Asian stocks rose on Thursday on higher-than-expected Chinese exports and assurances from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the U.S. economic recovery was on solid footing, but European stocks were expected to open lower, tracking Wall Street's fall overnight.
The European Commission welcomed German and French calls for new measures to clamp down on speculators in government debt on Wednesday but the likelihood of a bloc-wide ban still appears remote.
European shares pushed higher on Wednesday, tracking gains in most Asian equity markets, as news of strong Chinese exports sparked a tentative return of risk appetite while the euro stabilized on options demand.
Most Asian stock markets clawed back early losses on Wednesday and the euro stabilized as news of stronger-than-expected exports from China offset worries that Europe's debt problems will stifle demand for Asian goods.
European Union Food Facility fund received a boost with the EU donating 13.2 million to its funding to enhance agricultural production in developing countries worst hit by high food prices. This brings the total amount of the fund channeled through FAO to an unprecedented Euro 228 million.
European finance ministers sought to calm nervous markets Monday by nailing down details of a massive financial safety net for the euro zone as Germany unveiled new budget cuts it hopes will set an example for its partners in the bloc.
The chairman of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, dismissed concerns on Sunday that Hungary might face a Greek-style debt crisis and said the current level of the euro did not worry him.
U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, tracking weakness in the euro, as tepid May sales from U.S. retailers curbed investor optimism ahead of what is expected to be a solid payroll report Friday.
French-inspired plans to create an economic government for the euro zone took a step forward on Wednesday when European Council President Herman Van Rompuy threw his weight behind the idea.
European Central Bank policymaker Axel Weber on Monday urged a tight cap on the bank's government bond buying program, saying extraordinary steps taken to ease the debt crisis posed a risk to its main goal of price stability.
The European Central Bank could begin exiting its phase of loose monetary policy from July, ECB Executive Board Member Juergen Stark was quoted as saying by German weekly magazine WirtschaftsWoche on Saturday.
The United States suggested Europe's debt crisis would have minimal impact on global growth, but China took a more pessimistic view, warning it would impact demand for its exports and other regions would suffer too.
Germany's parliament approved on Friday a $1 trillion safety net to stabilize the euro as fears swirled that Europe's debt crisis and tougher financial regulation may choke economic recovery.
Stocks slid further around the world on Friday on fears Europe's debt crisis and tougher financial regulation will hurt a global economic recovery, as Germany prepared to vote on a massive standby package to stabilize the euro.
Germany is poised to approve on Friday the lion's share of a $1 trillion safety net for financially troubled euro zone nations as an EU task force looks to toughen regulations within the bloc blighted by a debt crisis that has cast a pall over global economic health.
France and Germany pledged on Thursday to work together to solve a European debt crisis and support the euro, patching up a public rift that had rattled markets around the world.
European stocks rebounded on Thursday as investors sought bargains after the previous day's sharp sell-off but gains were limited by persistent euro zone fears, with the euro remaining under pressure.
The head of the Eurogroup said on Thursday financial markets were acting irrationally over the euro area's debt problems and while he was concerned about the fall in the euro, immediate action was not needed.
Germany stepped up its fight against speculators with a ban on some financial trades on Wednesday, triggering big market falls and wrong footing European governments that said they were not consulted.
Germany declared war on speculators by banning some types of trade on Wednesday, triggering big falls in the financial markets and wrongfooting other European governments, which said they were not consulted.
Shaken by a debt crisis that is hurting their currency, euro zone finance ministers met on Monday to discuss more effective fiscal discipline for now and the longer term. The talks were the first since euro zone governments hatched a $1 trillion plan a week ago in a bid to stabilise nervous financial markets and limit contagion risks after the financial rescue of Greece, the first in 11 years of monetary union.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday that a $1 trillion EU rescue plan had only bought the euro zone time to tackle its fundamental problem -- a yawning gap between its strongest and weakest economies.
