WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) – The European economy isshowing some positive signs that indicate that it is closer toa recovery than before, Economic and Monetary AffairsCommissioner Joaquin Almunia said on Thursday. Bonds  |  IPOs “Looking at some indicators in Europe, some of them aresending us some positive signals, it is not yet evident that wewill start a recovery tomorrow, we still have a lot of difficulttasks ahead of us, but some positive indicators are indeedwelcome,” Almunia told a seminar. “If we are not yet in a recovery, at least we are closer tothe bottom, and closer to the beginning of the recovery than wewere,” he said. He also said Europe needed to move more quickly to deal withimpaired assets in banks and bank recapitalisation in order torestore credit flow to the economy. He said it would not be politically acceptable for a eurozone country to seek International Monetary Fund help in case offunding problems and the euro zone would find a solution. “From a political point of view it is not acceptable that a(euro zone) country would go to the IMF,” Almunia said. Bonds IPOs. By Alexia Vlahos Stocks  |  Currencies  |  Bonds  |  Global Markets SANTIAGO, April 23 (Reuters) – Chilean shares were slightlyweaker in Thursday afternoon trade, tracking choppy trade onWall Street as investors wait for local quarterly earnings,while the peso closed slightly weaker, traders said.

The IPSA .IPSA leading share index was 0.1 percent weakerat 2,673 points while the all-market IGPA index .IGPA was0.02 percent weaker at 12,748 points. “Nobody is taking an aggressive position because they arewaiting to find out company results, which will be a goodthermometer to know how the economy is faring,” said PamelaAuszenker, head of research at brokerage Bci. Traders are waiting for a host of Chilean companies torelease first-quarter earnings data over the next six weeks,which will give investors a clearer view of how they are copingwith the global crisis. Soquimich (SQM_pb.SN), Chile’s leading exporter offertilizer and the world’s biggest producer of iodine andlithium, rose 0.34 percent to 17,750 pesos a share. CCU CCU.SN, Chile’s largest brewer, fell 1.98 percent to3,470 pesos, while industrial conglomerate Copec (COP.SN), themost heavily weighted share on the bourse, fell 1.24 percent to5,775 pesos.

Banco de Chile CHI.SN, Chile’s second biggest bank, rose0.30 percent to 33.90 pesos, while leading private bankSantander Chile (STG.SN) rose 0.43 percent to 20.86 pesos ashare. Cencosud (CEN.SN), one of Latin America’s biggestretailers, fell 0.69 percent to 1,140 pesos a share. Shares of regional energy group Enersis (ENE.SN) rose 0.63percent to 177.85 pesos a share, while electricity generatorEndesa Chile (END.SN) fell 0.4 percent to 739 pesos. The peso CLP=CL closed 0.17 percent weaker at584.80/585.30 per dollar compared with Wednesday’s close at583.80/584.10. “The scenario is very much similar to yesterday, withEuropean bourses down, Wall Street very volatile, and copperdown again,” said one currency dealer. The peso is now up 9.61 percent against the dollar for theyear-to-date, after depreciating 22.3 percent in 2008. Stocks Currencies Bonds Global Markets. The Knicks play in the biggest stage in the NBA at the Madison Square Garden in New York City.