Asian shares slid on Friday after a Republican proposal to deal with a U.S. fiscal crunch failed to get enough support, deepening uncertainty over the U.S. can avert the "fiscal cliff" of automatic spending cuts and tax increases set to start January 1. "Markets disliked signs of further delay in talks, with the risk that

Greek lenders Eurobank and Piraeus have both reported quarterly losses, hit by bad debt provisions and higher funding costs that squeezed net interest income. With the economy shrinking at an annualised rate of nearly 7% in the third quarter and with one in four Greeks without work, borrowers are having a hard time servicing their

Silvio Berlusconi joined forces with his leftwing opponents on Thursday to warn Mario Monti against standing in the coming election, as uncertainty over the outgoing premier's plans stoked political tension in Italy. Berlusconi told a radio phone-in programme it would be "morally questionable" for Monti to run, emphasising the risks of him being caught in

Investors could have more choice in where to clear share trades and pay less for them under new rules set out by European Union regulators on Thursday. Market users would not have to use a clearer preferred or owned by an exchange and it would be harder for Deutsche Boerse's Eurex Clearing or the French

A subtle shift in monetary policymaking is afoot with a new generation of central bankers, striving to secure global economic recovery, prepared to challenge the old doctrine of inflation-fighting at all costs. Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of Canada and soon-to-be head of the Bank of England, may or may not have intended

European Union regulators dropped an antitrust investigation into Thomson Reuters on Thursday after the company made it easier for customers using its financial instrument codes to switch to competing services. The European Commission said its ruling meant the news and information company would not be penalised, and there was no finding or admission of guilt