EUROPEAN UNION

European Union leaders have agreed to create a permanent financial safety net from 2013 and the European Central Bank moved to increase its firepower to fight the debt crisis that has rocked the euro zone.

European Union leaders agreed on Thursday to create a permanent financial safety net from 2013 and the European Central Bank moved to increase its firepower to fight the debt crisis that has rocked the euro zone.

The European Central Bank moved to increase its financial firepower to fight the euro zone debt crisis on Thursday, and European Union leaders agreed to change the EU treaty to create a permanent crisis resolution system.

The Asia-Pacific region will continue to be the fastest-growing region of the world in 2011, according to a forecast by IHS Global Insight. However, the report says the region faces significant risks in the backdrop of the fragile state of some of the largest economies in the world, the raging sovereign debt crisis in the European Union and 'deep-seated structural problems facing Japan.

EUR/USD probably freed itself from a falling channel and entered a slightly progressing uptrend, inside which the pair is now poised for a rebound.

Euro area annual inflation was 1.9 percent in November, unchanged compared with the last month and within the European Central Bank's target, the European Union's statistics office Eurostat said on Thursday. On a monthly basis, inflation rose 0.1 percent in November.

European Union leaders meet on Thursday to try to agree the next steps in tackling a year-long debt crisis that has consumed Greece and Ireland and threatens to spread to Portugal and Spain.

Greek unions have again staged strikes and demonstrations to protest the government’s austerity measures, including changes in labor laws and widespread cuts in wages.

The euro zone could create an optional set of stronger debt rules which financially sound countries could choose to adopt, European Central Bank Governing Council member Athanasios Orphanides said on Wednesday.

Registrations of new passenger cars in Europe decreased by 7.1% amounting to 1,069,268 units, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said Wednesday.

Employment rates remained mostly stable in the euro area during the third quarter, dropping only by 0.2 percent, while unemployment rate in the U.K. touched its highest since the beginning of the year.

Some of the so-called emerging markets have advanced to a point where they might be considered “developed” -- or not, depending on one’s views and criteria. Further complicating this picture is the arrival of “frontier” markets – countries even less developed than the emerging markets, but boasting even greater long-term growth potential.

The FT reported that market-making brokerage and bank J.P.Morgan has materially reduced its bets on lower silver prices, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Germany threw its weight on Tuesday behind a potential capital increase by the European Central Bank, saying it would react positively to such a move if the ECB deems it necessary.

German economic sentiment rose more than expected in December, posting an increase for a second consecutive month.

The finance minister of debt-troubled Portugal is in Beijing, China to try to convince Chinese government authorities to purchase Portuguese government bonds.

The European Central Bank is considering requesting an increase in its capital from euro zone member states, euro zone central bank sources told Reuters, as a cushion against any potential losses from its bond buying.

The euro has a one-in-five chance of surviving in its current form, according to a research paper published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), the UK economic consultancy.

China is stepping up its efforts to contain inflation, even as the latest economic report indicates that inflation hovers around a 28-year high of 5.1 percent in November.

There are many things weakening the single currency. Concerns over a lack of consensus on euro-area bonds, dollar-positive data from the US, fears about China being forced to cool down its economy and now, an ascending channel clearly shaping up on the 60-minute EUR/USD chart.

Caretaker Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) is leading in Kosovo's Sunday polls, reports suggest. The results are expected to be declared in the late hours of Sunday. The country is holding its first election since unilaterally declaring independence in 2007 from Serbia.