EUROPEAN UNION

Greek unions have again staged strikes and demonstrations to protest the government’s austerity measures, including changes in labor laws and widespread cuts in wages.

The euro zone could create an optional set of stronger debt rules which financially sound countries could choose to adopt, European Central Bank Governing Council member Athanasios Orphanides said on Wednesday.

Registrations of new passenger cars in Europe decreased by 7.1% amounting to 1,069,268 units, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said Wednesday.

Employment rates remained mostly stable in the euro area during the third quarter, dropping only by 0.2 percent, while unemployment rate in the U.K. touched its highest since the beginning of the year.

Some of the so-called emerging markets have advanced to a point where they might be considered “developed” -- or not, depending on one’s views and criteria. Further complicating this picture is the arrival of “frontier” markets – countries even less developed than the emerging markets, but boasting even greater long-term growth potential.

The FT reported that market-making brokerage and bank J.P.Morgan has materially reduced its bets on lower silver prices, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Germany threw its weight on Tuesday behind a potential capital increase by the European Central Bank, saying it would react positively to such a move if the ECB deems it necessary.

German economic sentiment rose more than expected in December, posting an increase for a second consecutive month.

The finance minister of debt-troubled Portugal is in Beijing, China to try to convince Chinese government authorities to purchase Portuguese government bonds.

The European Central Bank is considering requesting an increase in its capital from euro zone member states, euro zone central bank sources told Reuters, as a cushion against any potential losses from its bond buying.

The euro has a one-in-five chance of surviving in its current form, according to a research paper published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), the UK economic consultancy.

China is stepping up its efforts to contain inflation, even as the latest economic report indicates that inflation hovers around a 28-year high of 5.1 percent in November.

There are many things weakening the single currency. Concerns over a lack of consensus on euro-area bonds, dollar-positive data from the US, fears about China being forced to cool down its economy and now, an ascending channel clearly shaping up on the 60-minute EUR/USD chart.

Caretaker Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) is leading in Kosovo's Sunday polls, reports suggest. The results are expected to be declared in the late hours of Sunday. The country is holding its first election since unilaterally declaring independence in 2007 from Serbia.

Satellite phones aren't as clunky as they once were, and technology has made them more powerful. Yet so far few have made the business work

Precious metals fell across the board in the week to December 10 as a cooling China weighed on demand hopes but the yellow metal remained better alternative in the group amid lingering worries over the euro-zone debt and dollar's ability to play safe-haven.

An Irish delegation led by former prime minister John Bruton has travelled to the Middle East, gauging the interest of Arab investors, including sovereign wealth funds, in buying some troubled Irish banks, as the Dublin government seeks foreign investors for financial investment.

European bankers will be subject to limits on bonus payments they receive starting next year. Meanwhile, in Ireland, politicians are seeking to impose a 90 percent “super-tax” on bank bonuses

India and the European Union announced a breakthrough in their free trade talks on Friday. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the free trade agreement (FTA) could be signed in 2011, after a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the 11th EU-India summit in Brussels.

China on Thursday expressed its support for Russia’s bid to become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

A day after Germany rejected the proposal to establish a common market for eurozone sovereign bonds, EU Economics and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn called for a coordinated action to repair the damage of the debt crisis afflicting the region.