Last year, the euro suffered a psychological barrier in the financial markets after it plummeted below parity with the U.S. dollar and cratered to its lowest level in about 20 years. From inflation to an energy crisis to recession fears, investors were ultra-bearish on the currency. In the first few weeks of 2023, however, the…

BREGANA BORDER CROSSING, Croatia—Croatia rang in two historic changes with the new year, as the European Union’s youngest member joined both the EU’s border-free Schengen zone and the euro common currency, fulfilling longstanding ambitions of close integration with Europe. At the Bregana border crossing with neighboring Slovenia, police took down signs at midnight and a…

FRANKFURT—Investor morale in the euro zone improved in November, the first time it rose in three months, reflecting hopes that recent warmer temperatures and falling energy prices will prevent gas rationing on the continent this winter, a survey showed Monday. Sentix’s index for the euro zone rose to -30.9 points in November from -38.3 in…

In the last 25 years, imported wine has become fascinating for many American wine lovers. Starting about 2003, we began buying more imported wines than in any prior year, and one reason was that millennial wine lovers, who were just reaching the legal drinking age, fell in love with the diversity we began to see…

Commentary  The strong dollar remains a risk to corporate profits and asset prices as the impact on the global economies grows. While many commentators argued the dollar would go bust due to the excessive debt levels in the United States, such has hardly been the case. In 2022, as the U.S. economy is the “cleanest…

NEW YORK—The dollar rallied against the yen, euro, and other currencies on Tuesday after stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation data boosted investor bets that the Federal Reserve will need to stay aggressive in raising interest rates. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against its peers, was up 1.5 percent at 109.85 in its biggest one-day percentage…

MADRID—The eurozone’s economy is likely to experience an economic slowdown, European Central Bank’s chief economist Philip Lane said on Tuesday, adding however that he did not rule out a mild, temporary, and technical recession. Lane told Spanish broadcaster TVE that the ECB should raise interest rates on a step-by-step basis. The institution raised rates by…

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on Monday warned of harsh economic times throughout Europe and energy bills that are expected to continue rising due to Russia’s attack on Ukraine. “The next five to 10 winters will be difficult,” De Croo predicted during a news conference, where he addressed workers of the port handling company…

LONDON—Weakening economies in Germany and France piled more pressure on markets on Tuesday as decades-high inflation and surging gas prices drag Europe toward recession, pushing the euro to a 20-year low against the dollar. The S&P flash composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which tracks manufacturing and services, showed that a downturn in Germany, Europe’s biggest…

BRUSSELS—The European Commission cut its forecasts for economic growth in the euro zone for this year and next and revised up its estimates for inflation on Thursday largely due to the impact of the war in Ukraine. In its quarterly forecasts, Brussels confirmed its more downbeat outlook, which it had already discussed with euro zone…