European shares hit a four-week low on Friday, extending the previous day's sharp losses, as investors were nervy before the U.S. jobs figures after data this week cast doubt about the strength of the recovery. By 0757 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 was down 1 percent at 971.93 points, after falling 1.6 percent on Thursday to

World stocks fell and the U.S. dollar broadly held firm on Friday as doubts grew about the pace of economic recovery and the week's major data on U.S. jobs loomed large. European shares tumbled at the open, following steep losses in Asia and on Wall Street overnight as investors moved to the relative safely of

The fundamental credit outlook for the Baltic banking systems is negative, reflecting the significant decline in banks' financial metrics within the context of the severely weakened economies of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Moody's Investors Service said in its new Banking System Outlook on the Baltic countries. The negative outlook on the Baltic banking systems reflects

Minister of Finance Charilaos Stavrakis and Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Ploutarchos Sakellaris signed an agreement of guarantees on Thursday, providing for a loan of 30 million EUR from the EIB to the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC). The agreement was signed on the sidelines of a meeting of Commonwealth Finance Ministers,

The EU27 unemployment rate rose up to 9.1% in August 2009, compared with 9.0% in July, while it was 7.0% in August 2008 according to data released by Eurostat. The euro area (EA16) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 9.6% in August 2009, compared with 9.5% in July. It was 7.6% in August 2008. For the euro

Olympic Air (OA), the revamped former national carrier following its acquisition by Marfin Investment Group (MIG), formally launched operation on Thursday (October 1), while Group chairman Andreas Vgenopoulos announced that MIG possesses an internationally registered trademark for the title "Macedonian Airlines". The first official flight by Olympic Air, conducted by an Airbus 320, took off

Asian shares fell on Friday as disappointing U.S. manufacturing data raised concerns that its economic recovery may not be as fast as previously thought, while the dollar remained firm as investors booked profits on higher-yielding currencies. Shares in Japan slumped 2.5 percent as the weak U.S. data and concerns that a strengthening yen will hurt

British house prices rose for a fifth month running to turn flat on the year in September, the Nationwide Building Society said on Friday, in a further sign the housing market is stabilising. The mortgage lender said house prices rose 0.9 percent in September, slightly better than economists' forecasts of a 0.7 percent increase after