Since the downturn, a series of Irish passport holders have opted to declare themselves bankrupt in Britain. The difference between the two jurisdictions is stark: in Ireland, bankrupts may be faced with up to 12 years of financial purgatory. In the UK they can be clear after one year, The Guardian reported. After initially attracting Germans, who face a minimum of six years in bankruptcy, the British system soon received an increasing number of Irish people.

The economic crises in the United States and Europe wiped out decades of progress in expanding the world financial system, depressing the flow of investments and loans across borders and potentially setting the stage for an epoch of entrenched low growth, according to a new study on global finance patterns, The Washington Post reported. The McKinsey Global Institute report combines databases from the International Monetary Fund, global central banks and other sources to try to sum up what has been lost in the aftermath of the 2008 Lehman Bros.

For years, Slovenia was on the fast track. It was the first former socialist country to adopt the euro. Construction boomed. The economy grew an average of 4.4% annually from 1997 to 2008. These days, however, the euro crisis has shattered Slovenia's highflying dreams. After three years of recession, frustration is mounting among a populace angry at lost opportunities, cuts to once-generous state benefits and government corruption scandals, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Greece missed key revenue targets by a wide margin last year, triggering concern over whether the government is fully committed to cracking down on tax evasion and graft, according to a confidential report by EU and International Monetary Fund experts leaked to Athens media. A drive to boost collection of overdue tax raised only €1.1bn in 2012, compared with a target of €2bn, according to the report. At the same time Greece’s mountain of unpaid tax increased by 10 per cent to €55bn, equivalent to almost 30 per cent of national output.

Shareholders of debt-laden French spirits group Belvedere approved the company's debt-restructuring plan after an unruly meeting lasting more than five hours on Thursday, giving it a chance to avoid an otherwise likely liquidation, Reuters reported. The plan, which must still be approved by a court at a hearing on March 11, was supported by more than 70 percent of shareholders, while investors rejected resolutions to dismiss the company's board added to the agenda at the last minute.

Bankers’ bonuses are to be capped at two times bankers’ salaries and banks will be subject to a strict transparency regime, under a provisional EU deal that includes minimal concessions to cushion the most severe pay crackdown since the 2008 financial crisis, the Financial Times reported. In a serious setback for UK’s fight to head-off some of the remuneration curbs, the European parliament late on Wednesday night secured agreement on a mandatory 1:1 ratio on salary relative to variable pay, which can rise to 2:1 with explicit shareholder approval.

Euro zone governments are discussing ways to help Ireland and Portugal return to the capital markets swiftly and some among them have voiced a preference for delaying the repayment of bailout loans by the two states, sources familiar with discussions said yesterday, the Irish Times reported. The sources quoted from a 15-page discussion paper from the European Commission and the European Stability Mechanism that was debated last week by deputy finance ministers from the euro zone.

An Italian political crisis that has rattled the euro zone deepened on Wednesday when two party leaders ruled out the most likely options to form a government and avoid a new election, Reuters reported. Populist leader Beppe Grillo slammed the door on overtures from centre-left boss Pier Luigi Bersani with a stream of insults while Nichi Vendola, Bersani's junior coalition partner, ruled out a government alliance with the centre-right.

Italy's political parties began testing the waters Tuesday to see whether they could cobble together a government, as the prospect of political stalemate sent European markets tumbling in fear of a reawakened euro-zone debt crisis, The Wall Street Journal reported. Democratic Party chief Pier Luigi Bersani said he would try to form a government in the hope of cobbling together some sort of parliamentary support. Mr. Bersani's center-left coalition will hold a majority of seats in Italy's lower house, but will control about one-third of the seats in the Senate.

Denmark, battling a stagnant economy and concerns about a productivity gap with other nations, is planning to slash its corporate taxes in phases over the next three years to better stack up against other countries in the region, The Wall Street Journal reported. The move, which follows similar tax cuts in the U.K., Sweden and Finland, comes as pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who was elected in 2011; support for her in opinion polls has been softening. A ruling coalition led by Ms.