Stocks retreated on Friday after two days of gains as wealthier nations appeared to pull back from a European Union plan to broaden funding for a plan to deal with the region's sovereign debt crisis.
The Eurozone won verbal support but no new money at a G20 summit on Friday for its tortured efforts to overcome a sovereign debt crisis, while Italy was effectively placed under IMF supervision.
The Irish Republic will also shut down its embassies in Iran and East Timor.
Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission (EC), nonetheless told reporters in Cannes that Berlusconi was not forced into it.
European Central Bank policymaker Juergen Stark urged the bank on Friday to call an early halt to its bond-buying program, stressing it sees the plan as temporary even as it faces pressure to scale purchases up to tackle the euro zone crisis.
EU regulators are investigating whether Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple Inc have breached EU antitrust laws with patent infringement claims in their global legal battle, the European Commission said on Friday.
World stocks and the euro rose on Friday, boosted by expectations that Greece will avoid a referendum on a new bailout package, easing imminent concerns of a Greek default and its potential shockwaves through the euro zone.
Asian shares rallied more than 3 percent and the euro steadied Friday on hopes that Greece will abandon a proposed referendum on a European Union bailout, but investors remained cautious over a confidence vote scheduled for later in the Greek parliament.
Italy, under fierce pressure from financial markets and European peers, has agreed to have the IMF and the EU monitor its progress with long- delayed reforms of pensions, labor markets and privatization, senior EU sources said Friday.
Asian shares rose more than 2 percent and the euro steadied Friday on hopes that Greece will abandon a proposed referendum on a European Union bailout, but investors remained cautious over a confidence vote planned in the Greek Parliament.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has agreed to a deal to step down if certain circumstances are met.
South Africa's rand firmed against the dollar on Thursday as Greek government plans for a referendum on a sovereign bailout appeared to unravel with the expected collapse of the government.
The United States agreed to a compromise allowing Zimbabwe to export diamonds that human rights groups say are tainted by abuses, to prevent the paralysis of the global system for stopping trade in blood diamonds, the State Department said on Wednesday.
The European Central Bank cut interest rates by a quarter point to 1.25 percent in a surprise move on Thursday and President Mario Draghi said the euro zone could subside into a mild recession in the latter part of 2011.
Gold prices surged two percent Thursday after a surprise interest rate cut by the European Central Bank and Greece's prime minister abruptly dropping a widely denounced plan for a referendum on accepting bailout money.
If Greece decided to leave the euro, it would also have to quit the European Union, according to the terms of the EU's treaties, the European Commission said on Thursday.
Papandreou also shrugged off persistent calls – by both opposition lawmakers and members of his own ruling Socialist Pasok party – to call new elections.
Stocks rose in a volatile session on Thursday on hopes Greece's political and financial situation would become clearer and after a surprise interest rate cut in Europe boosted sentiment.
Gold rose 1 percent on Thursday, boosted by a surprise interest rate cut by the European Central Bank and safe-haven buying amid an uncertain future for the European Union as Greece's government was on the brink of collapse.
Our Greek friends must decide whether they want to continue the journey with us,” Sarkozy said.
Two other major Dutch banks, ABN AMRO and Rabobank, have already unveiled significant job cuts.
Howard Archer, chief European and U.K. economist said, The move also suggests that Mario Draghi will not be afraid to make bold decisions.
