Europe, Bank Bailout | featured news

Students are protesting on Barcelona's elegant boulevards, public-sector wages are being cut for the second time in three years and resentment is growing against the central government and beneficiaries of bank bailouts.

The leaders of Germany and France, the eurozone's two biggest economies, say they have reached agreement on strengthening Europe's shaky banking sector.

The ultimate size will depend on whether Dublin merely tries to shore up and restructure its crippled banks, or whether a larger package is offered to give it more breathing room.

Ireland's government moved to reassure anxious investors by announcing it will split nationalized lender Anglo Irish Bank in a bid to contain the impact of the bank's bailout on the country's economy.

President Obama’s proposal for a direct tax on banks to pay for future bailouts is gaining momentum in Europe.