Investors
China's big five banks rise on draft deposit insurance rules
Mainland listed shares in China's big five banks jumped on Monday but later pared gains, after the country issued draft regulations to introduce a bank deposit insurance scheme for the first time.
Commerzbank CEO sees mergers among smaller German banks
The chief executive of Commerzbank is predicting a wave of mergers among Germany's cooperative and savings banks. Martin Blessing, who heads Germany's second biggest bank, noted that there were still almost 2,000 banks in Germany, in contrast to about 20 in Spain.
As energy shares tumble, opportunity lurks
Shale stocks have been hard-hit as investors see margins all but evaporating following the slide in crude oil prices, but the U.S. shale energy boom is not over.
Banking tricks blunt China's drive to increase lending
China hopes that last week's interest rate cut will increase lending into the economy to shore up flagging growth, but measuring any rise will be impeded by a number of tricks the country's bankers use to manipulate the figures.