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US financial stocks suffered their worst one-day decline since 2000, as investors' recent optimism was dented by renewed fears over the health of Washington Mutual and weak US housing data

Samsung Electronics reported a 51 per cent rise in quarterly net profit as brisk sales of its flat panel displays and handsets offset the weak performance of its mainstay chip business

German reinsurer Munich Re issued a profit warning, saying turmoil in global markets would hurt its second-quarter profit and result in a lower than forecast profit for the year

The bid for UK satellite telephone operator Inmarsat was resumed when Harbinger Capital, the US hedge fund, and SkyTerra Communications, a US satellite company, announced their intention to make an offer

Honda Motor reported surprise 8 per cent increase in quarterly net profit after it raised car prices and cut costs, helping it overcome a stronger yen, crumbling US auto market and higher commodity prices

The group said it expected a £35m shortfall in pre-tax profits as problems that had previously been confined to its City Link delivery operation spilled over into other areas of its business.

Wal-Mart, the US retail giant known for fending off organised labour in its home market, has completed collective bargaining agreements with unions in two Chinese cities

Stan Lee, the creator of Spider-Man, has struck a landmark deal with Walt Disney that will see his latest comic creation published online and on digital devices such as iPods in a move that signals the medium's shift to digital distribution

Microsoft predicted continued heavy costs from its attempt to go head-to-head with Google and announced an online search alliance with Facebook

Ford Motor has unveiled an ambitious facelift for its troubled north American operations aimed at shifting its focus from big pick-up trucks and sport-utility vehicles towards smaller, more fuel-efficient passenger cars

The battle for BP's Russian oil joint venture escalated as its beleaguered chief Robert Dudley abruptly left Russia, citing visa doubts and 'sustained harassment'

The German chipmaker said it aimed to save at least ?200m a year, in part by cutting 3,000 jobs, as it beat market expectations with a 97% rise in third-quarter core operating profit

The nationwide investigation into the collapsed auction-rate securities market intensified as Andrew Cuomo, the New York attorney general, filed civil charges against UBS, accusing the Swiss bank of selling the investments while falsely marketing them as safe and liquid

The Swiss bank sounded a cautious note about the outlook as it reported a 62% fall in second-quarter net income, but its investment banking unit escaped further heavy writedowns

NAB was savaged by investors after the Australian lender's surprise admission it would take additional provisions of A$830m against its portfolio of collateralised debt obligations

Growth in mortgage lending has dropped to the lowest annual rate since the launch of the euro, ECB data showed, providing fresh evidence of a substantial economic slowdown under way across the 15-country bloc

The German government welcomed Barack Obama's call for greater transatlantic co-operation, in comments reflecting the largely positive reaction in Germany to the US Democratic presidential candidate's visit

The battle for BP's Russian oil joint venture escalated as its beleaguered chief Robert Dudley abruptly left Russia, citing visa doubts and 'sustained harassment'

A swathe of positive economic data that pointed to stronger orders in manufacturing, better-than-expected consumer sentiment and stable new home sales, bucked the trend for the US economy, driving stocks higher

German reinsurer Munich Re issued a profit warning, saying turmoil in global markets would hurt its second-quarter profit and result in a lower than forecast profit for the year

EDF is close to agreeing a takeover of nuclear generator British Energy for more than £11bn (?14bn) in a deal that could be announced as early as next week

The nationwide investigation into the collapsed auction-rate securities market intensified as Andrew Cuomo, the New York attorney general, filed civil charges against UBS, accusing the Swiss bank of selling the investments while falsely marketing them as safe and liquid

The German government welcomed Barack Obama's call for greater transatlantic co-operation, in comments reflecting the largely positive reaction in Germany to the US Democratic presidential candidate's visit

Gordon Brown blamed dissatisfaction with rising food and fuel prices for Labour's by-election humiliation at the hands of the Scottish Nationalists - a defeat that has reignited speculation over his leadership

Inflation in Japan accelerated in June to 1.9 per cent, the fastest pace in 15 years, as surging prices for energy and other commodities forced companies to pass on higher costs to consumers

