British part-nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland said former chief executive Fred Goodin had agreed to more than halve his widely criticised 703,000 pound pension award. Goodwin will now receive an annual payout of 342,500 pounds, the bank said. Chairman Philip Hampton said Goodwin had voluntarily approached the bank to alter his pension arrangements after

European companies must refinance a $3.9 trillion debt mountain over the next three years, casting a dark cloud over the tentative signs of economic recovery in the region, Standard & Poor's said on Thursday. Some of that refinancing risk in Europe may be mitigated by the fact that the bulk of debt due is rated

World stocks fell towards the previous day's three-week low and oil also slipped on Thursday after investors turned nervous in pushing risky assets further before seeing concrete signs of an economic recovery. UK data showed retail sales fell unexpectedly in May, tempering recent optimism that the global economy is on track for a recovery and

European stocks were down 0.5 percent in early trade on Thursday, falling for the fifth session in a row led by energy stocks, in spite of steady oil prices, but the drop was limited by rising defensive shares. At 0914 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.3 percent at 842.94

The Swiss central bank called on Thursday for powers to break up banks deemed "too big to fail", joining London and Washington in demanding regulation to ensure institutions look after themselves in any crisis. Over the nearly two years since defaults on U.S. mortgages triggered a banking crisis that spread across the globe, governments have

Dow Jones futures rose 0.1 percent and S&P 500 futures also rose 0.1 percent while Nasdaq futures fell 0.2 percent by 0913 GMT, suggesting a mixed start for U.S. stock markets on Thursday. The main focus looked likely to be on the implications for banks and other financial institutions of the U.S. government's extensive proposals