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

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BRUSSELS — The European Central Bank said it would almost double the size of its capital coffers, gaining more firepower in its struggle to stabilize the euro, while European leaders disagreed over how to fight the continent's crippling debt crisis.

The ECB's gesture sends a strong political signal to the European Union's 27 leaders that they need to do more to salvage their joint currency and their unity, amid street protests and bitterness in richer countries about having to bail out poorer neighbors.

European leaders are meeting in Brussels through Friday. The two-day summit is expected to yield no new major solutions to the debt crisis but is likely focus on a resolution mechanism to be adopted from 2013, when the current $1 trillion bailout fund expires.

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WASHINGTON — Americans' stronger appetite for imported goods helped to lift the broadest measure of the U.S. trade deficit in the July-September quarter to its highest point since late 2008.

The current account trade deficit grew to $127.2 billion in the third quarter, a 3.3 percent increase from the second quarter, the Commerce Department reported.

Some economists consider the quarterly increase — the fifth in a row — a sign that the U.S. economy is healing because Americans are regaining their appetite to spend on foreign goods.

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LONDON — European stock markets mostly ticked higher, even though EU leaders disagreed over how to tackle Europe's debt crisis. Reports from the U.S. suggested that the world's largest economy is enjoying a strong end to the year. Britain's FTSE 100 closed nearly unchanged, Germany's DAX gained 0.1 percent and France's CAC-40 rose 0.2 percent.

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TOKYO — Earlier in Asia, trading was mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average edged up less than 0.1 percent, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3 percent and Taiwan's benchmark also rose.

The Shanghai Composite index dipped 0.5 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.3 percent, South Korea's Kospi lost 0.4 percent and benchmarks in Singapore and India also fell.

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ATHENS, Greece — Moody's ratings agency warned of a possible multi-notch downgrade of Greek bonds, in a new setback for the Socialist government already plagued by escalating strikes and violent protests.

The warning was the second this month, following a similar caution from Standard & Poor's in early December. The warnings hurt Greece's hopes of returning to the international bond markets some time next year.

The country only avoided bankruptcy in May due to a 110 billion euros ($145 billion) rescue loan package, conditional on a painful austerity package that includes salary and pension cuts, tax hikes and an increase in retirement ages.

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MADRID — Spain had to pay sharply higher interest rates to borrow 2.4 billion euros ($3.21 billion) from bond markets.

Investors snapped up Spain's debt but demanded higher rates amid fears of a possible debt downgrade by Moody's credit ratings agency.

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TOKYO — Japan's Cabinet approved cutting the corporate tax by 5 percentage points in a bid to spur the country's sluggish economy.

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NEW DELHI — The leaders of India and China called for a stronger partnership, a huge increase in trade and even the creation of an emergency hotline as they stressed a spirit of cooperation — not competition — between Asia's two rising powers.

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DUBLIN — Prime Minister Brian Cowen declared that he doesn't care about a new poll indicating that he, his party and government have all hit record levels of unpopularity following Ireland's international bailout.

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PRAGUE — The Czech Parliament approved a plan to slash the salaries of leading politicians by five percent until 2014 as part of government austerity measures.

The cuts are part of austerity measures the government says are necessary to reduce the budget deficit.

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

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BRUSSELS — EU officials hope a second round of stress tests, planned for February, will do what the earlier ones couldn't: restore confidence in the region's banks by checking whether they have the financial cushion to withstand unexpected shocks.

European regulators first tested their banks in Sept. 2009, but the results were never published. Another round of tests, carried out this July, was made public but widely criticized for not being stringent enough. Only 7 of 19 European banks failed; and they were asked to raise a total of euro3.5 billion.

The EU has now decided to give it another go. The stakes are high. European banks have an exposure of euro1.9 trillion ($2.5 trillion) to the government debt of other European countries, according to an analysis by economists at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development published in September.

The EU has said that regulators this time will look at banks' so called liquidity positions, that is, how quickly they can turn their assets into cash and not just how much those assets are worth. That's important because for banks, which rely heavily on short-term capital, funds can dry up overnight when there's a crisis.

But experts say the new tests also need to include the possibility of a sovereign default — a government actually failing to pay off bonds as they come due. And regulators have to be more realistic about unemployment rates.

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DUBLIN — Irish lawmakers vote to cut the salaries of their own leaders and the nation's minimum wage in the latest stage of a new deficit-slashing program.

An emergency cost-cutting bill approved Friday on a 79-74 vote cuts the salary of Prime Minister Brian Cowen 6 percent to euro214,000 ($282,500) and his Cabinet ministers 5 percent to euro181,000 ($239,000).

Ireland's minimum wage is being slashed 12 percent to euro7.65 ($10.10) per hour — still third-highest in the 27-nation European Union below France and Luxembourg.

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FREIBURG, Germany — The leaders of Germany and France vow to defend the euro with "total" determination from the turmoil of Europe's government debt crisis — but stand by their rejection of raising money through pan-European bonds or expanding a euro750 billion ($1 trillion) rescue fund.

The two countries, the eurozone's largest economies and its bankrollers, are at odds with many other governments on how best to keep the crisis from spreading and forcing more expensive bailouts, following financial rescues for euro members Ireland and Greece.

