EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

Standard & Poor's credit rating downgrades of nine Eurozone countries will fuel attempts by European Union lawmakers to slap stricter curbs on sovereign ratings.

Commercial banks parked almost half a trillion euros at the European Central Bank, the highest on record, as the mix of debt crisis worries and a recent giant injection of ECB cash left banks awash with money but too scared to lend it.

Mass Eurozone ratings downgrades are unlikely to shake up investors too much, but with Greek debt talks at an impasse, pressure has been loaded on the bloc to shore up its defenses and glimmers of optimism from last week have been firmly doused.

Euro zone bank shares fell but stocks seen as resilient to an economic slowdown gained on Monday in the wake of Standard and Poor's mass downgrade of euro zone sovereign ratings, while the euro hovered near 17-month lows against the dollar.

The European Central Bank will do all it can to calm the situation after Standard & Poor's downgraded several euro zone members' debt ratings in the past week, ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said on Sunday.

The European Central Bank will do all it can to calm the situation after Standard & Poor's downgraded several euro zone members' debt ratings in the past week, ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said on Sunday.

Financial markets are unlikely to be derailed by mass euro zone downgrades, but with Greek debt talks at an impasse, pressure has been loaded on the bloc to shore up its defenses and glimmers of optimism from last week have been firmly doused.

Financial Stability Board Chairman Mark Carney on Sunday rejected calls from the banking industry to delay planned tougher capital rules for lenders, saying such a move would not spur strong growth.

European leaders promised on Saturday to speed up plans to strengthen spending rules and get a permanent bailout fund up and running as soon as possible, a day after U.S. agency S&P cut the ratings of several euro zone countries' creditworthiness.

JPMorgan Chase & Co could lose up to $5 billion from its exposure to Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain, Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said in an interview with Class CNBC, carried in Italian newspaper Milano Finanza on Saturday.

Stock investors will return to a tug of war between signs of domestic strength and overseas concerns next week as a batch of critical earnings reports look to add credence to the idea the economy is improving, while credit rating downgrades in Europe will keep that region's difficulties in view.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. could lose as much as $5 billion due to its exposure to sickly Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain, CEO Jamie Dimon said in an interview with Class CNBC, which was carried in the Italian newspaper Milano Finanza on Saturday.

The top credit rating of Europe's bailout fund depends on additional financial backing from Germany and the other three remaining AAA-rated Eurozone countries, Standard & Poor's said on Friday.

The top credit rating of Europe's bailout fund depends on additional financial backing from Germany and the other three remaining AAA-rated euro zone countries, Standard & Poor's said on Friday.

Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.05 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.1 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.16 percent at 1039 GMT.

Italy's three-year debt costs fell below 5 percent at the first bond auction of the year spurring hopes the troubled borrower would be able to make it through a refinancing hump in the first months of the year.

Gold rose to a one-month high on Thursday, as comments by the president of the European Central Bank on cheap money stabilizing the region's banking system extended the metal's gain to a third consecutive day.

Fitch Ratings analysts continued their saber-rattling over Italy on Thursday, making remarks observers fear signal a coming downgrade of that country's sovereign credit rating. The comments carry an element of the ratings agency playing catch-up to its two main competitors: New York-based Moody's Investor's Services and Standard & Poor's. Fitch currently holds a rating of A+ on Italian government debt, a notch above the ratings assigned by those competitors

The European Central Bank's flood of cheap three-year money is helping the euro zone's banking system substantially and supporting confidence in the bloc's economy which is showing some signs of stabilization, its president said on Thursday.

Strong bond auctions in Europe set up Wall Street stocks for a slightly higher open on Thursday, though weaker-than-expected U.S. data could cap gains.

Japan's Nikkei average fell on Thursday in profit-taking ahead of a futures settlement, as market participants fretted over key debt auctions in Europe and a European Central Bank meeting this week.