EUROPEAN UNION

Barroso said the deal demonstrated how the European union (EU) can unite even during the most stressful of times.

EUR/USD may be at an extreme valuation, which may suggest a sell signal for the pair, according to a model produced from Deutsche Bank FX.

The Athens Stock Exchange surged as much as 6 percent in Thursday trading.

Euro zone leaders are as far as ever from finding a lasting solution to the bloc's underlying problem of economic divergence, despite their latest progress in managing the symptoms of its debt crisis.

Euro zone leaders struck a last-minute deal to limit the damage from the currency bloc's debt crisis early on Thursday but are still far from finalizing plans to slash Greece's debt burden and strengthen their rescue fund.

European leaders roundly hailed all the agreements.

Parties reached a deal late into the evening during marathon negotiations.

China is considering a proposal to set up a regional bank to help its small and medium enterprises invest in Southeast Asian neighbors, fund infrastructure projects and promote development in southwestern China, two independent sources said.

World stocks and the euro rose to their highest levels in nearly two months on Thursday after European leaders struck a deal to resolve a two-year-old sovereign debt crisis, which threatens the survival of the single currency.

European leaders agreed Thursday morning that banks and other major investors in Greek bonds must take losses of up to 50 percent to prevent a Greek government default. The rescue fund is a response to global pressure to lower Greece's debt burden and attempt to contain the spreading debt contagion that threatens the euro zone.

The European Central Bank's incoming president signalled on Wednesday the bank stood ready to carry on buying the bonds of troubled euro zone governments, suggesting he is ready to intervene to steady markets in the face of German misgivings.

The euro zone aims to leverage its 440 billion euro (383 billion pound) bailout fund, the EFSF, several fold but finance ministers will only agree the details of how that will be done in November, according to a draft statement to be issued after a summit on Wednesday.

Klaus Regling, chief executive officer of the EFSF, will fly to China in order to lure investors.

European leaders are negotiating with Greek bondholders, publicly stating investors will have to take substantial losses. Their stance is in stark contrast to the way debt holders have been coddled in programs managed by the U.S. Federal Reserve

The European Union (EU)-27 has released the following joint statement on the Eurozone debt crisis summit taking place in Brussels, Belgium.

There has been a preliminary agreement to recapitalize European banks.

Stocks rose on Wednesday as details from the European summit to resolve the debt crisis began to emerge.

The Eurozone aims to leverage its 440 billion euro bailout fund, the EFSF, several fold but finance ministers will only agree the details of how that will be done in November, according to a draft statement to be issued after a summit on Wednesday.

Stocks briefly added to gains in afternoon trading on Wednesday as a draft statement obtained by Reuters said the euro zone aims to leverage its 440 billion euro bailout fund, the EFSF, several fold.

The incoming head of the European Central Bank threw the euro zone a lifeline hours before a crucial summit on Wednesday which looked set to fall short of a definitive plan to tackle the bloc's debt crisis.

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has been forced to cancel a trip to Geneva for a United Nations meeting this week after his wife and some of his aides were denied visas, state media said on Wednesday.