DUBAI

The United Arab Emirates' central bank set up a facility on Sunday to support liquidity in the banking system Dubai's government sought to delay debt payments from two of its flagship firms, sending global markets lower.

The euro zone does not risk the sort of debt problems plaguing Dubai, senior European Union officials said on Sunday.

Dubai World has refused to offload assets at fire-sale prices to repay obligations, forcing it to seek a debt standstill, a newspaper report on Sunday quoted an unnamed source at the government-controlled firm as saying.

The euro zone does not risk the sort of debt problems plaguing Dubai, senior European Union officials said on Sunday.

The central bank of the United Arab Emirates is closely watching events stemming from the Dubai debt crisis to ensure no harm results for the national economy, a spokesman for the central bank said on Saturday.

Abu Dhabi, wealthy capital of the United Arab Emirates, will pick and choose how to assist debt-laden neighbor Dubai, a senior official said on Saturday, after fears of a Dubai default sent global markets reeling.

Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates and one of the world's top oil exporters, will pick and choose how to assist its debt-laden neighbor Dubai, a senior Abu Dhabi official said on Saturday.

Dubai, jobs data, Black Friday results and a chance for Congress to throw fireballs at Fed chief Ben Bernanke: The U.S. stock market's path to glory is fraught with peril next week.

U.S. consumers turned out in strong numbers to hunt for holiday bargains on Black Friday, though many said they were spending selectively and industry executives questioned whether the momentum would last.

Years of chasing business in Dubai's property boom means Abu Dhabi banks have built up an exposure to Dubai-based companies worth at least 30 percent of their loan books, senior bankers in Abu Dhabi said on Friday.

Rising fears of a possible debt default at a Dubai state-owned conglomerate is the catalyst for an overdue correction in equities and risk assets, the chief executive of top bond fund manager Pimco said in an interview on Friday.

World leaders expressed confidence in the global economic recovery on Friday despite fears about a debt default by Gulf emirate Dubai, while major banks played down their exposure to the debt.

Moody's Investors Service on Friday said it will make no changes for now to the ratings or outlooks of banks in the United Arab Emirates with exposure to the two Dubai entities whose debt problems have roiled global markets.

COMEX December gold GCZ9 settled down $12.80, or 1.1 percent, at $1,174.20 an ounce on the COMEX division of NYMEX.

Oil prices settled down more than 2 percent at about $76 a barrel on Friday as fears of possible defaults in Dubai convulsed financial markets and boosted safe-haven demand for the U.S. dollar.

Fears of a possible Dubai debt default rippled through markets for a second day on Friday, but the exodus from stocks and rush to the safe-haven U.S. dollar slowed as investors discounted contagion.

U.S. shoppers turned out in strong numbers at the start of the holiday season on Friday to hunt for bargains, though many said they were spending more selectively.

British banks have far greater exposure to potential problem debts in the United Arab Emirates than rivals in France, the United States, Japan or anywhere else, loans data show, as worries mount about the region.

U.S. stocks fell more than 1 percent in a truncated session on Friday as a possible debt default by a Dubai state-owned conglomerate led to fresh concerns about the global financial system.

Oil prices dropped over 2 percent to nearly $76 a barrel on Friday as fears of possible defaults in Dubai convulsed financial markets and boosted safe-haven demand for the U.S. dollar.

U.S. stocks fell in Friday's abbreviated session as a possible debt default by a Dubai state-owned conglomerate fueled concern that the global financial system was not fully stabilized.