Business Europe News Headlines

Reuters - The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday and insisted inflation was still its key fear even though risks to growth were taking hold, prompting markets to scrap bets on rates rising again this year.

AFP - The European Commission proposed new measures Thursday for supervising credit rating agencies, which have been blamed for contributing to world financial turmoil.

AFP - The pound briefly rebounded following the weak euro zone survey, before coming back under pressure on concerns about the outlook for the economy.

Reuters - Stocks rebounded on Tuesday, rising more than 2 percent on another sharp slide in oil prices and after Merrill Lynch's latest write-down and share sale hinted at a possible turning point in the credit crisis.

AFP - Britain's economy came closer to a recession on Friday after official data showed it had slowed further during the second quarter as the construction and manufacturing industries weakened.

AFP - The European Commission condemned Bulgaria on Wednesday for its failure to tackle corruption and bad management of EU funds and said it has frozen hundreds of millions of euros in aid money.

AFP - A bid by the European Union to kickstart crucial trade talks with a new-sounding offer on agriculture tariffs fell flat on Monday with Brazil denouncing the proposal as "gimmickry".

AFP - Leading shares closed higher for the third successive day Monday, with Bank of America's results helping Wall Street remain in positive territory, as well as boosting the UK banking sector.

Reuters - The United States, the European Union and emerging economic heavyweights tried again on Tuesday to bridge huge differences and unblock a trade deal aimed at delivering a boost to the world's flagging economy.

AP - Teva Pharmaceutical said Friday it will buy rival generic drugmaker Barr Pharmaceuticals for nearly $7.5 billion in a move that will boost Teva's dominance as the world's biggest generic drugmaker.

AFP - Leading shares closed at a day's high Friday as Wall Street recovered from lows and banks rebounded following an upbeat quarterly report from Citigroup which helped to offset losses in the mining sector.

AFP - The London stock market gained ground in opening deals on Thursday after turbulent trade this week, with a gain of 1.74 percent in early morning deals.

AFP - The London stock market gained ground in opening deals on Thursday after turbulent trade this week, with a gain of 0.50 percent to stand at 5,176.60 points.

AFP - Slovakia, which adopts the euro in six months, is putting its money where its mouth is with a drive to help its long-neglected gypsy minority with the switch to the official EU currency.

AFP - The London stock market firmed in opening deals on Wednesday, after striking a three-year low point the previous day, with a gain of 0.13 percent to stand at 5,178.60 points.

AP - Asian and European stock markets fell sharply Tuesday as investor confidence in the U.S. financial system eroded even further despite a government-backed plan to help beleaguered mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

AFP - Factories and refineries in the 15 nations sharing the euro ratcheted down their production in May amid growing economic headwinds, according to official EU data on Monday.

AFP - International donors have pledged 1.2 billion euros (1.9 billion dollars) to help build Kosovo's battered economy, surpassing their target, the European Commission announced Friday.