German Bunds opened lower on Thursday as investors booked profits after a rally the previous session on the back of dismal US housing data and a cautious tone on the economy from the US Federal reserve. The Fed renewed its promise to hold benchmark interest rates exceptionally low for an extended period, as expected, but

Controversial EU rules for hedge funds hung in the balance on Wednesday with European lawmakers and diplomats in a stand-off that some warned could spoil Brussels' attempts to overhaul the regulation of finance. It is the latest in a series of rows between the bloc's 27 countries and the European Parliament, which have an equal

  Once kept at home by love for mamma's home-cooked pasta, a growing number of young Italians are now forced to live with their parents because they can't get a steady job or afford a home of their own. When estate agents showed a young couple a rental apartment in Rome this year, they got

British Prime Minister David Cameron is expected to discuss BP with U.S. President Barack Obama when the two meet this weekend, Cameron's spokesman said on Wednesday. The discussion, following British concern that Obama has been too harsh on the oil company following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, could add to diplomatic tensions bubbling away

The Group of 20 major economies will warn against complacency in tackling the global economic crisis and say that sickly public accounts could hit long-term growth, a draft G20 document shows. The draft version of the summit communique, obtained by Reuters and drawn up ahead of a G20 leaders meeting this weekend in Toronto, reflected

One Bank of England policymaker voted to raise interest rates from their record low this month in a surprise split with the majority for leaving policy unchanged, prompting speculation of a rate hike this year. Sterling surged half a cent against the dollar and short sterling futures tumbled as investors reckoned the first call for

German's budget savings policy risks destroying the European project and a collapse of the euro cannot be ruled out, billionaire investor George Soros said in a newspaper interview released on Wednesday. "German policy is a danger for Europe, it could destroy the European project," he told German weekly Die Zeit. Soros, who earned $1 billion

  * Stock index futures pointed to a stronger start for U.S. equities on Wednesday, rebounding from a fall in the previous session when stocks suffered due to weak housing data. * At 0853 GMT, futures for the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up between 0.5 and 0.6 percent. * The FTSEurofirst 300

The economic crisis has deteriorated the economic situation in the EU member states, leading to an increase of poverty, according to the results of a new Eurobarometer survey on social impacts of the crisis, presented by the EU Commission Tuesday. According to the survey, one European in six reports a constant struggle to pay household

The Group of Eight is losing relevance as faster-growing rivals like China and Brazil play a larger role managing the global economy, but it will still endure as a key forum for traditional industrial powers. Meeting in Huntsville, Canada on June 24-25, the G8 might look like a warm-up act for the main event in