European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has said the worst of the eurozone crisis is over. In an interview with Germany\'s Bild newspaper, he said the situation in Europe was \"stabilising\". Mr Draghi also said that some economic data, including inflation and budget deficits, showed that Europe was doing better than the United States. But the latest surveys of purchasing managers, released on Thursday, suggest European economies could be flagging. The Purchasing Managers Indexes (PMI) survey thousands of companies and indicate whether business is expanding or contracting. The figures for Europe\'s most important economy, Germany, show that manufacturing activity shrank in March and new orders fell at the fastest pace so far this year. That contributed to a sharp downturn for the whole eurozone, with the PMI index showing that business conditions deteriorated further in March. \"It\'s going to be a very poor-looking year at this rate,\" said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, the company which compiles the PMI surveys. \"We had an uplift at the start of the year, which we hoped was the economy regaining momentum, but it seems to be losing its legs.\" The European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi is credited with having deflected a much more serious crisis by lending european banks large sums at very low interest rates. Over two rounds, one in December and one in February, the Long Term Refinancing Operation injected more than half a trillion euros of new funds into european banks. In his interview with Bild, Mr Draghi said: \"Last autumn, the situation was really critical. It could have come to a dangerous credit crunch for the banks. \"As a result, businesses could have gone bankrupt, because they would have been left high and dry. We had to prevent that.\"
GMT 09:43 2018 Tuesday ,23 January
Global unemployment down but working poverty rampantGMT 15:13 2018 Sunday ,21 January
All you need to know about Davos 2018GMT 22:33 2018 Saturday ,20 January
Calls for action over dirty money flowingGMT 04:42 2018 Saturday ,20 January
Storm caused 90 mn euros in damage: Dutch insurersGMT 07:06 2018 Friday ,19 January
China economy rebounds in 2017 with 6.9% growthGMT 11:35 2018 Thursday ,18 January
'Massive' infrastructure spending needed in AfricaGMT 14:29 2018 Wednesday ,17 January
GE takes one-off hit of $6.2 bn linked to insurance activitiesGMT 18:55 2018 Tuesday ,16 January
London stock market edges to new high

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor