GERMANY

Gold drifted higher on Thursday on bargain hunting after a three-month low the previous day, but analysts said the metal had potential to test fresh lows.

The chief executive of German conglomerate RAG has had his contract extended by four years, the company said on Wednesday, a move that will help a planned multi-billion-euro flotation of certain RAG units.

European shares ended lower on Tuesday, dragged down by losses in technology and banking stocks amid concern about higher interest rates.

As leaders from eight of the world's top industrialized countries meet this week, to speak about global development, one of the main issues on the agenda will be climate change.

Siemens (NYSE: SI) announced on Sunday that it has named a new chief executive, as the industrial conglomerate attempts to reshape its image in the midst of various corruption investigations.

Shares in Germany’s Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) rose over 4 percent on Friday after its supervisory board chairman said he would step down yesterday as the company tries to restore its image in the midst of a series of bribery and corporate corruption accusations.

Major delays to Airbus' A380 superjumbo that led to a euro768 million ($1.01 billion) fourth-quarter loss made 2006 the worst year in European plane builder EADS NV's history, the co-chief executive officer said Friday.

The Walt Disney Co. said Thursday it will expand its successful Disney Cruise Line business by adding two new ships which could launch by 2011 and 2012.

E-Trade Financial (Nasdaq: ETFC) announced the launch of a global trading platform on Tuesday to provide its retail investors with online access to foreign markets for the first time.

Semiconductor firm Infineon Technologies AG (NYSE: IFX) agreed to provide chips for one of the world's largest contactless payment networks, the firm announced today, entering into a new agreement with MasterCard Inc.

German car manufacturer Mercedes Benz presented the latest version of its entry level compact-car luxury car on Thursday, touting new styling and safety features.

Philips Electronics spin-off Plastic Logic announced that it will build its first flexible display manufacturing plant in Germany after raising $100 million in equity to finance its technology.

Smartphone sales over the next few years will be driven by emerging applications a new study finds, with different world regions seeking different mobile functionality.

The German Chancellor urged security and trade co-work ahead of her nation's EU presidency.

A new study released on Monday shows that European mobile phone users are more likely to access the internet on their handsets than American users.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are being urged to be more competitive by continuing to support the European legislation for free trade, the European Commission said during its World Standards Day 2006 conference on Monday.

A subsidiary of Florida-based NeoMedia Technologies Inc. said on Friday it will strengthen its existing partnership with Omniprime, a Philippine mobile marketing company by finalizing a licensing contract.

The Federal Ministry of Economics in Berlin reported on Wednesday that manufacturing production has grown by around 1.9 percent compared to August levels.

Samsung Electronics announced a 10-megapixel camera phone to the South Korean market on Wednesday.

Internet search giant Yahoo Inc. is creating an electronic time-capsule - comprising electronic data submitted from internet users - which the company will use to commemorate the year of 2006.

Most employees working away from the office say they are aware of security risks surrounding them and their data, however a new report released on Monday indicates they still engage in risky online behavior.