GERMANY

The proposed common sovereign bond for eurozone, if ever it materializes, will fall short of solving the region’s fiscal crisis, analysts have said.

At 12:53 GMT, the pair was at 1.3212, off an intra-day low of 1.3179 and from its previous close of 1.3259. With no key data due from the US through the rest of the day, the pair is likely to hold above the 1.3157-1.2970 support region.

German industrial production topped economists' expectations during October, a report by Destatis said, indicating the German economic recovery continues, contrary to fears of a slowdown.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is behind bars in London, facing extradition to Sweden where he is charged with rape and sexual molestation in two separate cases.

Europe, US will turn up to witness royal wedding in London but there will be no blessings from France, Skyscanner, a leading travel search site, said in a statement.

The euro currency might not survive the current sovereign debt crisis and may be in danger of collapse, according to Stephen Nickell, an economist at the independent Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) member and former Bank of England member.

After Paypal and Swiss authorities closed the accounts of Wikileaks, it's Mastercard's turn to refuse any financial support to Wikileaks' money transfers.

Europe's biggest carmaker Volkswagen AG plans to hire around 50,000 workers worldwide in the medium-term, including 5,000-6,000 in Germany by 2015.

While Europe (and much of the developed world) continues to reel from high unemployment in the wake of the global economic recession, at least one small, peaceful corner of the continent continues to enjoy very low jobless rates.

In a CBS interview, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke took shots at foreign critics who openly bashed QE2 in the days leading up to the November 11 G20 Summit.

International talks on Iran's nuclear activity got under way in Geneva on Monday amid Tehran's claims of achieving self-sufficiency in the fuel cycle. Analysts say that little is expected from the talks. But the latest developments in Iran are likely to give it the confidence to put forward demands of sanctions against the Islamic Republic to be lifted. The talks between Iran and the five UN powers - the US, Russia, China, France and Britain - plus Germany were stalled 14 months ago.

Russia won the bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2018 and the tourism industry in United Kingdom has expressed disappointment as it had expected to tap its potential as a tourist destination had it won the bid to host the international tournament

Iran has delivered the first consignment of locally produced raw uranium making its nuclear program self-sufficient, the country's top nuclear boss said on Sunday. The announcement came just a day before the Islamic republic is to resume the stalled nuclear talks with Germany and the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council on Monday and Tuesday in Geneva.

A weaker-than-expected US jobs data on Friday forced investors to sell dollars and seek shelter in precious metals, helping silver and palladium post two-digit weekly rise and reach fresh multi-year highs in the week to December 3. An IB times study on gold and dollar index suggests investor interest to sell dollar for buying gold probably increased in the week.

Youth unemployment is a growing problem and the implications are frightening. Young people are suffering high levels of unemployment in many parts of the world as global economic uncertainty continues.

Transit systems in the U.S. are beginning to adopt new payment technologies and saying goodbye to tokens, tickets and even fare cards.

US Administration, by all means, is trying to win over Wikileaks, firstly by ousting it from the servers and now by blocking its transaction by Paypal. But the whistle-blower group is highly unlikely to accept defeat. In possession of over 25,0000 United States diplomatic cables, the group would only force the Government worldwide into a war of attrition.

Spot Gold jumped over $1400 per ounce in wholesale dealing on Friday in London, holding onto an earlier drop vs. the Euro as the single currency rose sharply on news of weaker than expected US jobs growth in November.

Whistle-blower website Wikileaks struck its first blow, as German vice-chancellor Guido Westerwelle sacked his office manager on charges of spying for the United States. Helmut Metzner has reportedly admitted to have given regular information to the US embassy in Berlin.

Eurozone retail sales rose unexpectedly in October for the first time in three months, showing an improvement in household demand.

Stocks rallied for a second straight session as traders sentiment was buoyed by some strong November chain-store retail sales figures and by the European Central Bank (ECB) to maintain liquidity safety measures for troubled banks.