International credit ratings agencies sometimes send signals to investors too late, European Central Bank board member Christian Noyer said on Tuesday, days after Fitch downgraded Spain as its government struggles to avoid a Greek-style debt crisis. "For us, it's an enormous problem because it always happens at the wrong time," Noyer said during a panel

Israeli police jailed or deported on Tuesday hundreds of international activists arrested aboard Turkish-backed aid ships bound for Gaza in a naval operation that left nine people dead and sparked world outcry. The U.N. Security Council met in emergency session to discuss Israel's storming of the flotilla, with most members of the 15-nation body calling

Oil held above $74 on Tuesday after Chinese factory data signaled sustained growth at the world's second-largest user, outweighing concerns about a potential slowdown in European economy. Although China's factories scaled back production last month and slowed the pace of hiring in response to a drop in new orders from both home and abroad, the

The euro fell on Tuesday towards a four-year low against the dollar, hurt by fears that the region's sovereign debt problems may spread to the banking system, while the Australian dollar dropped after weak building data. Approvals for building new Australian homes dived in April, backing bets the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would not

The euro steadied from recent falls and world stocks were becalmed on Monday with a Chinese warning about risks to global growth and a downgrade of Spain's credit heightening investor caution in holiday-thinned trade. Europe's common currency inched up, recovering modest losses suffered after a cut to Spain's sovereign debt rating late on Friday, but

Britain and Europe are the world's costliest places to buy Apple Inc's new iPad computer, with prices around a quarter higher than in the United States, a new study has found. While the much-hyped tablet should trade at broadly the same price globally if exchange rates were properly adjusting, Australia's CommSec iPad Index found big

Bund futures opened higher on Monday, with demand for benchmark German paper underpinned by renewed worries about fringe euro zone debt after Fitch cut Spain's credit rating by one notch to AA-plus late on Friday. Fitch linked the downgrade to the record levels of household and corporate debt in Spain, as well as mounting public debt,

The European Union called for an enquiry into deaths aboard Gaza aid ships seized by Israel's navy on Monday and urged Israel to allow the free flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. "High Representative Catherine Ashton expresses her deep regret at the news of loss of life and violence and extends her sympathies