The two leaders met ahead of an important European Union summit in Brussels next week. A key issue at the summit will be the establishment of a permanent crisis mechanism for the 16-nation eurozone starting in 2013 that will require amending current EU treaties — usually a lengthy and complicated procedure.

Merkel has pressed hard for such a mechanism, which would include a set of new bailout rules that would force losses on private investors in some cases. The current euro750 billion rescue fund — now being tapped to rescue Ireland — expires in 2013, and Merkel opposes extending it without changes.

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LISBON, Portugal — Moody's Investors Service says it is reviewing the financial strength of 10 Portuguese banks and may downgrade their credit ratings. The ratings agency says the banks are having trouble accessing international credit markets and have relied heavily on help from the European Central Bank.

Fears Portugal won't be able to manage its debt load and will require a foreign bailout have spooked markets. Standard & Poors also issued a warning about Portuguese banks last week, while Fitch has already downgraded their ratings.

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BRUSSELS — The European Union and India are nearing a wide-ranging free trade deal and hope to sign an agreement next year. The breakthrough was announced during a visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to EU headquarters in Brussels.

The deal has been four years in the making and could boost trade between the two by almost 30 percent. The deal would slash tariffs on products by 90 percent and make it easier for trade and investments to grow on both sides.

EU trade and investment with India reached some euro39 billion ($52 billion) last year.

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BEIJING — China has ordered its banks to increase their reserves in a move to curb surging lending as financial markets watched for a widely anticipated interest rate hike amid efforts to cool inflation.

The central bank's order was the third reserve increase in five weeks and came as Beijing tries to rein in a flood of money flowing through the economy from stimulus spending and bank lending that helped China rebound from the global crisis.

Analysts and traders expect a rate hike soon to bring lending and deposit rates, which were slashed during the crisis, back to more normal levels.

The move weighed on world markets. Gains in European shares were tempered and Asian stock benchmarks mostly closed lower ahead of the news in anticipation of an interest rate hike or other credit tightening measure.

On Friday, regulators announced Chinese banks lent a total of 564 billion yuan ($82 billion) in October. That would push total lending so far this year to 7.45 trillion yuan and mean they would likely overshoot Beijing's official 2010 lending target of 7.5 trillion yuan.

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SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's economic growth is set to slow to a more normal level of 4.5 percent next year, the central bank said in a report that warns of significant uncertainties for the outlook including tensions with North Korea.

The slowdown next year will be from forecast growth of 6.1 percent for 2010, a year in which South Korea's recovery from the global financial crisis and subsequent worldwide slowdown accelerated.

South Korea is the world's 15th-largest economy and an export powerhouse home to major global manufacturers including Samsung Electronics Co. and Hyundai Motor Co.

The Bank of Korea injected a note of caution into its outlook for next year, citing "geopolitical risks" in the aftermath of a deadly North Korean attack on a South Korean island last month that sent tensions on their divided peninsula soaring. It also highlighted the "unknowns" of European debt problems, rising Chinese inflation and how monetary policy at the U.S. Federal Reserve will develop following its move to purchase $600 billion of government bonds.

South Korea's economy rebounded strongly this year after sputtering to a meager 0.2 percent expansion in 2009 following the crisis and slump.

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Most Asian indexes closed slightly lower after the announcement that the People's Bank of China raised its required reserve ratio — the amount of capital banks need to keep with the central bank — by half a percentage point. Markets had been bracing for an interest rate hike, which could have a more direct impact on the economy, but analysts say that may yet be delivered soon.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average closed down 0.7 percent to 10,211.95. South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.1 percent to 1,986.14 after jumping 1.7 percent the previous day.

The Shanghai Composite index, which closed before the announced tightening in lending, ended 1.1 percent higher at 2,841.04 in anticipation of a national economic planning meeting during the weekend.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped less than 0.1 percent to 23,162.91 and benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia also fell. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fluctuated in and out of negative territory before closing up 0.1 percent at 4,745.90. India's benchmark also rose.

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ATHENS, Greece — Strikes in Greece are set to disrupt flights and public transport next week, as unions rally against a shakeup of labor rules that will cap public sector salaries and further loosen job safeguards.

An air traffic controllers' association says flights will be halted for 24 hours on Dec. 15 after it decided to join a broader strike. Public transport services in greater Athens will also be stopped by separate 24-hour strikes on Tuesday and Thursday, Dec. 14 and Dec. 16.

And bank workers' unions are planning a 48-hour strike starting Tuesday.

Under the latest changes, due to be voted next week as emergency legislation, gross monthly salaries at state firms will be capped at euro4,000, while salaraies over euro1,800 will be slashed by 10 percent. The government argues the measures are intended to curb common abuses in the public sector, with questionable bonuses frequently added to workers' monthly pay.

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

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BRUSSELS — European officials searched urgently for ways to contain the region's debt crisis, amid expectation that a rebound in government bond markets would prove only temporary.

The EU's monetary affairs chief, Olli Rehn, lobbied for further action from the European Central Bank such as government bond purchases to help calm financial markets, a day ahead of a key meeting of the bank's governing council.