Growth in mortgage lending has dropped to the lowest annual rate since the launch of the euro, ECB data showed, providing fresh evidence of a substantial economic slowdown under way across the 15-country bloc

Damages award of £22,000 against a former school friend who created a fake profile on the website is likely to send a chill through the global social networking phenomenon

Beijing has issued new restrictions on business visas for the next two months as the government steps up its campaign to keep out unwelcome foreigners at next month's games

Reforms this week aim at deregulating the retail industry, establishing an independent competition authority, and helping companies skirt the 35-hour working week

Sales of previously-owned homes in the US tumbled by 2.6 per cent in June, much more than forecast by economists, spreading more gloom across the damaged US housing industry

The first official sign that consumers are reining in spending to cope with higher living costs and a darkening economic outlook came on Thursday in data showing retail sales growth slowed in June to the weakest annual rate since early 2006

A Canadian fertiliser company is seeking compensation after construction of a $1.4bn fertiliser plant was halted in a case closely followed by foreign investors

Belgrade is to restore full relations with EU states ? scaled back after Kosovan independence ? in the hope of securing diplomatic gains from the arrest of the war-crime suspect

Ten days after he was indicted on a charge of genocide the Sudanese president danced his way back to the scene of his alleged crimes

Laying out their case with e-mails and telephone recordings, US regulators filed charges against Optiver Holding for allegedly manipulating energy futures prices

Conditions in the US economy deteriorated in the month to July 14, the Federal Reserve said, as American consumers and businesses continued to struggle with rising prices, tight credit and slow growth

The US House of Representatives approved a package of legislation designed to breathe fresh life into the ailing US housing market after the White House dropped its opposition to the bill as it sought to ensure quick passage of its rescue plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through Congress

Wall Street stocks bounced back as new data on housing and manufacturing and consumer sentiment came in stronger than expected and investors focused on the positive in another mixed bag of earnings reports

London equities fell further, with financial stocks once more leading the selling after new concern about mortgage-related losses in the US hit Wall Street hard overnight.

Oil prices rose, extending their recovery for a second session, while gains for gold prices helped lend a firmer tone to other precious metals

European shares turned around in late afternoon trade on Friday as oil, drugs and auto stocks offset losses in the financial sector, leaving the main indices a little higher on the week

The dollar eased on Friday as weakness in US financial stocks and rising oil prices took the steam out of its recent rally.

Asia-Pacific shares fell for the first time this week on fresh worries about falling profits and deeper credit-related losses, with banks, carmakers and consumer electronics companies bearing the brunt of the decline

Hong Kong's first exchange-traded fund to track the price of gold has been launched to take advantage of interest in the precious metal as its price remains close to record highs and investors in Asia look for ways to hedge against inflation

Wal-Mart has sold Y100bn ($929m) of Samurai bonds, in the largest issue by a non-financial company this year, adding to the increasing number of foreign companies tapping the Japanese market's large pool of yield-hungry investors

Indian companies are increasingly turning to London to raise money for expansion amid signs that one of the world's biggest developing economies is shrugging off growing threats from inflation and slowing global growth

Shares in New Zealand climbed 2.7% to 3,287.23, its highest level since June 26, after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut rates by 25 basis points, surprising many analysts

The number of companies with weak cash flow and limited access to capital has risen to the highest level in five years as the world economy comes under increasing strain from the deepening financial crisis

A recent IRS ruling should make the sector more alluring to foreign investors, bringing added liquidity

The rise in US mortgage rates has prompted a sharp decline in the number of refinancings according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association

European equity markets were higher on Wednesday as lower oil prices lifted the auto and airline sectors, while banking stocks also rallied

SemGroup, the US physical oil trader, filed for bankruptcy as it acknowledged trading losses of more than $3.2bn in different energy markets after betting this year that crude oil prices would fall

The Continent could play a big role in shaping the new economic order if it could only marshal its forces effectively. The 27-member EU is now the world's biggest economy thanks to enlargement and the euro's strength, says John Thornhill

