COMMERZBANK

Oil prices on Tuesday posted their biggest gain since the end of July as the dollar weakened and investors quenched a growing thirst for tangible commodities to hedge inflation.

Oil traded higher on Tuesday by nearly $3 at one point as investors quenched a growing risk appetite for tangible commodities against the background of a weakening dollar and the looming prospect of inflation.

Oil prices rose above $69 a barrel on Tuesday as spot gold crossed a psychological threshold and ahead of an OPEC meeting analysts said would see more target compliance rhetoric but no change in output limits.

Oil prices rose above $69 a barrel on Tuesday ahead of an OPEC meeting, which analysts said would see more target compliance rhetoric but no change in output limits.

Oil fell below $68 a barrel on Wednesday, extending the previous session's 3 percent drop, after weak U.S. jobs data raised doubts over the strength of economic recovery in the world's biggest fuel consumer.

British house prices rose for the fourth month running and at their fastest monthly rate in 2-1/2 years in August, the Nationwide Building Society said on Thursday, in a further sign the housing market is picking up.

The previous chief executive of Volkswagen, Bernd Pischetsrieder, is favourite to head the supervisory board of German car parts maker Continental AG, magazine Der Spiegel reported, without saying where it obtained its information.

Germany and France achieved a shock return to economic growth in the second quarter of the year, ending their recessions earlier than many policymakers and economists expected, but failed to drag the euro zone with them.

Deutsche Lufthansa could turn an airline sector slump to its advantage by negotiating lower prices and more cost cuts out of acquisitions it agreed last year that threaten to hurt its shares.

Oil rose above $64 a barrel on Tuesday, after falling for four consecutive sessions on doubts over global economic recovery and potential improvement in demand for fuel.

Oil eased below $64 a barrel on Tuesday, falling for the fifth consecutive session on doubts over global economic recovery and potential improvement in demand for fuel.

Japan raised its economic outlook for the first time in three years on Monday, and an important measure of German business sentiment rose in May in further signs the worst of the global recession may be over.

A key measure of German business sentiment rose in May and Japan raised its economic outlook for the first time in three years in further signs the worst of the global recession may be over, with stability seen later in 2009.

Germany's Commerzbank is preparing to issue an offer document to a handful of potential investors in General Motors' Opel unit, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing sources close to the automaker.

Europe's biggest insurer, Allianz , is axing hundreds of jobs at its Dresdner Kleinwort investment bank and slashing its complex structured finance business, after suffering big fourth-quarter writedowns.

The dollar sank to record lows against the euro and a basket of major currencies on Tuesday as bleak warnings of more pain in the credit sphere reinforced views of a Federal Reserve rate cut in December.

The asset manager of Belgian-Dutch financial group Fortis said on Tuesday it would buy a Tokyo-based asset managing firm wholly owned by Germany's Commerzbank to expand its operations in Japan.

Commerzbank is bracing itself for a higher-than-predicted loss from investments related to risky U.S. mortgages that is set to knock a hole in profits, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Gold gained on Monday with a drop in the dollar and recovery in stocks, but investors remained cautious as they digested the U.S. federal reserve's surprise move to slash the rate it charges banks on loans.

Citigroup flagged its interest in buying a bank in Germany on Tuesday but played down recent talk that it was about to swoop on Commerzbank.

Gold fell to a three-month low on Wednesday when the dollar extended its ascent against major currencies as markets dropped expectations of lower U.S. interest rates later in the year.