UNITED KINGDOM

Eurostar set a new Paris to London rail speed record of just over two hours on Tuesday with the first train to use Britain's long-awaited high speed track at around 320 kilometers (about 199 miles) per hour.

Britain's leading shares rose on Monday in thin volumes as comments by Barclays eased concerns over its financial health, helping to underpin financial stocks.

State-owned Qatar Investment Authority, which has offered to buy British supermarkets chain J. Sainsbury Plc, has raised a $3 billion loan as a warchest for investments, bankers said on Monday.

Shares in Britain's Barclays Plc, battered over the past two months, rose more than 3 percent on Monday after a weekend charm offensive helped further ease concerns over the bank's financial health.

European share indexes rose on Monday as remarks by executives of Barclays and Deutsche Bank eased fears of losses from the recent credit market turmoil, but utilities fell after news of a big French merger.

Asian stock markets took a breather on Monday with Tokyo's Nikkei slipping on fresh concerns about the economy, and the yen traded in a small range in a session likely to be dulled by the U.S. Labor Day holiday.

Brewer Scottish & Newcastle Plc expects quick growth in India, China and Vietnam, with its ventures in these markets contributing a larger share of its overall revenue, a senior company official said.

Virgin Group boss Richard Branson said on Friday he would aim to avoid buying fuel-thirsty four-engined airplanes in future to curb fuel costs and the environmental impact of his fast-growing airlines.

Barclays was recovering from a week of bad headlines, denials and late-night statements on Friday, as analysts said there was little substance to the frenzy and few harbored genuine worries over the bank's health.

Morgan Stanley has completed the UK's first residential property derivative trade with an embedded exotic option.

London-listed Central African Mining & Exploration launched a formal offer for Katanga Mining Ltd on Wednesday, but Katanga Chief Executive Arthur Ditto said he was not interested.

NYSE Euronext and Australia's ASX Ltd may be interested in buying part of Nasdaq Stock Market Inc's 31 percent stake in London Stock Exchange Plc, a person familiar with the matter said.

Stock index futures fell on Tuesday due to renewed global credit concerns and caution ahead of reports on home prices and consumer confidence. Banking stocks took an early beating after MarketWatch reported that Merrill Lynch had downgraded to neutral from buy investment banks Bear Stearns Cos., Lehman Brothers and Citigroup.

Oil prices rose on Monday as refinery outages in the United States stoked supply concerns again as the end of the summer driving season neared.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged European Union nations on Monday to accept a greater share of defense spending to cope with escalating global threats.

European shares recovered further on Monday, but Wall Street looked set to open lower after news that for the first time since the leveraged buyout boom began the price on a major private equity deal had been lowered.

Singapore's state-owned Temasek Holdings has approached Nasdaq to buy its 30 percent stake in the London Stock Exchange, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

European shares fell by midday on Friday, breaking a tentative five-day recovery and tracking weakness in Asia as credit worries returned to the forefront to take financial stocks lower.

European power companies are making billions of euros in excess profits in the fight against global warming as consumers pay for it, economists say.

European Union veterinary experts agreed on Thursday to let all of Britain, except part of the county of Surrey, resume exports of live animals, meat and dairy products to other EU countries, the EU executive said.

BP America said Thursday that it will not take full advantage of a new permit to dump more waste into Lake Michigan, taking into account protests to a refinery modernization expansion project.