World stocks rose for a second day running on Tuesday and oil also gained on rising expectations of U.S. economic recovery, which sent U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar higher. The euro and European stocks held onto gains after Moody's delivered a widely anticipated downgrade to Greece's sovereign rating. The cut was a smaller-than-expected one

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.28 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.27 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.51 percent at 3:40 a.m. EST. Investors were bracing for a flurry of macro data on Tuesday, including a final reading

Britain's top share index rose 0.7 percent in early trade on Tuesday as energy stocks, buoyed by firming crude prices, led a broad-based rally ahead of the final reading for UK Q3 GDP. At 0913 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was up 36.56 points at 5,330.55, having closed up 97.18 points, or 1.9 percent on

Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat have expressed their strong hope that 2010 will be the year of solution of the Cyprus problem. In a joint statement after their last meeting in 2009, in the framework of direct negotiations aiming to solve the Cyprus problem, the two leaders also announced

British house prices will rise by 1-2 percent next year, with gains in the first few months of 2010 followed by stagnation and modest falls in the second half of the year, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said on Tuesday. British house prices fell to a five-year low in early 2009, but have since

The dollar held firm on Tuesday against major currencies, and hit a two-month high against the yen, while Asian shares edged up as technology stocks tracked a rally in their peers on Wall Street. The dollar touched 91.45 yen, its highest level since late October, helped by unwinding of dollar short positions ahead of the

Moody's Investors Service has taken a number of rating actions on four Lebanese banks – it has downgraded to Ba3 from Ba2 the long-term global local currency (GLC) deposit ratings of Bank Audi, BLOM Bank and Byblos Bank, while the outlook on foreign currency deposit ratings of Bank Audi, BLOM Bank, Byblos Bank and Bank

Britain's top share index was up 1.1 percent by midday on Monday in thin pre-Christmas trade, bolstered by strength in energy stocks and a rally by banks. At 1206 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was up 58.33 points at 5,255.14, having closed 0.4 percent lower on Friday at 5,196.81. It lost 1.2 percent overall in