BusinessWeek Online - Euro zone property markets have started to cool as a result of the European Central Bank's rate policy. The latest annual data, published in the ECB's May monthly report, show that euro zone house prices rose 6.0% year over year in the second half of 2006, down from 6.9% year over year in the first half. This means 2006 property price inflation slowed to 6.4% from 7.9% in 2005. The 12-country average conceals a certain amount of heterogeneity, but it appears that most countries saw moderation.

AFP - The FTSE 100 lost ground Wednesday as investors positioned themselves ahead of interest-rate decisions by the Bank of England and the European Central Bank.

FT.com - Japan's stock market was weighed down on Thursday morning by a combination of overnight drops in the US and European markets and a rise in the yen.

AP - President Nicolas Sarkozy's plans to revive France's economy and its identity stand their first test on Sunday in parliamentary elections, with voters widely expected to give allies of their new conservative leader a mandate for change.

AFP - The European Union on Monday resumed aid to the Palestinian finance ministry for the first time since the West launched an economic boycott of the government more than a year ago.

Canadian Press - FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Strong demand abroad for German exports and consumer spending at home has pushed business confidence in Europe's biggest economy to its highest point since reunification in 1990, according to a survey released Tuesday.

FT.com - Switzerland raised interest rates for the seventh time in a row on Thursday, as the central bank acknowledged that opening the country's borders to European Union citizens had accelerated economic growth.

AFP - French President Nicolas Sarkozy is touting British Prime Minister Tony Blair for a job as the first full-time European Union president, the Financial Times newspaper said Saturday.

AP - President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservative party appeared headed to an unexpectedly small parliamentary majority in elections Sunday, according to poll projections, though voters still gave him a comfortable mandate to open up France's economy.

AFP - The European Union moved Monday to bolster the Palestinian emergency government, offering political and financial support and urging Israel to follow suit.

AP - The dollar drifted higher against the euro on Tuesday on the release of a report that showed investor and business confidence slipping in Germany, the euro zone's biggest economy.

AFP - Defence company BAE Systems led the fallers on the FTSE 100 after it was hit by an anti-corruption probe in the United States, dealers said Tuesday.

FT.com - Brussels on Wednesday tightened the screws on European Union governments that have broken the bloc's common rules, in a drive to prise open national markets for companies in the gambling, telecommunications and financial services sectors, and the legal profession.

AFP - Unemployment in Germany tumbled to its lowest level in 14 years this month, as the current boom in the eurozone's biggest economy pushes up demand for labour to all-time highs, data showed on Thursday.

AFP - Economic confidence in Europe stabilised in in June after a reaching a six-year high in May, a European Union survey released Friday showed.