EUROPEAN UNION

The euro zone sovereign debt crisis has become systemic and risks to the economy are increasing rapidly with Europe's banks in the danger zone, European Systemic Risk Board Chairman Jean-Claude Trichet said on Tuesday.

European shares fell on Tuesday, while the euro took a breather from a rally against the dollar with investors focused on Slovakia's parliamentary vote to ratify an expansion of the euro zone's rescue fund.

The fate of Youcef Nadarkhani, the Iranian pastor sentenced to death for refusing to convert to Islam, now belongs to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Stocks rallied on Monday as investor sentiment was buoyed by a pledge by German and French leaders to tackle the euro zone debt crisis.

Global markets are ecstatic on Monday over the promise of Germany and France to announce a bailout plan to address the European debt crisis by month's end.

The leaders of Germany and France have promised to unveil new measures to solve the euro zone's debt crisis by the end of the month, as international pressure builds for bold steps from Europe to avert an economic backlash of global proportions. But they declined to reveal any details.

The leaders of Germany and France have promised to unveil new measures to solve the euro zone's debt crisis by the end of the month, as international pressure builds for bold steps from Europe to avert an economic backlash of global proportions.

The euro rose on Monday after German and French leaders promised to announce fresh steps to tackle the euro zone debt crisis by the end of the month, but the lack of details kept government bonds supported and world stocks gave up brief early gains.

The Microsoft Corp. has finalized its acquisition of communications company Skype. The European Union approved the plan this week, and Microsoft is hoping there will be no more delays in the process.

Poles are voting in a parliamentary election Sunday, likely to give the ruling center-right Civic Platform four more years in power to press on with gradual economic reforms and closer ties with the EU.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will thrash out differences with French President Nicolas Sarkozy Sunday over how to use the Eurozone's financial firepower to counter a sovereign debt crisis threatening the global economy.

There is general agreement that European banks will need fresh capital well in excess of 100 billion euros ($133.8 billion) and it will likely come from a variety of sources, including the euro zone rescue fund, Ireland's finance minister said on Saturday.

California's burgeoning olive oil producers are counting on a newly enacted state labeling law to persuade more consumers that American brands are more virginal than their imported rivals.

Declaring women's rights vital for world peace, the Nobel Committee awarded its annual Peace Prize on Friday to three indomitable female campaigners against war and oppression -- a Yemeni and two Liberians, including that country's president.

Wall Street clearly cares about the European debt crisis and Friday's session reaffirmed it.

Despite the largely encouraging news coming out of the Eurozone this week, the European Debt Crisis is far from over.

U.S. stocks turned negative as investors reassessed Friday's Bureau of Labor Statics (BLS) non-farm payroll (NFP) jobs report and digested a pair of downgrades from Fitch Ratings.

Eurozone authorities are discussing ways to recapitalize European banks and the ECB announced on Thursday that it will reintroduce year-long loans to banks. These measures, however, are band-aid solutions that don't address the core issue of the European debt crisis.

European stocks rose on Friday and the euro clung to gains from a 2-cent rally after euro zone policymakers moved to shore up struggling banks and fend off a financial crisis, while markets positioned for U.S. employment data due later.

The euro has rallied over 100 pips against the U.S. dollar since the beginning of the New York session. Before the U.S. opening, the European Central Bank (ECB) re-introduced two liquidity measures to support the European financial system: one-year loans and 40 billion euros worth of covered bond purchases.

Heading into Thursday’s European Central Bank (ECB) policy meeting, some investors and analysts expected a rate cut.