Germany, France and Italy said on Tuesday they had agreed to join a new China-led Asian investment bank after close ally Britain defied U.S. pressure to become a founder member of a venture seen in Washington as a rival to the World Bank.
Europe
Global stocks and bonds roar Fed approval, dollar fights back
World shares rose back towards all-time highs and a slump then jump in the dollar triggered wild moves in currency markets on Thursday, as investors priced in a later start and a slower pace for future U.S. rate rises.
Angry Birds maker Rovio says profit fell 73 percent in 2014
Mobile games maker Rovio reported its operating profit fell 73 percent last year due to a drop in its licensing business, a latest sign its breakthrough Angry Birds brand is losing its appeal.
U.S. urges allies to think twice before joining China-led bank
The United States has urged countries to think twice before signing up to a new China-led Asian development bank that Washington sees as a rival to the World Bank, after Germany, France and Italy followed Britain in saying they would join.
Germany will do all it can to avoid 'Grexident': govt official
Germany will do all it can to avoid Greece stumbling out of the euro zone, a senior government official said on Wednesday ahead of a meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels.
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The euro and world shares gained on Tuesday as the dollar steadied before a two-day meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, where the Fed may edge closer to its first interest rate rise in almost a decade.
German stocks surged to a record high on Monday as investors shrugged off a bounce by the euro and focussed on the expected boost to corporate earnings from the currency's recent slump, which saw it touch a 12-year low earlier in the day.
Activist Elliott Advisors, the largest individual shareholder in Alliance Trust PLC (ATST.L), is seeking support from fellow investors for a boardroom reshuffle following a phase of unsatisfactory engagement with executives over poor performance.
Greece's liquidity problems are "insignificant", the country's finance minister said on German television on Sunday, pledging that the Greek government would take all steps necessary to repay its debts.
Thousands of people are expected to march in Frankfurt on Wednesday to protest against austerity policies they blame on the European Central Bank, as the ECB inaugurates its new high-rise headquarters.
Subdued growth prospects at home are pushing mid-sized Spanish banks into foreign acquisitions that would have been impossible a few years ago as they struggled under the weight of bad loans.
Once depicted as a "Blue Banana" stretching from Manchester to Milan, Europe's industrial heartland has moved eastwards just as its political center of gravity has shifted to Germany.
Luxembourg's Griffin Real Estate and U.S. investment fund Pimco have agreed to buy Polish billionaire Michal Solowow's 41.55-percent stake in business space developer Echo Investment, the Polish company said late on Friday.
British finance minister George Osborne will allow pensioners to cash in annuities in exchange for lump sums in his annual budget next week, British newspapers reported, in a move designed to woo voters before a May national election.