Meanwhile, EU regulators loosened rules on bank bailouts for at least another year, while Spain announced additional cutbacks, trying to dispel concerns its economy — regarded as potentially too big to bail out — might falter.

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LONDON — The European Central Bank appears set to keep its special measures to flood banks with cash and could even step up purchases of government bonds to help countries contain a debt crisis that threatens to spiral out of control even after last weekend's bailout of Ireland.

A new boost for the European economy from Thursday's ECB meeting would be a far cry from what was planned just a week or two ago. It was certainly was not on the agenda at last month's gathering.

Expectations the bank will step up its efforts, while keeping its benchmark interest rate unchanged at the record low of 1 percent, are one sign of how quickly the debt crisis has sharpened worries that a financially weak member of the eurozone such as Portugal might join Greece and Ireland in needing a bailout — and, even more dangerous, that larger countries such as Spain might run into trouble as well.

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BERLIN — Stocks and the euro rebounded strongly after a run of buoyant economic data from around the world and mounting expectations that the European Central Bank will be stepping up its government bond purchase program in an attempt to ease the pressure on highly indebted Portugal and Spain. Germany's climbed 2.7 percent, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed up 2.1 percent and the CAC-40 in France was 1.6 percent higher.

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SHANGHAI — China's manufacturing boom accelerated in November, supported by stable demand and rising purchasing prices, according to surveys.

Stocks rose in Asia. China's Shanghai Composite Index closed up a scant 0.1 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 finished up 0.5 percent

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was unchanged.

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TAIPEI, Taiwan — A stronger Chinese currency would help not just the United States and other trading partners but China itself by cooling rising inflation, economist Nouriel Roubini says.

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UNITED NATIONS — Recovery of the world's economy is starting to lose speed and all signs point toward weaker growth next year, a new United Nations report said.

In releasing the first section of its annual economic report for 2011, the U.N. said that it expects the world economy to grow by 3.1 percent next year and 3.5 percent in 2012. That's far from enough to help recover jobs lost because of the global economic crisis, it said.

The report says that failure by countries to better coordinate their monetary policies have made global markets more volatile, and says nations need to work together for the situation to improve.

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DUBLIN — Ireland must consult the IMF and European authorities over any major change to its economic policy, according to documents outlining details of the country's international bailout.

Finance minister Brian Lenihan said Ireland had also been set quarterly targets for its recovery under the deal for up to 67.5 billion euros ($89 billion) in international loans.

The documents show the country had promised to take "any corrective actions" necessary to fix its ravaged economy in order to win the deal.

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ATHENS, Greece — A Greek official said lagging budget revenues picked up significantly in November, raising hopes that the debt-ridden country will meet its revenue boosting targets at the end of the year.

Greece is fighting to tame a vast budget deficit through deep spending cuts and increased taxation, but so far the growth in revenues has been below target.

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SYDNEY — Australia's economic growth slowed in the September quarter to an annual rate of 2.7 percent, slightly less than expected by economists as a surge in the country's currency contributed to a drop in exports.

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BERLIN — German retail sales jumped by 2.3 percent during October, suggesting consumer spending may be helping an economic recovery that has so far depended on exports.

The October rise came after two months of declines — a 1.8 percent drop in September and 0.4 percent drop in August, according to revised figures from the Federal Statistics Office — and beat the 1.2 percent consensus forecast of economists.

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MADRID — Portugal had to pay a higher interest rate on a sale of 500 million euros ($650 million) in treasury bills, though analysts said the auction went better than some had feared amid the debt crisis.

The bills, which mature in November 2011, were auctioned off at an average interest rate of 5.3 percent, up from 4.8 percent two weeks ago. The sale attracted a lot of interest, however, and was 2.5 times oversubscribed.

Pressure has being building for debt-burdened Portugal to seek a bailout like that of Ireland and Greece.

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MADRID — Spain will sell off a third of its national lottery business, partially privatize airports and cut both a key jobless benefit and taxes for small companies in an unexpected move announced by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodrigo Zapatero to soothe market fears about the country's debt crisis.

The fresh government austerity push — particularly the politically sensitive abolition of a monthly 420 euros ($549) payment to people whose unemployment benefits have expired — show how anxious the government is to avoid a deterioration in market turmoil.

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LONDON — Britain's central banker harbored grave concerns over what he perceived as the economic inexperience of Prime Minister David Cameron and his Treasury chief George Osborne, according to a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable.

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King voiced doubts about Cameron and Osborne in the months before they assumed power in Britain's May general election, according to a secret U.S. embassy cable published by the WikiLeaks website.

The exchange — which was front-page news in Britain — raises questions about the qualifications of the two men now engaged in Britain's biggest deficit reduction program since World War II — and about King's impartiality.

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GENEVA — A top Swiss banking official said relations with the United States were improving after the Internal Revenue Service ended its legal action against Swiss bank UBS AG.

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LONDON — A major British mortgage lender says that average house prices fell 0.3 percent in November compared to the previous month as the market remained quiet.

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

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BRUSSELS — European officials are heading to Ireland in an attempt to determine how bad the country's banking woes are. EU finance ministers, at the same time, are struggling to come up with a rescue plan that will keep bond market turmoil from spreading to Portugal and Spain.

