Citigroup said on Monday it is preparing to remove Greek government debt from its World Government Bond Index, a key benchmark for sovereign credit, after Moody's Investors Service cut its rating to junk status. "Greece no longer meets the minimum credit criteria of BBB-/Baa3 by either S&P or Moody's for the World Government Bond Index

Asian stocks slipped on Tuesday, snapping a five-day winning streak, as worries about Europe's debt problems returned after Greece was downgraded to junk status, a move which also stymied the euro's rally. Although Moody's 4-notch downgrade of Greece's credit rating to Ba1 was expected, as it was catching up with rival Standard & Poor's BB-plus

German government bonds opened higher on Tuesday after Moody's investors service cut Greece's credit rating to junk late the previous day, refocusing market attention on Europe's debt problems. Moody's downgraded Greece four notches to Ba1, citing risks in the euro zone/IMF rescue package for the debt-stricken country. It was the second agency to strip Athens

Spain said on Monday that foreign banks were refusing to lend to some of its banks in the latest twist to the euro zone debt crisis, but denied it was on the brink of seeking a Greek-style European financial rescue. Treasury Secretary Carlos Ocana acknowledged officially for the first time a liquidity freeze on some

Greek bank stocks gained 4.8 percent on Monday, leading the Greek equities market higher, as they continued to rebound from oversold levels amid optimism over fiscal consolidation targets, traders said. "There are positive signs the government is moving in the right direction in terms of the stability plan targets and this has halted the wave

Britain's newly created budget watchdog downgraded economic growth forecasts on Monday but did not radically alter the scale of austerity measures required from the country's coalition government. Business Britain's economy will grow more slowly after this year than the previous Labour government expected but state borrowing will fall a bit faster than originally thought partly

As 2009 drew to a close, Europe's common currency appeared to have weathered the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression with barely a scratch. Countries outside the euro area, from Iceland to Ukraine, had seen their economies collapse, but most of those within the zone were basking in the glow of their 11-year-old

Market supervisors in the European Union could be given powers to temporarily ban naked short selling of credit default swaps and shares in times of extreme volatility, the bloc's executive body said on Monday. EU Internal Market Commissioner, Michel Barnier, has said he will present a legislative proposal to regulate short selling. "The Commission believes

World stocks rose 1 percent on Monday to their highest level in over a week and heading for their fourth straight day of gains as investors banked on global economic recovery to trump concerns over euro zone debt. The euro also followed up its best week this year against the dollar to rise 1 percent.

Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs Markos Kyprianou departs for Denmark on Tuesday where the trio presidency of the European Union, Poland, Denmark and Cyprus, for the second half of 2011 and the whole of 2012, will convene on Wednesday. An official statement said that during meeting, issues that concern preparations for the assumption of the