Those responsible for the mistakes ? management, shareholders and bondholders ? should all bear the consequences, writes Joseph Stiglitz

Publishing ECB minutes will go a long way towards enhancing accountability and transparency, write Francesco Giavazzi and Charles Wyplosz

China's role as top supplier, and now a leading buyer, is causing a new economic phenomenon that should be embraced rather than feared, writes Jack Ma

A chancellor who wanted Prudence as a real, not an imaginary, friend would rewrite the fiscal framework, says Chris Giles

It often happens when a big company takes over a small one. The acquirer insists its new subsidiary will be left alone and managers will be free to carry on as before. Then, one day, the long leash becomes a short one, writes John Gapper

Provision of the hard infrastructure has been exemplary, but on the 'soft' side Beijing has been a disappointment, writes Victor Mallet

The need for joint action to develop long-term solutions to our energy problems is now undeniable, writes Mohamed ElBaradei

No other organisations set prices as efficiently or pursue market experiments so single-mindedly, writes Jonathan Guthrie

Not quite every European is in love with the Democratic candidate. The overseas media in the US have always had a difficult time in presidential campaigns, writes Jurek Martin

There is a danger that the macro­economic models now in use in central banks operate like a Maginot line. They have been constructed in the past as part of the war against inflation. They do not provide banks with the right tools to be successful, writes Paul De Grauwe

Regulators claim it is important for market discipline that lenders should be allowed to fail ? but won't let them do so in practice, says Paul Amery

It will be hard to achieve more consumption-driven growth as long as household income continues to decline, write Morris Goldstein and Nicholas Lardy

The effect of the target is to focus attention on the target rather than its purpose. The target is met; the objective is not, writes John Kay

The biggest domestic risk for the eurozone is a full-blown confrontation between monetary policy and wage policy, writes Holger Schmieding

Michael Klein, one of Citigroup's most senior executives, is to leave the US financial services group after 23 years, in a move that underscores the company's transformation under the new chief executive Vikram Pandit

Bank of America further boosted investor sentiment in the US banking sector, posting better-than-expected second-quarter results including a strong performance in investment banking

Shares in UK's biggest mortgage lender dip 6.2% after it reveals that only 8.3% of its investors took up their allocations in its 275p cash call

Citigroup has come under pressure from activist union shareholders who want the financial conglomerate to break itself up

UBS has launched a campaign to hold on to clients of its UK wealth management business after suffering its second mass defection of bankers in two years

Sovereign wealth funds missed an opportunity to expand their foothold in the US financial system when Merrill Lynch last week decided against selling its 49 per cent stake in BlackRock, the fund manager, people familiar with the talks said

Investor fears for the credit risk of eurozone countries with weaker economies has increased sharply this month

Firms ramped up the level of minority investments in Chinese and Indian companies in the first half of the year amid a fall in buy-out opportunities, according to a study

The battered investment bank spoiled investors' appetite for financial stocks and dealt a setback for its chief executive after reporting a $4.6bn loss in the second quarter

JPMorgan Chase provided a relative bright spot for the US financial sector as it reported second-quarter results ahead of Wall Street expectations, despite $2.4bn in new write-downs and credit provisions

Josef Ackermann, Deutsche Bank's chief executive, said the credit crunch was at 'the beginning of the end' as banks and regulators have taken action to deal with the crisis and many businesses were slowly returning to normal

Trading in financial stocks was highly volatile, as the market initially plunged before staging a recovery that gathered steam after the Securities and Exchange Commission announced its review of naked short selling

Lehman Brothers expects to have agreement from rival investment banks and other investors by the fourth quarter to take stakes in a new joint venture with the London Stock Exchange to launch a "dark pool" trading platform

Ben Bernanke called on Congress to consider sweeping changes to financial regulation, including much tighter supervision of investment banks

Swiss regulators have stepped up plans to impose higher capital requirements on UBS and Credit Suisse in the wake of the banks' massive losses in the credit crunch