Irish and European Union officials vowed this week to stabilize the banks at the center of the country's financial crisis to restore confidence in the wider 16-nation eurozone, but fell short of agreeing on a bailout.

Britain — which has made deep austerity cuts to avoid a debt crisis of its own — also offered help to protect Ireland's heavily exposed banks.

Ireland insists it does not want a bailout because it has enough money through the middle of next year and is wary of the conditions that would be set by the International Monetary Fund as part of any rescue.

But EU countries fear that the turmoil will spread to places like Portugal, already deeply in debt, and threaten the stability of the common euro currency.

The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed up 0.2 percent, Germany's DAX gained 0.5 percent and the CAC-40 in France rose 0.8 percent.

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BEIJING — China's government announced food subsidies for poor families as it tries to cool a double-digit surge in prices that communist leaders worry might stir unrest.

The Cabinet promised to ease shortages of vegetables and grain that helped push up food prices by more than 10 percent in October. It promised more supplies of diesel to end fuel shortages that have disrupted trucking and industry.

The Cabinet said it was not ordering direct price controls but said they could be imposed if necessary.

China's Shanghai Composite Index slid 1.9 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 2 percent.

Elsewhere in Asia, Australia's ASX/S&P 200 slid 1.6 percent, South Korea's Kospi dipped 0.1 percent while Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average gained 0.2 percent.

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WASHINGTON — A congressional advisory panel recommended that U.S. lawmakers prod the Obama administration into tougher action against what it calls China's policy of keeping its currency undervalued.

With a wary eye on the United States' enormous trade gap with China, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said China is creating global imbalances and using "market access-limiting practices" that fall outside its World Trade Organization commitments.

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BRUSSELS — The European Union denied claims that Greece's next bailout loan installment would be delayed, underscoring the extent to which tensions are brewing over paying for the country's rescue.

EU and Greek officials quickly rejected a claim by Austria's finance minister that the next part of the euro110 billion emergency loan to Athens would be delayed from December to January because they were still waiting for data about Greece's progress on cutting the budget deficit.

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LONDON — Unemployment in Britain for the three months ending in September held steady at 7.7 percent, unchanged from the level reported a month earlier.

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GENEVA — Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche will cut 4,800 jobs over two years, mostly in the U.S., to help save 2.4 billion Swiss francs ($2.4 billion) by 2012.

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

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BRUSSELS — An anxiously awaited meeting of European finance ministers ended without an agreement to bail out debt-stricken Ireland. But EU officials said they have "intensified" preparations for potential support for the country's troubled banking sector.

Concerns that Ireland will be unable to pay the cost of rescuing its banks — which ran into trouble when the country's real estate boom collapsed — has worsened Europe's government debt crisis. Markets have pushed up borrowing costs for other vulnerable nations such as Portugal and Spain and threatened to destabilize the common euro currency.

There was speculation that Ireland's government itself might be forced to take a bailout like the one that saved Greece from defaulting on its bonds in May. A 750 billion euros backstop stands ready from other countries that use the euro.

But the government in Dublin says it doesn't need one, although there has been discussion of help for its banks.

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LONDON — World markets dived as investors waited to see if Ireland will end up requesting a financial lifeline from its partners in the eurozone. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed down 2.4 percent, Germany's DAX fell 1.9 percent and the CAC-40 in France ended 2.6 percent lower.

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SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea raised its key interest rate for the second time in four months as higher inflation forces Asian central banks to increase borrowing costs. It also adopted a more aggressive stance, suggesting that interest rates will continue to rise after two years of super-low borrowing costs.

South Korea's Kospi closed down 0.8 percent. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average lost 0.3 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 1.4 percent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3 percent.

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BEIJING — China's government is trying to cool double-digit food price rises by releasing stockpiled pork and sugar to boost supplies in markets.

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WASHINGTON — China, the biggest buyer of U.S. Treasury securities, boosted its holdings for the third straight month, the Treasury Department reported Tuesday.

China's holdings of Treasury debt rose to $883.5 billion in September, the Treasury Department said in a report. That's a 1.7 percent increase from August. For much of this year, China has been increasing its holdings of Treasury debt.

The report shows that China and other countries still have a robust appetite for Treasury debt even as the U.S. government is running annual budget deficits topping $1 trillion. Overall, foreign governments increased their purchases of Treasury securities by $39.5 billion in September, a record high. A sustained drop in foreign demand for Treasury debt could lead to higher U.S. interest rates, slowing the economy.

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BEIJING — Foreign investment in China accelerated for a second month in October despite slowing growth, government figures showed.

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PARIS — Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou insists his country won't default on its 298 billion euros ($406 billion) in debt because doing so would be a "catastrophe" for Greece, Europe and the euro.

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VIENNA — Austria is balking at paying its share of Greece's financial bailout.

Finance Minister Josef Proell says that the December tranche of Austria's contribution — 190 million euros ($258 million)_ will only be paid out if Greece can show that it has raised the amount of money it pledged to take in through taxes.

If Austria balks, and other countries follow suit, the Greek bailout package could unravel. Athens is receiving 110 billion euros ($150 billion) in rescue loans from the International Monetary Fund and other eurozone countries.

