ECONOMY & MARKETS

Speculation is growing in markets that Greece will be unable to avoid a full-blown default, despite two international bailouts and pledges of support from the eurozone's biggest economies.

Options for a sustainable economic recovery are narrowing, Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of The International Monetary Fund, said in an opinion piece for a German newspaper.

Gold tumbled to a two-week low on Friday as diminishing liquidity concerns prompted a bout of selling, but lingering concern about financial stability and strong physical buying interest from Asia later helped it to recover.

Stock futures pointed to a weaker open for equities on Wall Street on Friday after strong gains in the previous session, with futures for the S&P 500, for the Dow Jones and for the Nasdaq 100 down 0.4-0.7 percent.

World shares rose half a percent to one-week highs on Friday while the euro clung to gains from the previous session on hopes that European policymakers would finally come up with a bold plan to combat a deepening debt crisis.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised interest rates on Friday for the 12th time in 18 months and said it will persist with its anti-inflationary policy stance, even as growth slows in Asia's third-largest economy.

Gold slipped more than 1 percent on Friday, heading for its biggest weekly drop since March 2009, as stock markets gained and the euro rose after major central banks around the world strived to fight the debt crisis in Europe.

The BSE Sensex rose 1 percent early on Friday, tracking firm Asian markets that were boosted by a relatively stable euro, and ahead of the RBI's policy.

Investors obviously applauded the move, sending Morgan Stanley shares up 7.2 percent in Thursday’s trading.

Encana Corp Chief Executive Randy Eresman did exactly what investors wanted when he created the quintessential pure play in North American natural gas. That's now his biggest problem.

Morocco's trade deficit expanded 22.6 percent in the January-August period from a year ago to 122.2 billion dirhams due mainly to higher spending on energy imports, official data showed on Thursday.

South Africa's government bonds reversed losses on Thursday and yields fell as investors drifted back into local debt to snap up bargains following a couple of days of heavy selling when risk aversion hit emerging markets.

Sales jumped 2.7 percent in the month to C$46.7 billion ($46.7 billion) following three straight months of declines and beating estimates of a 1.3 percent gain, Statistics Canada said on Thursday.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion plans to open doors for its key corporate customers using a decade-old technology most in the smartphone industry eye as a way to turn phones into wallets.

Kweku Adoboli, the 31-year-old London man accused as the rogue trader who cost Swiss banking giant UBS an estimated loss of $2 billion, is a "well-dressed quiet man" of African origin who wasn't the "tidiest" but is very "well spoken," according to a former landlord.

When a name like Kweku Adoboli instantly becomes public, like the UBS trader who allegedly lost the bank $2 billion in unauthorized transactions and who is suddenly a globally hot Internet search item, many turn to the most public source available -- Facebook, the world's largest social network.

UBS has 65,000 employees. The Swiss bank has global operations, serving approximately 50 countries. The company has been around for nearly 150 years. But one rogue trader -- reportedly a 31-year-old living and working in London -- has apparently brought the company to its knees in embarrassment and financial loss.

Jefferies believes Intel Developer Forum has been a positive catalyst for ON Semiconductor Corp. and the company will continue to gain market share as Sandy Bridge ramp progresses.

Dell Inc. said its board of directors authorized an additional $5 billion for stock repurchases. Barclays Capital said the additional stock repurchases should be used to support Dell's earnings per share but not necessarily be a catalyst.

India's food price index rose 9.47 percent and the fuel price index climbed 13.01 percent in the year to Sept. 3, government data on Thursday showed.

Asian stocks bounced on Thursday after tentative steps by euro zone policymakers to tackle a crippling debt crisis, but investors remained wary that obstacles the bloc's leaders face could weigh on the euro and Asian currencies in the medium term.

The European Union wants more clarity from Beijing on increased export quotas for rare earth minerals from dominant producer China in meetings next month and December, Europe's trade chief said.

Aluminum maker Alcoa Inc (AA.N) and China Power Investment Corp moved a step closer to linking up to manufacture aluminum products in China, the companies said on Wednesday.

Indian solar photo-voltaic (PV) cellmaker Indosolar Ltd is in talks with Chinese polysilicon maker GCL-Poly Energy Holdings to tie up a new 4-year solar wafer supply deal, which could be worth up to $2 billion, its chief executive told Reuters on Wednesday.

China-focused miner Silvercorp (SVM.TO: Quote) offered a detailed rebuttal of new anonymous allegations of fraud on Wednesday, releasing figures on tax, production and assay grades to fend off an attack from short-sellers.

South Africa is confident that a recently launched bidding process for renewable energy will lead to the addition of 3,725 megawatts (MW)of green energy to the national grid by 2016, despite previous delays, a senior government official said.

Italy's parliament voted in favor of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's emergency austerity budget on Wednesday afternoon. The vote was the final approval of the plan, which passed both the senate and the lower house.

Canada should see modest economic growth and avoid a double-dip recession, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Wednesday.

In July, Nomura said it would seek to reduce annual expenses at its wholesale unit by about $400 million.