Britain's leading share index shed 0.8 percent in early trade on Wednesday, as jitters over the sustainability of the summer rally gathered pace, hitting banks and miners. By 0810 GMT, the FTSE 100 lost 36.48 points at 4,783.22 extending sharp falls from Tuesday, weighed down by weakness on Wall Street and in Asia overnight as

China needs to nurture a fair and transparent business environment to sustain its economic recovery and remain attractive for foreign investors, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said on Wednesday. [ID:nPEK96329] Following are some of the grievances contained in the chamber's annual position paper: MARKET ACCESS — Chinese companies are acquiring EU car

Asian shares pulled back on Wednesday after revived worries about the health of U.S. banks slammed Wall Street, even as upbeat Australian growth figures reassured investors on the economic recovery's staying power. European shares were set for a weaker start, with futures on the Dow Jones Eurostoxx 50 down 0.2 percent in early trade. Futures

The Athens Stock Exchange will open for trade on Wednesday despite a bomb blast that caused huge damage to its building, it said in a statement. "Despite the huge material damages caused to the building by today's explosion, both the Athens and the Cyprus stock markets will operate normally," the bourse said in a statement.

France is optimistic about upcoming G20 meetings because many leaders, including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, have moved closer to the French position, Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said. In an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, Lagarde said there were disagreements in Europe over accountancy rules and the speed at which reforms should be carried out.

Europe started eradicating traditional energy-guzzling light bulbs on Tuesday, angering some consumers who had grown attached to their warm glow and cheap price. The move was part of European Union efforts to boost energy efficiency by a fifth by 2020 in the fight against global warming and to cut dependency on costly gas imports for

European stocks were down 1.1 percent around midday on Tuesday in a broad retreat led by banks and miners such as UBS and Xstrata as investors booked recent strong gains ahead of key U.S. data. Pharmaceutical stocks bucked the trend, with AstraZeneca up 1.6 percent, boosted by positive trial results from its experimental blood thinner

The world's airlines are being squeezed even as the global economy recovers, with higher oil and jet fuel prices causing added pain, an industry group said on Tuesday. Net losses continued to expand in the second quarter of 2009, reaching at least $6 billion for the first half of the year, the International Air Transport