BNP PARIBAS

European stocks were down 2 percent in late trade on Monday, with French banking shares hit by mounting fears over their exposure to debt-stricken countries, but the lack of a sell-off at the open on Wall Street helped the market trim losses.

Growing fears of a Greek default sent a hurricane through heavily exposed French banks on Monday and hit the euro as investor confidence in the European currency area's ability to surmount a sovereign debt crisis ebbed.

European shares kept falling Friday, with investors disappointed on U.S. stimulus measures, and banks lower after Goldman Sachs downgraded target prices across the sector.

After a long hegemony of Apple’s iPad, while HP is giving up its TouchPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is struggling with a patent issue, Sony and Amazon are betting their tablets will rival the iPad.

Hong Kong shares are poised to post the worst month since the 2008 financial crisis despite a third session of slim gains on Wednesday on the back of oil counters, but thin overall turnover continued to point to a lack of conviction in the rally.

Hong Kong-listed shares of China Construction Bank Corp rose more than 4 percent on Tuesday after Bank of America Corp said it will sell about half of its 10 percent stake in the Chinese lender, providing relief to investors by removing uncertainty surrounding the stake.

Hong Kong-listed shares of China Construction Bank Corp, the world's No.2 lender, rose more than 4 percent on Tuesday after news that Bank of America Corp will sell about half of its stake in the Chinese lender.

XCMG Construction Machinery Co Ltd (000425.SZ) is slated to start pre-marketing on September 5 for an up to $1.5 billion planned share listing in Hong Kong, IFR reported on Friday.

This year's heady bout of risk aversion on financial markets has ratcheted up demand for gold, U.S. Treasuries and the Swiss franc to levels that suggest they may no longer be the safe havens they are billed as.

This year's heady bout of risk aversion on financial markets has ratcheted up demand for gold, U.S. Treasuries and the Swiss franc to levels that suggest they may no longer be the safe havens they are claimed to be.

Hurricane Irene could end up closing refineries on the East Coast, which are concentrated in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, in anticipation for the storm's arrival, analysts say. Irene has been putting a beating down on the Bahamas for about two days. Structural damages, blocked roads and power outages have been reported in the southeastern islands.

World stocks fell on Wednesday as European investors shuffled positions ahead of a Jackson Hole speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Japanese shares sold off following a Moody's downgrade.

Asian shares fell Wednesday as a rally fueled by speculation that the Federal Reserve may further shore up the struggling U.S. economy swiftly petered out, while gold rebounded from its sharpest one-day slide in 18 months.

Several major banks cut sharply their oil price forecasts on Tuesday, with Citigroup saying that even if the United States printed more money, oil would stay depressed by weak economic growth and fresh supplies from Libya.

Asian shares rose on Wednesday as speculation the Federal Reserve may signal further moves to support the struggling U.S. economy sustained a modest rebound from this month's sharp sell-off.

China's factory sector is likely to slow slightly for a second consecutive month in August as sluggish overseas demand saps new orders, HSBC's China Flash PMI showed on Tuesday.

China's factory sector is likely to slow slightly for a second consecutive month in August as sluggish overseas demand saps new orders, HSBC's China Flash PMI indicated Tuesday.

Renewed worries about Europe's debt crisis and a raft of weak U.S. economic data hit global markets on Thursday, driving down stocks and oil prices and pushing U.S. bond yields to record lows while pushing gold to a record high.

Renewed worries about Europe's debt crisis and a raft of weak U.S. economic data hit global markets on Thursday, driving down stocks and oil prices and pushing U.S. bond yields to record lows while pushing gold to a record high.

Asian stocks fell Thursday on profit-taking by nervous investors, while the Swiss franc stayed firm after plans to curb the currency disappointed those looking for more drastic action.

European stock markets rallied on Friday as a ban on the short-selling of financial shares tempted investors back into the battered banking sector, although concerns over the health of French banks kept the mood edgy and trading remained volatile.