Trouble in euroland

The Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates in response to the credit crunch. So has the Bank of ...

The Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates in response to the credit crunch. So has the Bank of England. So far, however, the European Central Bank has refused to join the rate-cutting party. As 2008 unfolds, that will change. The ECB will have to deliver lower borrowing costs. There are already signs the economy is weakening across the eurozone, and those are only likely to intensify. The property-price declines in Spain and Ireland may soon cause real pain. And the rapid increase in the value of the euro will hit Europe's exporters hard. All the signals suggest rate cuts aren't ...