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MADRID — Spain has had to pay increased interest rates to raise nearly 5 billion euros ($6.81 billion) in a sale of 12- and 18-month bills as investors remained uncertain over whether the country will be affected by debt crises in Ireland and Portugal.

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BERLIN — German investor confidence has recovered slightly after a steady six-month slide, thanks to optimism about the ongoing recovery in Europe's biggest economy and elsewhere, according to a survey.

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LONDON — Britain's stubbornly high consumer inflation rate rose to 3.2 percent in October from 3.1 percent in September, driven by higher prices for motor fuel, financial services and games, toys and hobbies.

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TOKYO — Japanese lawmakers approved funding for a new $61 billion stimulus package, seeking to keep Japan's fragile economic recovery alive.

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentina's desire to pay what it owes to the Paris Club nations next year sends a good signal to foreign investors and should facilitate the country's re-entry into global credit markets a decade after its world-record $95 billion default, analysts said.

But President Cristina Fernandez still has some work to do before Argentina will be able to borrow at competitive interest rates.

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NICOSIA, Cyprus — International credit ratings agency Standard and Poor's downgraded Cyprus' long-term sovereign credit rating from A plus to A with a negative outlook amid concerns over its financial system's exposure to debt-ridden Greece.

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

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DUBLIN — Shares in Ireland's banks hit record lows and national borrowing costs reached new euro-era highs as the government prepared to discuss its fiscal survival plans with the European Union's economic commissioner.

Investors are shunning Ireland's government and bank debt in expectation that the country will eventually require a bailout by the EU and International Monetary Fund, as happened to Greece in May.

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BERLIN — European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet says he has seen nothing to suggest the U.S. Federal Reserve's move to pump money into the American financial system was meant to weaken the dollar.

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BEIJING — The U.S. Federal Reserve's move to pump hundreds of billions of dollars into the financial system will bring greater volatility to markets worldwide, a Chinese official says.

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MUMBAI, India — Indian and U.S. companies have discussed or signed over $14.9 billion in deals during President Obama's trip, which will support 53,670 U.S. jobs, the White House says. The numbers are a testament to India's growing importance as a global market and reflect Obama's pitch to boost trade as a way of creating jobs back home.

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LONDON — European stocks slipped as investors took a breather following last week's big gains. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed down 0.4 percent while Germany's DAX and the CAC-40 in France both fell less than 0.1 percent.

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TOKYO — Asian shares mostly traded higher. Japan's Nikkei closed up 1.1 percent, South Korea's Kospi gained 0.2 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.4 percent and the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index in China added 0.9 percent, hitting its highest close since April.

Bucking the trend, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.5 percent.

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BERLIN — German exports surged 22.5 percent in September, suggesting that Europe's largest economy is recovering quickly but still depends largely on foreign demand for its industrial products.

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YOKOHAMA, Japan — Pacific Rim economies debated whether to give APEC the power to negotiate free trade pacts, a move that could pave the way for a massive free trade zone that lowers tariffs on goods from electronics to food.

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RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil's president says he is going to this week's Group of 20 economic meeting in Korea to push for lowering trade barriers and ending what he calls a "currency war."

Brazil's leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says the global economy has not recovered from the crisis that began in 2008.

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ATHENS, Greece — More than six months after they started a painful austerity program, Greece's governing Socialists won a narrow lead in local polls. It was enough to drive off the specter of an early general election and protracted instability that had appalled voters and markets alike.

Markets appeared relieved at the result and the debt-ridden country's cost of borrowing dipped by about 0.7 percentage points. Borrowing costs had earlier soared on Prime Minister George Papandreou's threat to dissolve Parliament in the case of a heavy defeat.

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LONDON — British Prime Minister David Cameron was leading his country's largest ever delegation to China, hoping to win trade and woo a powerful potential ally as London seeks to cultivate ties beyond Washington and Europe.

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SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea and the United States began talks aimed at addressing demands by Washington that Seoul increase market access for American vehicles and beef so a stalled free trade agreement they struck more than three years ago can be submitted to Congress.

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

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LONDON — Better than expected U.S. jobs data supported stocks Friday following massive gains a day earlier in the wake of the Federal Reserve's decision to pump $600 billion in newly created money into the economy. The dollar surged after the forecast-busting jobs figures.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed up 12.56 points, or 0.2 percent, at 5,875.35, its highest close since June 2008. Germany's DAX also ended at its highest levels since then, after rising 19.51 points, or 0.3 percent, at 6,754.20. The CAC-40 in France was more or less unchanged at 3,916.73.

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TOKYO — In Asian trading, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index soared 2.9 percent, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 1.2 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 1.4 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.4 percent.

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SEOUL, South Korea — Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker says the U.S. central bank's plan to buy hundreds of billions of dollars in government bonds probably won't do much to boost the economic recovery.

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LONDON — Retail sales in the 16 countries that use the euro fell by a monthly rate of 0.2 percent for the second month running in September.

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BERLIN — German industrial orders unexpectedly dropped 4 percent during September, led by a slide in demand from other eurozone countries. But the fall appeared to be a blip in an otherwise positive trend.

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BEIJING — China, Germany and Brazil warned that the Federal Reserve's move to inject money into the U.S. economy might harm the rest of the world, though Beijing said the tactic was understandable because of the slow recovery.

