G20

World stocks and the euro edged up on Wednesday after a rollercoaster week, as investors hoped for comfort on the weak U.S. economy and troubled euro zone from meetings of the U.S. Federal Reserve and Group of Twenty leaders.

Difficult decisions must be taken swiftly to address economic challenges in Europe and elsewhere, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a statement before leaving for the two-day Group of 20 leaders' summit in France starting on Thursday.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou fought off a barrage of criticism to win the backing of his Cabinet Wednesday to push ahead with a speedy referendum on the European debt bailout deal.

U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., will introduce bills on Wednesday to impose a .03 percent transaction tax on trades of stocks and bonds

The Greek government faced possible collapse on Tuesday as ruling party lawmakers demanded Prime Minister George Papandreou resign for throwing the nation's euro membership into jeopardy with a shock call for a referendum.

Prime Minister George Papandreou's shock decision to call a referendum on Greece's bailout drew veiled threats from Germany on Tuesday and hammered markets edgy over the euro zone crisis.

Prime Minister George Papandreou's shock decision to call a referendum on Greece's bailout drew veiled threats from Germany on Tuesday and hammered markets edgy over the euro zone crisis.

Greater currency flexibility from China and other emerging economies will be reviewed by G20 leaders this week as they focus on the need for balanced global economic growth, a top U.S. Treasury official said on Monday.

The euro area is headed toward a sharp economic slowdown in 2012, with some countries set for negative growth, and failure to restore confidence in battered state finances could prompt a major contraction in developed countries, the OECD said on Monday.

Global unemployment now already exceeds 200 million, the highest level ever reported.

Oil prices eased on Monday, with Brent slipping below $110, as the dollar rose against the yen after Japan intervened in the currency markets to stem the rise of the yen.

Japan sold the yen for the second time in less than three months after it hit another record high against the dollar Monday, saying it intervened to counter excessive speculation that was hurting the world's No. 3 economy.

The head of Europe's bailout fund, in Asia on a tour for potential investors, said on Monday he had been reassured by Japan's top currency official that Tokyo would continue to buy its bonds.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are backing the candidacy of the head of Switzerland's central bank to lead the Financial Stability Board, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Europe should not expect China to ride to the rescue as its savior from the debt crisis, though Beijing will do what it can to help a friend in need, the state-run Xinhua news agency said in a commentary Sunday.

Spain and Portugal said on Saturday the euro zone's debt crisis is a global problem, calling on the United States and other G20 powers to help contain the fallout.

Global development groups on Friday called on G20 leaders to step up to their commitments to tackle global food security and come up with new ways to boost world growth that also benefit the poorest.

Portugal asked Mexico on Saturday to tell fellow G20 members next week that the United States should offer financial help to resolve the euro zone sovereign debt crisis, describing it as a systemic and global problem, a Portuguese government source said.

European shares extended the previous session's rally Friday, with investors still buoyant over a deal struck by euro zone leaders early Thursday to help end the bloc's two-year-old debt crisis.

Fears of a double-dip recession in the U.S. receded temporarily Thursday after Washington said consumers bought more appliances and businesses spent more on construction this past summer.

The late-night rescue package agreed by euro zone leaders to cool their dangerous debt crisis will at least allow investors to look at other things for a while.