenge to the hegemony of the US dollar. Six years on, with slow growth and high unemployment bedevilling the economies of some of the euro's most powerful supporters, the whispers of doubt are beginning to grow louder. Leading politicians in...

TOKYO (Reuters) - The euro hit an 11-month low against the yen on Tuesday, hurt by a bleak economic outlook for the euro zone and remarks by the European Central Bank chief which the market saw as a hint of interest rate cuts. The ECB will do "all it can" to reinforce consumer and business confidence, and economic reforms are fundamental to boost euro zone growth, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said in a discussion among central bankers from China, Europe and Japan in Beijing. "Trichet suggested that maybe he has to do something about interest rates," said a trader at...

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar surged on Friday after a senior Federal Reserve official hinted the United States could accelerate the pace of raising interest rates and Washington pledged for a tighter budget and strong dollar policy. St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole told Reuters that the central bank would not hesitate to depart from its pace of measured interest rate increases if necessary. "The latest surge in the dollar came after comments from Poole, who suggested the Fed could raise rates more and faster than expected," said Carsten Fritsch, currency strategist at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. President Bush said...

A letter bomb has been intercepted and defused at the Dutch headquarters of the European Union's police agency, Europol. It is the third letter bomb sent to prominent EU figures or bodies in as many days. A government official in The Hague said staff at Europol alerted the bomb squad after they became suspicious about the package. Police are investigating the incident. Europol handles criminal intelligence and assists EU states in fighting organised crime. Earlier on Monday, European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet was sent a suspected letter bomb and on Saturday a parcel exploded in European Commission President Romano...

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A letter bomb was intercepted on Monday at the Dutch headquarters of the European Union's police agency, Europol, and was deactivated before it caused any damage. The letter bomb was the third sent to prominent EU figures or bodies in three days. "The letter bomb was delivered at the Europol head office in The Hague but their staff was suspicious about it," spokeswoman Astrid Rijsdorp of the public prosecutor's office in The Hague told Reuters. "They warned the bomb squad who defused it in time and nobody got injured," she said. Rijsdorp said police were investigating the...