HSBC

Barclays Bank chairman Marcus Agius Tuesday confirmed that he had resigned over the Libor (London Inter Bank Offered Rate) inter-bank lending rate-fixing scandal.

Asian markets are expected to begin the week on the upswing gains after leaders of the European Union agreed on action to stem the region's debt crisis.

The Bank of England (BoE) is cracking down on large financial institutions to prevent them from cheating businesses and consumers worldwide -- a practice that has put a $360 trillion global financial market at serious risk for several years.

European markets rose Thursday following encouraging data from the U.S., but investors remain watchful ahead of the European Union summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, where leaders will discuss tackling the EU debt crisis with concrete measures

Most Asian markets fell this week as investors were worried after the U.S. Federal Reserve refused to announce a further round of quantitative easing and the HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) indicated that China's manufacturing activity was faltering.

Asian stock markets declined Friday, following a slump in the Wall Street overnight, as weak manufacturing reports from Europe, China and the U.S. dampened hopes for a global economic recovery.

Crude oil prices slightly advanced in Asian trading Friday, after plunging to their lowest level in eight months in the previous session.

Most Asian markets fell Friday due to investor concerns following indications of a faltering U.S. economy and the downgrading of global banks by Moody's Investor Service.

Advanced readings for German flash PMI came in at 44.7 versus a consensus of 45.2 while the euro zone services came in slightly better than expected at 46.8 versus 46.4

Manufacturing has been one of the few bright spots of the otherwise frail U.S. economic recovery, but Markit said weaker overseas demand could be starting to slow hiring in the sector. U.S. manufacturing grew in June at the slowest pace in almost a year and hiring in the sector also slowed.

Asian stock markets mostly declined Thursday as the Federal Reserve's limited help to bolster the domestic economy disappointed some market participants.

Crude oil futures declined Thursday, weighed down by an unexpected jump in the U.S. crude supplies and the Federal Reserve's limited help to revive the domestic economy.

U.S. stock index futures point to a lower opening Thursday after the Department of Labor's initial jobless claims report, which showed that more people than expected filed for unemployment benefits, and the National Association of Realtors' report on existing home sales.

China's manufacturing activity fell in June compared to that in May and continued to contract for the eighth straight month, according to the preliminary HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) released Thursday.

Most Asian markets fell Thursday as investors felt let down by the U.S. Federal Reserve, which did not announce a further round of quantitative easing.

Asian markets rose Wednesday amid speculation that the U.S. Fed will announce monetary easing measures to rejuvenate the economy.

Asian markets fell Tuesday as investor concerns on the euro zone debt crisis were revived amid fading optimism after the Greek elections and increasing borrowing costs of Spain.

Stock markets in China and Hong Kong declined Tuesday as renewed concerns over Spain's financial woes offset optimism over the Greek election results.

This week's data releases highlight Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement, which will likely present a dovish tone. However, those who are expecting for the announcement of renewed asset purchases will likely be disappointed.

Stock markets in China and Hong Kong gained Monday as sentiment was buoyed after the news that pro-bailout parties in Greece gained sufficient votes to form a government.

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