EUROPEAN UNION

Asian shares fell for a third day in a row Wednesday as investors grew more risk-averse, with renewed uncertainty over Greece's bailout and mounting worries about slowing global economies overshadowing support provided by ample liquidity.

Equities worldwide were in sell-off mode Tuesday, as nagging uncertainty about Greece, sobering news about China's economy and traders' realization that U.S. and European central banks might be finished with cash infusions all seemed to weigh on investors.

Gold fell 2 percent in heavy volume on Tuesday after breaching a key support, as renewed concerns about Greece's debt triggered economic fears, while some analysts say the metal looks oversold and poised for a rebound.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko quipped that it is better to be a dictator than gay – an apparent swipe at Germany’s openly homosexual foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle.

The matter also has great urgency given Israel’s warnings that it won't tolerate a nuclear Iran and that it may launch a pre-emptive military strike on Iranian atomic facilities.

Only 8.6 percent of Greeks polled held a favorable view of the Germans (who, not coincidentally, happen to be Athens’ largest creditor).

The much beleaguered people of Greece have apparently turned the bulk of their anger upon Germany, the most powerful economy in Europe.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) has plan to cut its annual import deal with Iran by 44 percent according to the latest report.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces an unexpected challenge in getting new euro-zone budget-discipline rules approved at home, after the government confirmed on Saturday the new treaty will require a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament.

Moody's Investors Service on Friday cut the credit ratings of Greece, saying that the recently announced debt-exchange proposals for the country imply expected losses to investors of more than 70 percent.

The week ahead will largely be defined by two major events. First, on Friday, the February U.S. nonfarm payrolls report will be released, providing important data about the economic recovery. Second, also on Friday, euro-zone finance ministers will hold a conference call to decide whether Greece can get its second, €130 billion ($175 billion) bailout.

Despite agreeing to the new European Union fiscal stability pact, Spain has autonomously decided to defy the established deficit target. Spain will not reach the previously set deficit target of 4.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and instead opts for more flexibility, setting a new target of 5.8 percent of GDP.

The EU's decision was taken at a summit in Brussels late Thursday night, and launched the former pariah state on what will be a lengthy process towards full blown membership of the Union.

Spain defied the European Union on Friday, setting a 2012 deficit target at 5.8 percent of gross domestic product, a far softer goal than the 4.4 percent agreed with Brussels.

Barclays Plc has taken 8.2 billion euros ($10.9 billion) of the European Central Bank's (ECB) long-term refinancing operation (LTRO), which offers three-year loans to banks at a rate of 1 percent, in order to manage funding gaps in Spain and Portugal.

A Red Cross aid convoy prepared to enter the shattered Baba Amro district of the city of Homs, Syria, on Friday after a government official declared the area cleansed and the opposition spoke of a massacre by President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Rebels withdrew Thursday in a key moment in the year-old uprising.

Bloc leaders on Friday signed a new pact to allow for faster transfer of capital to the EU's planned permanent €500 billion ($660 billion) bailout fund and to set strict rules on member states' debt.

Oil prices fell Friday following the confirmation from Saudi Arabia denying the pipeline explosion in the Kingdom.

Austerity and reform finely balanced to bring back growth in Europe in face of record unemployment rates.

Despite international pressure against the deal, Pakistan said it would honor a 2010 agreement to build a natural gas pipeline that will eventually send 8.7 billion cubic meters of Iranian gas to Pakistan annually.

For several months, the Iranian people have been living under economic hardship brought on by sanctions imposed by the U.S. and European Union over their government's nuclear energy program, which some believe is a cover for producing nuclear weapons. The sanctions, designed to prevent money-laundering that could fund nuclear research and development, have hampered the country's foreign trade and frozen Iranian firms out of the global banking system.