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BERLIN — Germany's finance minister has sharply criticized the U.S. Federal Reserve's move to create new money and pump billions more into the financial system, arguing that it creates more problems for other countries.

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TOKYO — Japan's central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged at near zero and said it will start buying government bonds next week under a previously announced plan to help foster an economic recovery.

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KYOTO, Japan — U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, meeting with counterparts from around the world this weekend, faces a tough task selling his formula for mending fissures in the global economy as nations seek ways to avoid another downturn.

The two-day gathering of finance ministers from the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, follows a Group of 20 meeting last month in South Korea, where finance heads and central bankers vowed to avoid using their currencies as trade weapons.

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MADRID — Spain's economic activity was static during the third quarter, proof that the slow recovery over the previous six months is losing momentum, the central bank said.

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LONDON — Part-nationalized Royal Bank of Scotland said it cut losses by 36 percent in the third quarter as it booked fewer charges for bad loans.

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

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BERLIN — The European Central Bank stood its ground and refused to be swayed by the Federal Reserve's decision to launch a bond-buying program to create new dollars and shore up the U.S. economic recovery.

The ECB, as expected, left its benchmark refinancing rate at a record-low 1 percent for the 18th straight month and appeared to remain on track to unwinding its own post-crisis programs even though unemployment across the 16 countries that use the euro is 10.1 percent — higher than the rate in the U.S.

High unemployment and tepid growth are reasons the Fed has decided to ease monetary policy further. While the Fed is pumping more money into the U.S. economy partly to get growth higher and unemployment heading downwards, the ECB is pursuing a seemingly opposite path.

In European trading, the central banks' stances helped buoy stocks and the euro. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares rose 1.9 percent, Germany's DAX gained 1.8 percent and the CAC-40 in France was 1.7 percent higher.

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TOKYO — Asian shares also rose. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index jumped 2.2 percent, Korea's Kospi rose 0.3 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 1.6 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index closed up 1.9 percent at a seven-month high and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5 percent.

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BEIJING — Unrestrained printing of dollars could spark a new global crisis, an adviser to China's central bank warned as countries braced for a flood of new capital following the Federal Reserve's decision to inject more money into the U.S. economy.

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TOKYO — World leaders head to back-to-back economic summits in Asia next week, but regional political tensions — some spawned by China's growing assertiveness — could undermine attempts to project unity amid a faltering global economic recovery.

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LONDON — The Bank of England held interest rates steady at a record low of 0.5 percent for the 20th consecutive month as the British economy shows signs of unexpected strength.

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MUMBAI, India — Shares in state-run Coal India, the world's largest coal mining company, closed up 39.7 percent on their first day of trading, a sign of robust investor interest that bodes well for the government's plan to raise $9 billion from asset sales.

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BERLIN — The German government says its tax income is expected to come in euro15.2 billion ($21.3 billion) higher than previously expected this year as the economy recovers.

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ATHENS, Greece — Greek riot police used tear gas and flash grenades to disperse hundreds of firefighters protesting outside parliament amid the country's acute financial crisis.

The central Athens clashes marked the latest protest staged by public servants on short-term contracts who now face redundancy as the government struggles to slash spending and improve public finances.

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DUBLIN — Ireland's finances came under intensifying pressure as the government — fighting to keep its majority and avoid an election — prepared to unveil a 2011 budget-cut figure billed as the biggest in Irish history.

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MADRID — Spain says it raised euro3.39 billion ($4.75 billion) in a 5-year bond auction but interest rates were up considerably since the last auction, indicating investors are still worried about the country's ability to handle its debt.

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OSLO, Norway — The Norwegian central bank says the country's vast oil fund achieved a 7.2 percent return on investments in the third quarter, following gains in global stock and bond markets.

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LONDON — Average house prices in Britain are on a downward trend despite a 1.8 percent rise in October, the country's biggest mortgage lender said.

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WASHINGTON – Global stock markets staged an explosive rally Thursday, embracing a move by the Federal Reserve to try to rejuvenate the U.S. economy by buying $600 billion in Treasury bonds.

The Dow Jones industrial average reached its highest point in more than two years, and stocks surged from Tokyo to London.

Elsewhere around the world, economic dominoes began to fall: The dollar sank. Oil prices surged. And Asian countries raised fears that their currencies would rise relative to the dollar, making their exports more expensive.

And some fretted about the prospect of financial instability in Asia and other regions. But stock investors, at least, celebrated the Fed's move.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the bond purchases would drive down interest rates on mortgages and other borrowing. That could get individuals and businesses to borrow and spend and aid a U.S. economy stuck with 9.6 percent unemployment.

Two developments, in particular, seemed to cheer investors: In announcing its $600 billion bond-buying program, the Fed left the door open to further action later. And in an opinion piece published Thursday, Bernanke envisioned higher stock prices as part of "a virtuous circle." He defined it this way:

Lower interest rates on loans will encourage companies to borrow and expand. Cheaper mortgages will let more people buy or refinance. Higher stock prices will boost the wealth and confidence of both individuals and businesses. Spending will rise, lifting incomes, profits and economic growth.

"A light bulb has gone on" in investors' heads, said Brian Bethune, chief U.S. financial economist at IHS Global Insight. "They're thinking: 'Maybe this will work.'"

