AFP - The leading share index posted solid gains as investors shrugged off profit warnings from major investment banks Citigroup, Credit Suisse and UBS to focus on the mining and house building sectors, dealers said Monday.

AFP - The leading share index lost ground as a fall in commodity prices saw the mining and enegry sectors under heavy selling pressure, dealers said Tuesday.

Reuters - France's foreign minister called on the European Union to take the lead in widening financial sanctions on Iran, insisting the world could not afford to wait for U.N. action to rein in Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

AP - European Union finance ministers open two days of talks Monday to discuss the United States' slowing economy, feeble dollar and massive current account deficit as major problems for the EU and the rest of the world.

AFP - The FTSE 100 index of leading shares percent dipped 0.20 to 6,582.70 points in late morning deals.

AFP - China came under European pressure on Tuesday to allow its currency to trade more freely in foreign exchange markets amid growing concerns that its huge surpluses are destablising the global economy.

AFP - The leading share index closed in positive territory Wednesday as Northern Rock's share price soared by more than 30 percent as investors scooped a four percent stake in the troubled lender.

AFP - The leading share index closed near a seven-year high on Friday with Northern Rock top of the leaderboard after Richard Branson's Virgin Group announced it was leading a consortium to rescue and rebrand the troubled mortgage lender.

FT.com - Johnson Matthey was the standout feature in a FTSE 100 that closed sharply lower Monday.

AFP - A weak performance by the mining sector saw the leading share index fall into negative territory, dealers said Tuesday.

AP - The dollar fell to a new low against the euro on Thursday after the 13-nation European currency broke through the $1.43 mark on reports from Washington that growing economic weakness was boosting jobless claims.

AFP - Britain's economy expanded by an impressive 0.8 percent in the third quarter of 2007, shrugging off the impact of the global credit crunch, according to official data published Friday.

Reuters - Poles voted on Sunday in a snap parliamentary election that could weaken the grip of the conservative Kaczynski twins and bring in a more EU-friendly government ready to speed up economic reforms.

AFP - London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares opened almost 3.0 percent lower on Monday, after sharp drops in Asia as jittery markets took their cue from a pre-weekend slump on Wall Street.

AFP - Factories in the 13 nations sharing the euro single currency saw demand rise slightly in August as orders for chemical products rose, official EU data released Tuesday showed.

AFP - The prospects for growth in the 13-nation eurozone and throughout the EU as a whole have dipped since the summer's financial turmoil, the bloc's economic affairs commissioner warned Thursday.

AFP - The global credit crisis which hammered British lender Northern Rock was partly sparked by 'irresponsible lending' on financial markets, EU Internal Markets Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said Friday.

AFP - The dollar plummeted to a record low against the euro Monday, as the European single currency rose to 1.4438 dollars on speculation US interest rates will be lowered again this week, analysts said.

AFP - Two European Union commissioners on Wednesday issued a defence of the controversial economic partnership agreements the EU is negotiating with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.