GERMANY

Stock markets perked up on Monday after world leaders abandoned a global bank levy and eased the timetable for new capital requirements at a G20 summit in Canada which posed questions about the forum's effectiveness.

Germany will not prohibit naked short-selling on transactions completed in a single day under certain conditions, coalition sources told Reuters on Monday.

The Swiss franc hit a record high against the euro on Monday, helped by comments from a Swiss central bank broad member, while the dollar recovered after faltering in Asia on concerns about U.S. economic recovery.

World shares firmed slightly after a four-day retreat on Monday with investors still cautious about global economic recovery and shrugging off the rather neutral conclusion to a weekend G20 leaders' summit.

Most Asian stock markets rose on Monday, with Europe set to follow, as fears eased that Washington would draft a harsh bill for regulating the banking sector and after an unremarkable conclusion to a Group of 20 leaders' summit.

Most Asian stock markets rose on Monday, with Europe set to follow, as fears eased that Washington would draft a harsh bill for regulating the banking sector and after an unremarkable conclusion to a Group of 20 leaders' summit.

The G20 has agreed to give banks more time to adopt tougher global rules in a concession that the body tasked with coordinating reforms said would both safeguard the recovery and ultimately lead to stronger banks.

Giving banks more time to comply with tougher global capital rules would avoid diluting the new standards, the Financial Stability Board said on Sunday.

World leaders agreed on Sunday to take different paths for cutting budget deficits and making their banking systems safer, a reflection of the uneven and fragile economic recovery in many countries.

World leaders put the finishing touches on plans to build a more stable global economy on Sunday but backed away from one-size-fits-all pledges as two years of crisis give way to an uneven recovery.

With a global recession behind them, world leaders meeting on Sunday will seek to show they can bolster a fragile economic recovery while also cutting massive government debt levels.

World leaders must focus on bolstering growth in a global economy still scarred by crisis, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Saturday as the heads of the Group of 20 nations gathered in Canada.

Apple Inc must immediately make clear what data it collects from users of its products and for what purposes, Germany's justice minister was quoted as saying by Der Spiegel magazine on Saturday.

The world's richest economies, saddled with huge debts after spending their way out of the credit crisis, papered over differences on Friday on how to clean up their finances with minimal damage to growth.

Global regulators will dilute a reform that forces banks to hold more reserves to survive shocks without massive taxpayer help again, sources familiar with the negotiations said on Friday.

World leaders aimed for a common target on Thursday of securing the economic recovery, but disagreed over how best to reach it.

The United States said on Thursday world leaders must work to keep economic growth on track but Europe dug in its heels ahead of a G20 summit, insisting that now was the time to work on cutting costs.

A sharp increase in temporary work -- a traditional leading indicator of in the early phase of recovery -- shows that many European countries and the United States are pulling out of recession, an industry association said on Thursday.

The top White House economic advisor said on Thursday world leaders must keep the tentative global recovery on track as Europe headed into this weekend's G20 summit defending plans for heavy cost-cutting.

The top White House economic advisor said on Thursday world leaders must keep the tentative global recovery on track as Europe headed into this weekend's G20 summit defending plans for heavy cost-cutting.

Wall Street was set to open lower on Thursday as investors fretted about the pace of the economic recovery, though a better-than-expected drop in initial jobless claims provided comfort.