The response to the bond-purchase program, dubbed "QE2" because it's the second round of what's called "quantitative easing," was powerful. It cut across all corners of global financial markets:

? Stocks jumped 2 percent in London, 1.9 percent in Paris, 1.6 percent in Hong Kong, 2.2 percent in Tokyo. The Dow Jones industrial average hit its highest level since August 2008, rising nearly 220 points to 11,434. Lower interest rates could spur economic growth and also make stocks more attractive compared with Treasury bonds with puny yields. In India, stocks hit a record.

? The dollar sank to a nine-month low against the euro and fell against the Japanese yen and the British pound. The Fed's bond purchases flood financial markets with dollars, diluting the dollar's value against other currencies.

? Oil prices jumped $1.73 to $86 a barrel. Foreign buyers were attracted to oil because it's priced in dollars. Demand for oil tends to rise when the dollar's value falls, because it becomes a bargain for buyers using other currencies.

? Gold prices hit a record high on fears the Fed's move will unleash inflation. Investors often seek sanctuary in gold, a tangible asset, when they fear that rising prices will erode the value of money.

? China and other countries warned that the Fed risks destabilizing the global economy by printing more dollars, the currency of international commerce. "So long as the world shows no restraint in issuing reserve currencies such as the dollar ... the outcome will be what knowledgeable Westerners dread: Yet another crisis is inevitable," Xia Bin, an adviser to the People's Bank of China, wrote in a commentary.

? Developing countries in Asia complained the money generated by the Fed purchases will join a flood of cash already pouring into the region in search of better returns. That money is pushing up their currencies and hurting their exporters. They also fear that a flood of new dollars will fan inflation, cause price bubbles in stocks and other assets and destabilize their financial systems.

As the Fed's new program drives down yields on U.S. Treasury bonds, many investors will shift money to other countries or riskier investments, such as stocks, that offer better returns.

Rising asset prices can be rewarding, at least in the short run. But over time, they raise the danger that speculators will drive prices of stocks, real estate or other assets so high that a crash, like the U.S. housing bust, becomes inevitable.

That fear is growing in Asia and elsewhere.

"These countries say, 'We cannot even absorb our own savings,'" says Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at the investment firm Brown Brothers Harriman. "Now we've got to handle the world's savings?"

They also worry that the "hot money" flooding into their economies will vanish once global investors find another fad to sink their money into. That would burst any bubbles in stocks or other assets, just as in the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

In the United States, stocks have been rallying since late August, when Bernanke announced in a speech in Jackson Hole, Wyo., that the Fed was prepared to do more to spur economic growth if necessary.

Fed leaders think Wednesday's action will be the equivalent of a three-quarter-point reduction in the Fed's benchmark interest rate. In normal times, cutting that benchmark rate by three-quarters of a percentage point could give the economy a healthy jolt. But that option is unavailable now because the Fed has already pushed that rate near zero.

Even if the Fed succeeds in reducing long-term interest rates, that doesn't mean banks will automatically ramp up lending.

Mortgage rates have already touched a record low without reviving the housing market. Banks have tightened lending standards, so fewer people qualify for loans. Even consumers who do qualify are reluctant to take on more debt. And businesses are reluctant to borrow to hire and expand until they're confident the economy will pick up.

In making the $600 billion in bond purchases, the Fed essentially prints money. It doesn't increase the debt the Treasury Department sells. Rather, the purchases expand the pool of buyers for that debt by adding the Fed to the mix.

Mindful of the weak U.S. economy and high unemployment, some want the Fed to do more, not less.

Joseph Gagnon, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a former Fed official, was unimpressed by Wednesday's announcement: "This is a small step in the right direction," he says. "But I view it as timid."

He would like to see the Fed buy twice the $75 billion in bonds that it plans to buy each month. He also suggests the Fed stop paying interest on money that banks have parked with the Fed. That might force them to step up lending.

The Fed made a big impact the first time it announced quantitative easing, in March 2009. Its purchase of $1.7 trillion in government bonds and mortgage securities calmed markets still jittery after the financial crisis of 2008. It sent the Dow soaring 16 percent over the next seven weeks. And the recession ended that June, economists say.

Among those who worry about the risk of inflation or speculative bubbles is Thomas Hoenig, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Hoenig dissented from the Fed's latest move for those reasons.

Bernanke discounts such fears. In his opinion piece Thursday, he expressed confidence that the Fed has the tools to soak up the extra money when the time comes, without harming the economy.

"We have made all necessary preparations, and we are confident that we have the tools to unwind these policies at the appropriate time," Bernanke said in the article published in The Washington Post.

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AP Business Writers Jeannine Aversa and Martin Crutsinger in Washington, Joe McDonald in Beijing and Sandy Shore in Denver contributed to this report.

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

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PARIS — The economic recovery has lost momentum since earlier this year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said, cutting its forecasts for growth in developed countries next year.

The Paris-based organization, a watchdog for 33 of the world's most developed economies, also warned that the global economic crisis has brought "public deficits and debt to unsustainable levels."

