European finance ministers kicked off two days of talks Monday dominated by concern over lethargic growth, swelling budget deficits and a euro rising close to record highs against the dollar.
Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders suggested the euro's rapid ascent gave the European Central Bank scope to cut interest rates to boost the economy.
"We have more room for maneuver on the monetary side," he told reporters as he arrived for the meeting.
Markets were looking for signs the ministers would push the European Central Bank to cut interest rates following the euro's climb to its highest levels in four years.
Last week the Frankfurt-based ECB kept its main refinancing rate at an annual 2.5 percent, double the US Federal Reserve's benchmark federal funds rate of 1.25 percent.
Although the strong euro hurts European exporters, it does help keep inflation under control by taming the price of dollar-denominated oil and other imports. Lower interest rates would boost the economy by making it easier for companies to borrow, but they risk inflaming inflation by injecting more cash into the market.
"On balance a strong euro is in the interests of the euro area and the world economy," Pedro Solbes, the European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner, said after a meeting of ministers from the 12-nation euro-zone.
However, Solbes warned that the effects of the euro's race to near record levels were not yet clear.
"Our concern today is to avoid excess volatility and any over-shooting," Solbes told a news conference.
Overall, Reynders said the euro's rise was good for Europe's economy.
"We want to have a strong euro," he said. "It's now more in line with economic fundamentals."
Yesterday, ministers from the 12 nations that have adopted the euro as their shared currency were to be joined by counterparts from the three EU nations outside the euro-zone -- Britain, Sweden and Denmark -- and from the 10 mainly eastern European nations scheduled to join the EU next year.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique