That stock News

A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Monday:

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LONDON — The Christmas travel season turned angry and chaotic as British officials struggled to clear snow and ice that paralyzed rail and air links and spawned cancellations and delays stranding thousands around the world.

More than 48 hours after Britain's last snowfall, some furious passengers with boarding passes for Monday flights were not even allowed into London's Heathrow Airport. Inside, piles of garbage grew and some people slept on terminal floors.

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LONDON — Moody's Investors Service downgraded the ratings of five Irish banks, including some of the liabilities guaranteed by the government.

The downgrade followed Moody's Friday downgrade of Ireland's credit rating by five notches to Baa1, just three steps above junk-bond status.

Moody's said it cut the banks' ratings because of their reliance on the Irish government's support.

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MADRID — Moody's rating agency warned that it could downgrade the debt rating of Spanish banks that might need help from the government to help them weather Europe's debt crisis and the nation's shaky economy.

Moody's Investor Service issued the warning a week after it put Spanish government debt on review for a possible downgrade amid unemployment of nearly 20 percent and grim growth forecasts following rounds of government austerity cutbacks.

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BRUSSELS — The European Central Bank sharply reduced its purchases of bonds from vulnerable governments such as Greece, Ireland, or Portugal, despite pressure to do more to help fight the continent's crippling debt crisis.

In the week ended Dec. 17, the central bank spent only 603 million euros ($793 million) on government bonds, down sharply from 2.667 billion euros a week earlier and the lowest weekly amount since late October, data released Monday showed.

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SEOUL, South Korea — Inter-Korean tensions, a longtime geopolitical risk in Asia, weighed on Asian stock markets.

South Korea's benchmark Kospi index dropped 0.3 percent. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.9 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 0.3 percent, the Shanghai Composite index slid 1.4 percent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.5 percent.

Benchmarks in Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan and New Zealand also retreated, while those in India and the Philippines rose.

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LONDON — Later in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 closed up 0.4 percent, Germany's DAX was 0.5 percent higher and France's CAC-40 advanced 0.5 percent.

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ATHENS, Greece — Greece's efforts to cut the bloated budget deficit are lagging behind annual targets although the shortfall has been cut by more than a quarter in the first 11 months of the year, the finance ministry said.

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VENICE — Italy's traditional artisanal industries — glass, leather, jewelry, furniture — are under pressure, one risk factor for an economy that needs more growth to convince markets it can handle its large debt burden in years ahead and avoid being drawn into Europe's debt crisis.

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GUANGZHOU, China — Automakers are forecasting strong China car sales in 2011 despite the end of some government incentives as the country's second major auto show this year kicks off in the southern city of Guangzhou.

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MADRID — Spain should make tougher pension and labor reforms to revive economic growth and ease the debt load that is putting it at the heart of Europe's debt crisis, the OECD said.

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LONDON — Mortgage lending in Britain hit a 10-year low in November, though credit to big businesses increased, highlighting the country's uneven and fragile recovery.

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GENEVA — Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG says it plans to invest $500 million in Russia over a five-year period.

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SHANGHAI — Communities in central and northern China are facing power cuts and rationing as winter coal supplies fall short of surging demand.

Cold weather and transport disruptions typically cause shortages most years, but the problem has been complicated by coal producers' unhappiness over price controls that are crimping their profits.

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NEW DELHI — India's prime minister offered to be questioned by a parliamentary committee to prove his innocence in a telecommunications scandal that has shaken the government and reportedly cost the country billions.

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BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary's central bank said it was raising its main interest rate from an annual 5.50 percent to 5.75 percent, citing heightened inflation risks.

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