European shares rose to a five-week closing high on Tuesday as strong results from UBS boosted banks, but more than half the market's early gains were erased after data showed a drop in U.S. consumer confidence. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares advanced for a sixth straight session to finish 0.5% firmer at
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Oil prices fell by more than 2% on Tuesday, reversing an earlier rally, after data showed U.S. consumer confidence plunged to the lowest level in five months, prompting investors to sell off riskier assets including oil and equities. The data prompted U.S. benchmark oil prices to back down sharply from a new 11-week high of
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Job worries drove July U.S. consumer confidence to its lowest since February, with one in six people expecting lower income in the next six months, underscoring the precarious state of economic recovery. Home prices rose in May but display no signs of a sustained rebound as long as unemployment flirts with 10% and a record
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BP's newly named chief executive on Tuesday called the Gulf oil spill a "wake-up call" for the entire industry as the company tallied up its losses and disclosed two U.S. investigations. Bob Dudley, who will replace gaffe-prone Tony Hayward as CEO on Oct. 1, said safety would be among his highest priorities as he tries
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One of the closest aides to Cyprus President Demetris Christofias quit on Tuesday after it emerged that a member of his staff had tried to intervene in army appointments, the government said. Christofias accepted the resignation of Vassos Georgiou, who had been director of his office and a close aide from the days when Christofias
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Alpha Bank, Greece's third-largest lender, said on Tuesday it sold a 1 bln euro ($1.29 bln) covered bond to boost liquidity. "The covered bond may be pledged with the European Central Bank as collateral for liquidity purposes," the lender said in a statement. The sale, which took place on Friday, is part of a recently
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Greek bank stocks were up sharply on Tuesday, continuing Monday's rally with brokers citing merger talk and low valuations as the main drivers. "What's driving the rise is the fact that Greek bank stock valuations were quite cheap. The prospect of mergers and acquisitions has sparked the rally which is correcting their undervaluation," said broker
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World stocks hit a 2-1/2 month high on Tuesday while the euro held near a two-month peak versus the dollar as upbeat results from Swiss bank UBS added to a recent run of strong corporate earnings. UBS rose 7.2% as the bank said strong equities and currency revenues drove second-quarter net profit well above forecasts.
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The cost of protecting government debt against default in Greece, Spain and other peripheral euro zone debt issuers fell on Tuesday as investors switched back to riskier assets post-bank stress tests. Five-year credit default swaps (CDS) on Greek government debt fell to 690 basis points, down 30 bps on the day, according to data from
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Sales of new U.S. single-family homes rebounded strongly in June from the prior month's record low, pushing the number of houses on the market to the lowest level in nearly 42 years. But downward revisions to sales estimates for April and May contained in the report on Monday left in place a picture of a
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