AFP - Europe's main stock markets advanced on Friday, with London boosted by British state-rescued bank Lloyds' forecast of a return to profit in 2010 after two years of losses.

AP - The European Union's finance executive called Friday for banks to pay into a fund that could be drawn upon in case of collapse, an effort to shield taxpayers from the fallout of future crises.

AFP - Greece warned Thursday it could turn to the IMF for help unless European leaders offered financial aid next week, as doubts over plans to rescue Athens from its debt crisis rocked the euro.

AFP - FTSE 100 shares ended in the red at the close of trade on Thursday as investors took profits and digested economic data including a larger-than-expected eurozone trade deficit.

AP - Greek unemployment rose to 10.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, the country's statistics agency said Thursday — the highest since 2005 and the largest jump in 11 years.

AP - World stock markets fell Thursday and the euro weakened on concerns the European Union will not agree to give Greece concrete financial support, leaving it to potentially seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund.

AFP - Leading shares dipped at the open on Thursday as profit-takers moved to cash in on the previous day's gains.

AP - As Greece wins at least temporary respite from its debt troubles, will Italy be the next to face a crisis?

AP - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday there should in future be a mechanism to expel countries from the eurozone as a last resort if they persistently break its financial rules.

AP - Police have arrested five people in the kidnapping of a 5-year-old British boy in Pakistan and recovered more than 100,000 pounds ($150,000) in ransom money, authorities said Wednesday.

AFP - Greece warned on Wednesday it might have to seek help from the International Monetary Fund if the European Union does not do more to help it out of a debt crisis.

AP - OPEC oil ministers on Wednesday opted to keep their output targets unchanged in a bid to keep prices at present levels and send a message of stability to energy-hungry economies struggling to emerge from recession.

AFP - The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday lent its support to calls by the United States for China to allow its "much undervalued" currency to rise, amid EU complaints of protectionism.

AP - The European Union's executive told Britain on Wednesday to speed up its deficit cuts, warning that the government is too optimistic about economic growth — a warning Britain says it will ignore.