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European markets fell Thursday as investors remained watchful ahead of a meeting of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt where the bank will take a decision on interest rates.

Oil prices remained near $87 a barrel during Asian trading hours Thursday as investors were awaiting the key monetary decisions from the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England.

Asian markets fell Thursday with the revival of investor concerns about the euro zone?s debt crisis intensifying and the economic downturn deepening.

Former Barclays boss Bob Diamond testified Wednesday before the British Parliament's Treasury Select Committee denying that anyone in the British government instructed the bank to manipulate the rate that determines the cost of trillions of dollars worth of loans and derivatives traded worldwide every day.

Asian stock markets mostly advanced Wednesday on hopes that major central banks around the world would act to tackle the deteriorating global economic conditions.

The British Parliament, might not be the place one would expect to see fireworks lit on July 4. But that's what's likely to happen Wednesday, when the former CEO of Barclays plc (NYSE:BCS), who resigned Tuesday, is expected to tell the House of Commons its fraud was partly done at the bequest of the Bank of England.

Following the revelation last week that British banking giant Barclays was engaging in massive fraud meant to distort the Libor, the interest rate underpinning hundreds of trillions of dollars in credit transactions, politicians and regulators the world over are taking a sober look at the system. What they find may prove to be shocking.

The Bank of England (BoE) is cracking down on large financial institutions to prevent them from cheating businesses and consumers worldwide -- a practice that has put a $360 trillion global financial market at serious risk for several years.

The evolving scandal, according to King, illustrated the need to separate the retail from invest banking.

Advanced readings for German flash PMI came in at 44.7 versus a consensus of 45.2 while the euro zone services came in slightly better than expected at 46.8 versus 46.4

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday extended its monetary stimulus to a U.S. economic recovery that looks at risk of stalling, renewing its effort to depress borrowing costs by selling short-term bonds to buy longer-dated ones.

Markets are fretting over the outcome of Sunday's Greek vote -- with the anti-bailout Syriza party polling neck and neck with rival New Democracy -- and policymakers seem spellbound by the prospect of a breakup of the euro zone.

Britain's goods trade deficit unexpectedly widened in April as exports plunged, raising the threat of a third quarter of economic contraction and adding urgency to new measures to foster growth as trading partners in the euro zone weaken.

The major powers' central banks have prepared measures to head off disaster in the financial markets after Sunday's Greek election by providing liquidity and preventing a credit squeeze, G20 officials say.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose Wednesday but maintained a cautious tone as investors have concerns of the persisting debt crisis looming over the euro zone.

However, it remains far from certain that the Scottish public even wants independence.

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European consumers are tightening the purse strings as their confidence in the region's economy continues to fade amid concern that the recession may worsen.

Cameron?s statements came on the heels of similar warnings by Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King that the euro zone?s failure to get a grip on the debt crisis poses the biggest threat to Britain?s economic recovery.

The growing possibilities of an imminent Greek exit from the single currency bloc could drive up the value of safe-haven currencies such as the U.S. dollar and the British pound, while hurting a number of emerging Asian currencies that are sensitive to investors' risk appetite.

Signs that a Greek departure from the euro zone has become inevitable proliferated worldwide Wednesday with Hong Kong's main stock index plunging more than 3 percent, bank runs in Athens and Britain's central bank finalizing contingency plans for a euro zone breakup.

Tens of thousands of Spaniards protesting against the economic crisis and the austerity measures marched on the streets of different cities in the country Saturday to mark the first anniversary of the Indignados movement that ignited similar protests worldwide.

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of several Spanish cities late Saturday in what is described as a massive social movement against the economic atrocities the nation is coerced into.

Arrests of Occupy London demonstrators were made by City of London police at a protest outside the Bank of England on Saturday, but representatives of the two sides gave BBC News conflicting reports on the number of them.

The British manufacturing sector is approaching negative growth thanks largely to a decline in exports to the troubled eurozone, according to a monthly benchmark index that gauges industrial health released Tuesday.The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector fell to 50.5 in April, down from 51.9 in March. The report also showed the sharpest decline in new export orders since March 2009.

The United Kingdom, Europe's third-largest economy, fell into recession in the first quarter when its gross domestic product fell 0.2 percent, a contraction that followed the fourth-quarter's 0.3 percent decline.

US stock index futures pointed to a lower opening Wednesday after posting strong gains in the previous session.

Global stocks ended mixed Thursday as solid jobs data and better-than-expected results from retailers failed to offset revived concerns about the euro zone’s fiscal stability.

The Bank of England held back from giving Britain's fragile recovery an extra boost on Thursday, as the economy appears to have avoided falling into recession despite a shock drop in manufacturing output in the first months of 2012.