Investigators focus on control-centre order after Spain train crashUS warns allies of renewed Iran strikes as Vance letter awaits replyRussian drone kills 14 at Dnipro station as Ukraine mounts record drone raidCongo Ebola outbreak passes 10,000 cases as neighbours and Europe weigh riskIsrael deadlocked as Likud claims Arab parties stole the voteLagarde to leave ECB early as bank holds rates at 2.5%Alphabet shares tumble after results, reviving worries over AI spendingOleshky truce holds as Europe splits over Putin callIran reports tankers hitting mines in Hormuz as US says main routes are clearBolsonaro calls himself Brazil's leader from Miami as Trump derides the voteGreek container ship sinks after naval drone attack off BulgariaSaudi-led coalition downs Houthi missile as UN warns of access crisis in TaizHong Kong leader apologises over Tai Po fire as housing secretary resignsEurope to release 42 million barrels as oil majors post record profitsNorth Korea fires about ten ballistic 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between drones and incarceration as UAE jails eight over Sudan armsUS imposes new sanctions on Rwanda over conflict in eastern CongoVolkswagen reports third-quarter loss of 5.8 billion eurosPentagon treats base freezer failures as suspected cyberattack after French supermarket sabotageRussia-Africa summit ends as Ethiopia receives Russian fighter jetsChinese tech stocks fall despite surge in chip salesFrench protests weigh on retailers and Macron as new rallies loomIsraeli strikes hit Gaza as Health Ministry urges Rafah openingCourts and prosecutors collide with election fights days before US midtermsVenezuela to offer state assets to private sector as Maduro trial judge diesAfghan opium cultivation surges despite Taliban ban, UN saysPound steady after Healey's 'continuity budget'DoorDash to buy Instacart for $17bnTaiwan suspects China behind brief Pakistani airspace ban on its airlinesAlbanian opposition disrupts parliament with flares after 17 days of protestsInvestigators focus on control-centre order after Spain train crashUS warns allies of renewed Iran strikes as Vance letter awaits replyRussian drone kills 14 at Dnipro station as Ukraine mounts record drone raidCongo Ebola outbreak passes 10,000 cases as neighbours and Europe weigh riskIsrael deadlocked as Likud claims Arab parties stole the voteLagarde to leave ECB early as bank holds rates at 2.5%Alphabet shares tumble after results, reviving worries over AI spendingOleshky truce holds as Europe splits over Putin callIran reports tankers hitting mines in Hormuz as US says main routes are clearBolsonaro calls himself Brazil's leader from Miami as Trump derides the voteGreek container ship sinks after naval drone attack off BulgariaSaudi-led coalition downs Houthi missile as UN warns of access crisis in TaizHong Kong leader apologises over Tai Po fire as housing secretary resignsEurope to release 42 million barrels as oil majors post record profitsNorth Korea fires about ten ballistic missiles as border dispute deepensUS growth beats forecasts as inflation climbs, raising pressure on FedStudy links Indonesian haze to over 5,200 deaths as Singapore sends envoyChina expels 33 officials and promotes General Zhang Shengmin to the PolitburoEUFOR helicopter crashes in Bosnia, at least three deadSamsung posts biggest profit in tech history as AI memory boom lifts Korea and JapanSerbia's RTS chief resigns and news editors replaced after student-led election winHaiti postpones presidential election to 2027 as El Salvador pledges troopsUS bans imports from three Chinese genomics firms and Chinese testing labs, Beijing protestsDeath toll rises to six after Cyclone Arnab hits eastern IndiaAnthropic's IPO filing sparks debate over $80bn loss and risk warningsChina threatens countermeasures over EU trade curbs as Steinmeier visits BeijingHebron lockdown enters second week as settlers accused of assaulting activists in West BankUN mission says Al Obeid civilians are trapped between drones and incarceration as UAE jails eight over Sudan armsUS imposes new sanctions on Rwanda over conflict in eastern CongoVolkswagen reports third-quarter loss of 5.8 billion eurosPentagon treats base freezer failures as suspected cyberattack after French supermarket sabotageRussia-Africa summit ends as Ethiopia receives Russian fighter jetsChinese tech stocks fall despite surge in chip salesFrench protests weigh on retailers and Macron as new rallies loomIsraeli strikes hit Gaza as Health Ministry urges Rafah openingCourts and prosecutors collide with election fights days before US midtermsVenezuela to offer state assets to private sector as Maduro trial judge diesAfghan opium cultivation surges despite Taliban ban, UN saysPound steady after Healey's 'continuity budget'DoorDash to buy Instacart for $17bnTaiwan suspects China behind brief Pakistani airspace ban on its airlinesAlbanian opposition disrupts parliament with flares after 17 days of protests
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Symbolic image: Lagarde to leave ECB early as bank holds rates at 2.5%Symbolic image

Lagarde to leave ECB early as bank holds rates at 2.5%

21 sources

ECB president Christine Lagarde announced on Thursday that she will step down on 7 February 2027, months before her term ends. The ECB left its key rate at 2.5% the same day.

Lagarde informed the ECB Governing Council and European Council president António Costa; her eight-year term would have run to the end of October 2027. At the press conference after the rate decision she said she wants to be able to speak politically before France's presidential election in April 2027, which her current office does not allow. The FAZ notes that the early exit lets Emmanuel Macron, who cannot run again, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz settle the succession before that vote. Costa said the search for a successor begins immediately.

Knot and Hernández de Cos lead the race

According to the FAZ, ECB Council sources name two official candidates: former Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot and Pablo Hernández de Cos, head of the Bank for International Settlements. Merz spoke with both. Bundesbank president Joachim Nagel had put himself forward, but Berlin concluded a German candidate had little chance because Ursula von der Leyen already leads the Commission.

A package of top jobs

Board member Isabel Schnabel moves to the IMF in early January, and chief economist Philip Lane's term ends in 2027, so the FAZ expects a package deal. Finance minister Lars Klingbeil said the euro area would decide on the new leadership promptly, and that Germany will keep a role on the ECB board.

Rates unchanged, French pressure ahead

Handelsblatt reports that the key rate stays at 2.5% despite high inflation. Bloomberg points to alarm over oil and France, and the Financial Times expects the successor to face further turbulence in French bond markets. The FAZ adds that the new president will have to resist political demands to support France more.

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