Sponsored by BNP Paribas

Stock index futures rose on Wednesday, recovering from earlier losses, after the head of the European Commission said it will present options for joint euro zone bonds, a tool that might help resolve the region's debt crisis.

European shares rose and the euro pared losses on Wednesday after the head of the European Commission said it would soon present options for the introduction of euro area bonds, offering a glimmer of hope for an easing of the sovereign debt crisis.

France's top bank BNP Paribas announced a plan to sell 70 billion euros ($95.7 billion) of risk-weighted assets to help ease mounting investor fears about French bank leverage and funding as its main rivals were hit by ratings downgrades.

European shares turned positive and the euro pared losses on Wednesday after the head of the European Commission said it would soon present options for the introduction of euro area bonds.

Moody's Investors Service cut the credit ratings of France's Credit Agricole SA and Societe Generale on Wednesday, citing their exposure to Greece's debt, a fresh blow to euro area leaders struggling to restore confidence in the region.

Alarm is growing in the United States at Europe's inability to solve its debt crisis and talk of a full-on Greek default is on the rise. Following are the key events and developments on Tuesday.

The euro fell broadly on Tuesday after a report cast doubt on the possibility that China would support Italy by buying its government debt, while an auction of Italian bonds showed Rome paying a high price to borrow from the market.

European shares fell again Tuesday morning, hitting a fresh two-year low for the second straight session as investors worried policymakers had no plan to stem the euro zone debt crisis, which could see Greece default.

European stocks were down 2 percent in late trade on Monday, with French banking shares hit by mounting fears over their exposure to debt-stricken countries, but the lack of a sell-off at the open on Wall Street helped the market trim losses.

Growing fears of a Greek default sent a hurricane through heavily exposed French banks on Monday and hit the euro as investor confidence in the European currency area's ability to surmount a sovereign debt crisis ebbed.

Societe Generale said it would cut costs and sell assets to free up 4 billion euros in fresh capital on Monday, although the surprise move failed to stem a sell-off in French bank shares, driven by fears of a Greek debt default.

U.S. stock index futures fell sharply on Monday as fears of a credit rating downgrade of French banks and the lack of a solution to Greece's debt problem heightened concerns about the euro zone's debt crisis.

Stock index futures fell sharply on Monday as fears of a credit rating downgrade of French banks and the lack of a solution to Greece's debt problem heightened concerns about the euro zone's debt crisis.

Investors in Greek government debt worldwide will tell regulators on Friday whether and how they will participate in a bond swap aimed at giving Athens more time to emerge from a debt crisis, with officials expecting a take-up of about 70 percent.

European shares kept falling Friday, with investors disappointed on U.S. stimulus measures, and banks lower after Goldman Sachs downgraded target prices across the sector.

Anyone expecting Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to outline bold new measures to boost flagging U.S. growth on Thursday is likely to come away disappointed.

Wall Street sees an 80 percent chance the Federal Reserve will intervene in the bond market to lower long-term interest rates, according to a Reuters poll, after a report showed the U.S. jobs crisis deepened in August.

After a long hegemony of Apple’s iPad, while HP is giving up its TouchPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is struggling with a patent issue, Sony and Amazon are betting their tablets will rival the iPad.

Hong Kong shares are poised to post the worst month since the 2008 financial crisis despite a third session of slim gains on Wednesday on the back of oil counters, but thin overall turnover continued to point to a lack of conviction in the rally.

Hong Kong-listed shares of China Construction Bank Corp rose more than 4 percent on Tuesday after Bank of America Corp said it will sell about half of its 10 percent stake in the Chinese lender, providing relief to investors by removing uncertainty surrounding the stake.

Some European financial institutions should have taken bigger losses on their Greek government bond holdings in recent results announcements, the International Accounting Standards Board said in a letter to the EU market regulator, according to the Financial Times.

Hong Kong-listed shares of China Construction Bank Corp, the world's No.2 lender, rose more than 4 percent on Tuesday after news that Bank of America Corp will sell about half of its stake in the Chinese lender.

XCMG Construction Machinery Co Ltd (000425.SZ) is slated to start pre-marketing on September 5 for an up to $1.5 billion planned share listing in Hong Kong, IFR reported on Friday.

This year's heady bout of risk aversion on financial markets has ratcheted up demand for gold, U.S. Treasuries and the Swiss franc to levels that suggest they may no longer be the safe havens they are billed as.

This year's heady bout of risk aversion on financial markets has ratcheted up demand for gold, U.S. Treasuries and the Swiss franc to levels that suggest they may no longer be the safe havens they are claimed to be.

Hurricane Irene could end up closing refineries on the East Coast, which are concentrated in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, in anticipation for the storm's arrival, analysts say. Irene has been putting a beating down on the Bahamas for about two days. Structural damages, blocked roads and power outages have been reported in the southeastern islands.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China <1398.HK> and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd <1288.HK>, the country's top and No.3 lenders, respectively, on Thursday reported record first-half profits on better pricing power for loans and dismissed rising concerns over loans to local governments.

World stocks fell on Wednesday as European investors shuffled positions ahead of a Jackson Hole speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Japanese shares sold off following a Moody's downgrade.

Asian shares fell on Wednesday as a rally fueled by speculation that the Federal Reserve may signal further moves to support the struggling U.S. economy swiftly petered out, while gold rebounded from its sharpest one-day slide in 18 months.