PORTUGAL

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.

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.

The world's largest Christmas present was the Statue of Liberty. The French gave it to the US in 1886. It is 46.5 meters high and weighs 225 tons.

Standard & Poor's cut its outlook for Belgian debt to negative on Tuesday, flagging a new risk for money markets as investors weighed prospects of higher borrowing costs for one of the euro zone's most indebted states.

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.

Government bond prices in Europe fell on Monday, tracking a renewed slide in U.S. Treasuries, with a figures from the European Central Bank showing it had bought fewer bonds than some investors had anticipated.

Governments, not the European Central Bank, have to solve the sovereign debt crisis, one of the bank's top policymakers Juergen Stark was quoted as saying on Saturday.

Precious metals fell across the board in the week to December 10 as a cooling China weighed on demand hopes but the yellow metal remained better alternative in the group amid lingering worries over the euro-zone debt and dollar's ability to play safe-haven.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Czech and Polish prime ministers that she would welcome their countries into the eurozone, daily Lidove Noviny reported on Saturday, citing unnamed sources.

Outside the US and UK - where today's no change decision from the Bank of England left interest rates near 33-year lows beneath inflation - emerging economies are also flirting with sub-zero real rates of interest, Japanese investment bank Nomura's London office notes.

A day after Germany rejected the proposal to establish a common market for eurozone sovereign bonds, EU Economics and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn called for a coordinated action to repair the damage of the debt crisis afflicting the region.

Heavy snow blanketed French skies on Wednesday resulting in fresh traffic disruptions for European travelers after last week’s transport shutdown even as storm lashed Portugal and Spain.

A war is now raging in Europe. On one side are the forces of the corporate state led by Germany and France; on the other are the forces of free-market capitalism led by Britain.

The proposed common sovereign bond for eurozone, if ever it materializes, will fall short of solving the region’s fiscal crisis, analysts have said.

German industrial production topped economists' expectations during October, a report by Destatis said, indicating the German economic recovery continues, contrary to fears of a slowdown.

The electric propulsion system of Nissan's all-electric car Leaf has been named among the 10 best engines for 2011 by Ward's AutoWorld magazine.

The U.S. dollar will be a safe investment for the next six to 12 months because global markets are focused on the euro zone's troubles but America's fiscal health is worse than Europe's, an adviser to the Chinese central bank said on Wednesday.

On an interview today with CNBC, famed investor and hedge fund manager Jim Rogers said some European countries should be allowed to go bankrupt so that they can restructure their debt without hurting other parties.