GERMANY

Germany and France pledged on Friday to better align their tax and labor policies to foster convergence in the euro zone, but rejected calls for an increase in the bloc's rescue fund and joint sovereign bonds.

On a 2-hour chart, EUR/USD has next support at 1.3141 (S1), as indicated by the 61.8 percent Fibonacci retracement from 1.3422 to 1.2970. A break below the same could take it to 1.3059 (S2) before retesting the November 30 low of 1.2968.

German pharmaceuticals and chemical giant Bayer AG said it plans to invest 1-billion euros ($1.3-billion) in China in efforts to more than double sales in the country by 2015, as part of the company’s greater push into the Asia-Pacific region.

Chronology: Key events that have punctuated Oracle's handling of Java this year.

Russia is seeking an explanation from NATO after documents published by Wikileaks revealed that the military alliance planned to protect Baltic States against Moscow. Russian officials stated that the Kremlin was awaiting clarification from NATO the proposed Eagle Guardian plan.

Annual inflation in Germany hit two-year high in November mainly driven by rising energy and food prices, data showed on Thursday.

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.

Germans are now the world's number one Gold Bar buyers. Germany's swivel-eyed gold bugs simply show more imagination than journalists, policy-makers and academic economists.

A war is now raging in Europe. On one side are the forces of the corporate state led by Germany and France; on the other are the forces of free-market capitalism led by Britain.

McDonald's Corp reported a smaller-than-expected rise in global sales at established restaurants in November as demand was weaker than anticipated in its key domestic market and Japan.

Bickering among European Union leaders escalated on Wednesday over a proposal for joint euro zone bonds to overcome the bloc's debt crisis, with Germany saying it opposed the idea on legal and economic grounds.

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.

The euro zone needs a comprehensive solution to the debt crisis rocking the group and must avoid a country-by-country approach, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

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.

Abbott Laboratories and two other drugmakers will pay $421 million to settle allegations that they falsely inflated product prices to gain larger government reimbursement payments, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.

Abbott Laboratories and two other drugmakers will pay $421 million to settle allegations that they falsely inflated product prices to gain larger government reimbursement payments, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.

(Corrects headline to show that Abbott will pay $126.5 million, not $121.5 million. There are no changes to the text)

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.