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SEOUL, South Korea — Group of 20 leaders know they must achieve "concrete agreements" including goals for reducing current account and trade gaps at next week's summit or risk having their leadership of the world economy called into question, South Korea's president says.

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BEIJING — China's rapid growth is easing to a manageable pace and Beijing can do more to reconfigure its economy to promote domestic consumption and reduce reliance on trade, the World Bank said as it raised its 2010 growth forecast for the country.

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LONDON — In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 closed down 0.2 percent, France's CAC-40 fell 0.6 percent and Germany's DAX dropped 0.6 percent.

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BEIJING — In China, shares fell amid renewed signs that authorities may take further action to curb inflation. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5 percent.

Elsewhere, Asian trading mostly rose. Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 2 percent, South Korea's Kospi rose 1 percent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.5 percent. Indexes in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines were also higher while Taiwan and Indonesia fell. Markets in Japan were closed for a public holiday.

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LISBON, Portugal — Portuguese lawmakers approved the minority government's contested austerity plan, bringing the country into line with other debt-laden eurozone nations aiming to restore market confidence in their economies.

Portugal, like Greece, Ireland and Spain, must deal with a high debt load and anemic growth. The countries' precarious financial situations have worried international investors and threatened the stability of the 16-nation euro currency.

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SHANGHAI — China Construction Bank, the country's second-biggest lender, plans to raise 61.6 billion yuan ($9.2 billion) from a share sale in Shanghai and Hong Kong to help fortify its capital base following a lending boom.

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SYDNEY — Westpac Banking Corp., one of Australia's "big four" banks, reported an 84 percent jump in annual profit as bad debt charges fell.

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LONDON — Iceland's central bank cut its key interest rate to 5.5 percent from 6.25 percent as inflation threats eased.

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MADRID — Spain's Labor Ministry says the number of people filing claims for unemployment benefits rose for a third straight month in October, by about 68,000.

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

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TOKYO — Japan's factories made fewer goods in September as makers of cars and electronic devices cut production while consumer prices fell for the 19th month, underscoring that the economic recovery is losing steam.

The Nikkei 225 stock average closed down 1.8 percent. The yen circled just below a post-World War II record high of 79.75 yen set in 1995. A stronger yen hurts Japan's exporters.

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi lost 1.3 percent, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5 percent, China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.5 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.5 percent. Shares in India, Taiwan and Indonesia also declined while Singapore and Malaysia gained.

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PARIS — French workers ended their strikes at all oil refineries and at strategic fuel terminals following weeks of protests over President Nicolas Sarkozy's plan to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, unions and French officials said.

The decisions bring to a close a series of walkouts that left motorists without gas and threatened to cripple the fuel-needy industrial sector.

The protest movement has been losing steam since parliament this week approved the plan to reform France's pension plan in order to keep it solvent.

Sarkozy refused to back down despite strikes and protests that canceled trains, shut down refineries and fuel depots and blocked some schools.

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LONDON — European shares traded in tight ranges. Britain's FTSE 100 index dipped less than 1 percent, France's CAC-40 was almost unchanged while Germany's DAX gained 0.1 percent.

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BRUSSELS — European leaders' decision to create a permanent financial backstop for future eurozone crises — but without spelling out who pays — looks set to trigger a power struggle among governments in the months to come.

The deal that emerged from a two-day summit of EU leaders in Brussels is vague on how private creditors such as banks and hedge funds — and not just taxpayers — would share the cost of financial rescues such as the one that pulled Greece from the edge of bankruptcy in May.

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TOKYO — Three of the world's biggest names in electronics — Samsung, Sony and Panasonic — are bracing for weaker global demand and a rocky road ahead, even as they reported stellar quarterly profits.

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LONDON — Inflation and unemployment across the 16-country eurozone are on the rise, confirming that the region's economic recovery remains fragile and unbalanced.

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BERLIN — German retail sales fell 2.3 percent during September, indicating that the country is still struggling to get domestic demand into higher gear.

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BEIJING — Bank of China Ltd. confirmed it will raise up to 60 billion yuan ($8.9 billion) on stock markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai to replenish capital following last year's lending boom.

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NEW DELHI — ICICI Bank, India's largest private lender, said quarterly profit rose 18.8 percent as it cut costs and reduced bad loans.

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HANOI, Vietnam — Intel Corp. inaugurated its largest chip assembly and testing factory, part of a $1 billion investment in Vietnam that the company says will create several thousand skilled manufacturing jobs.

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TOKYO — Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest brokerage, suffered a 96 percent plunge in quarterly profit as weak global stock markets hit trading revenue.

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SYDNEY — Macquarie Group Ltd., Australia's largest investment bank, posted a 16 percent drop in first half profit, blaming higher employment costs and continued weakness in global investment markets.

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DUBLIN — A two-year investigation into hidden loans and losses at Anglo Irish Bank represents the "biggest and most complex" criminal probe in Ireland's history, the justice minister said as he faced questioning over the failure to charge anyone so far.

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VIENNA — Austrian bank Erste Group posted a 16 percent increase in third-quarter profit Friday amid lower risk provisions, even as bad loans in troubled Eastern Europe continue to weigh on the bank's performance.

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MADRID — Spain's unemployment rate fell slightly to 19.8 percent in the third quarter, the first such decline in more than three years.

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