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DUBLIN Europe is still some way from severing the vicious link between troubled banks and states despite a landmark deal anointing the European Central Bank as supervisor-in-chief. Persuading national governments to cede responsibility for their biggest lenders to Frankfurt was a major first step towards banking union but it was arguably the easiest bit. Getting agreement on sharing the burden when one of those banks goes belly-up, the key component of a euro zone firewall, could take years yet to be agreed, with German elections late next year likely to rule out any meaningful discussion of bold policy moves beforehand. [...]

Chinese jobs return to UKDuring a stop in Shenzhen on Saturday Mr Xi laid a basket of flowers in front of a statue of Deng in a local park. Mr Xi said he had gone there to “revere” the statue and push “new breakthroughs and new steps in boosting reform,” according to a state media account.”Shenzhen is synonymous with economic reform,” said Willy Lam, professor of history at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “His message to the outside world is ‘I am the heir to Deng, I am not a conservative’.”Shenzhen is also where Mr Xi’s father, a famous [...]

NEW YORK Stock futures rose on Wednesday after comments from China’s new leader boosted global growth expectations. * Chinese Communist Party chief Xi Jinping said the country would maintain its fine-tuning of economic policies in 2013 to ensure stable economic growth. That sparked a rally in Chinese shares, with the Shanghai Composite Index surging 2.9 percent. * Nokia is to partner with China Mobile <0941.HK>, the world’s biggest operator, to launch a version of its flagship Lumia smartphone tailored for the world’s largest market. U.S.-listed shares of Nokia rose 2.9 percent to $ 3.54 in premarket trading. * Repsol filed [...]

LONDON World shares hit three-week peaks and commodities were also higher on Thursday as comments from a senior U.S. lawmaker raised hopes of a budget deal by year-end to avoid a fiscal crisis in the world’s biggest economy. With Asian shares higher and the FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> of top European shares adding 0.5 percent when trading opened, the MSCI global equities index <.MIWD00000PUS> was up 0.4 percent at 330.74 points, its highest since November 7. U.S. shares jumped overnight after House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner voiced optimism that Republicans could broker a deal with the White House to [...]

TOKYO Asian shares touched their highest levels in more than three weeks and commodities rose on Thursday as sentiment improved after a senior U.S. lawmaker said he was “optimistic” on reaching a budget deal before the end of the year to avoid a fiscal crisis. European shares will likely extend gains seen in the previous session, with financial spreadbetters predicting London’s FTSE 100 , Paris’s CAC-40 and Frankfurt’s DAX will open up as much as 0.4 percent. A 0.4 percent climb in U.S. stock futures also hinted at a solid Wall Street open. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside [...]

TOKYO Asian shares rose on Monday, supported by hopes U.S. politicians can overcome an imminent fiscal crunch while the yen fell to a near seven-month low against the dollar on expectations a new government chosen in next month’s election could pump large amounts of stimulus cash into the economy. A 0.2 percent gain in U.S. stock futures point to a firm Wall Street open, and financial spreadbetters predict London’s FTSE 100 , Paris’s CAC-40 and Frankfurt’s DAX will open as much as 0.9 percent higher. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> rose 0.5 percent, recovering from Friday’s [...]

EU flag flies outside the Parthenon in Greece.Athens new budget projections exceed worst-case scenarios of international lenders Debt will hit 189% of economic output and climb to 192 per cent in 2014Higher than predicted when lenders agreed to a €174bn rescue eight months agoEU officials acknowledged they may have to give Athens more leeway to hit target (Financial Times) — The magnitude of Greece’s fiscal challenge was painted in sharp relief on Wednesday as Athens unveiled new budget projections exceeding the worst-case scenarios envisioned by international lenders when they agreed a €174bn rescue eight months ago.Instead of Greece’s debt peaking [...]

MADRID Spain’s funding costs fell at auction on Thursday, when the Treasury sold 4.6 billion euros ($ 6.3 billion) of bonds, after Moody’s affirmed the country’s investment-grade credit rating and as markets expected Madrid to ask for aid soon. Spain had been aiming to sell between 3.5 billion and 4.5 billion euros of the three bonds. The benchmark 10-year bond, due January 31, 2022, sold at an average yield of 5.458 percent, down from its previous primary auction September 20, when it fetched a yield of 5.666 percent. The Treasury sold 1.5 billion euros of the bond and received 1.9 [...]

TOKYO Asian shares rose to their highest in over five months on Wednesday as strong U.S. earnings reports lifted investor mood, while the euro hit a one-month high against the dollar as Spain retained an investment-grade debt rating. Growing risk tolerance weighed on the safe-haven dollar, pushing its index measured against a basket of six key currencies to a 1-1/2-week low while underpinning dollar-based commodities and the commodity-linked Australian dollar. A weaker dollar also lifted spot gold up 0.3 percent to $ 1,752.14 an ounce, off their one-month lows seen on Monday. The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan [...]

SAN FRANCISCO Intel’s weak outlook for fourth-quarter revenue and margins dispelled lingering hopes for a revival in PC demand towards the end of the year, pushing its shares lower. The company’s quarterly report on Tuesday followed a warning by the top chipmaker in September that demand was weaker than expected and that revenue would fall far short of its forecast. With economic growth slowing in China and struggling in Europe and the United States, global PC shipments are expected by analysts to decline slightly this year, the first annual drop since 2001. Intel said its Data Center Group, which sells [...]