LONDON - The blue-chip stock index was higher at midday Wednesday, with sentiment boosted by upbeat economic data from China, strong corporate earnings, and expectations for an imminent Greek debt deal. The FTSE 100 index was up 78.04 points, or 1.4 percent, at 5,759.62 at 1228 GMT, with mining stocks providing the biggest boost after data showed the factory sector in China -- the world's largest consumer of metals -- unexpectedly expanded in January. ...

LONDON - Nervous hedge funds managers are stress-testing their portfolios and searching for ways of protecting themselves against their worst nightmare -- a potential break-up of the euro zone. With talks on restructuring Greece's debt mountain still deadlocked, and the exit of one of more countries from the euro seen as a small but definite possibility, funds are modelling scenarios ranging from a 50 percent slump in European stocks or a 45 percent fall in the oil price to a 30 percent rise in gold. ...

NEW YORK - World stocks fell on Friday on news the U.S. economy grew more slowly than expected in the last quarter of 2011, while the euro rose on hopes of an imminent deal on Greece's debt that could help avert a disorderly default.

LONDON - Royal Bank of Scotland's Chairman Philip Hampton will not pick up a share-based bonus, the part-nationalised bank said on Saturday, amid a backdrop of public anger over a 1 million pound stock bonus for its chief executive. "Sir Philip Hampton will not receive the 5.17 million shares he was awarded in 2009 when he joined RBS," said a spokesman for the bank, which is 83 percent owned by the British government after a state bailout during the 2008 credit crisis

BRUSSELS - France outlined on Tuesday a blueprint of its own tax on financial transactions to other EU countries, in a fresh attempt to win backing for such a scheme across the European Union. President Nicolas Sarkozy is hoping the tax will be introduced in France before the end of the year, meaning that parliament would have to approve it before breaking in February ahead of presidential elections

Shares in French banks slid on Tuesday after Standard & Poor's downgraded them, following its downgrade of France's sovereign rating.

- Google Inc's quarterly earnings miss prompted at least three brokerages on Friday to cut their price targets on the stock, but analysts said the internet giant's core results were solid and the dip in share price was a buying opportunity. The company's Frankfurt-listed shares were trading down about 9 percent on Friday morning, a day after Google said its fourth-quarter revenue and earnings were hit by a decline in cost-per-click growth and forex fluctuations. Analysts at J.P.

LONDON - The FTSE fell on Friday morning, pressured by mining stocks after data from China dented the demand outlook from the world's top metals consumer, with investors waiting for news on Greece's negotiations with bondholders. The FTSE 100 was off 15.02 points, or 0.3 percent, at 5,726.13 by 09:27 a.m. BT, having risen 0.7 percent on Thursday to 5,741.15, its highest close since Aug 1

European shares steadied on Monday but the euro remained under pressure as investors digested news that Standard & Poor's cut the rating of nine European nations, including France's triple-A status.

- Scottish milk producer Robert Wiseman Dairies has agreed to be taken over for about 279.5 million pounds by German dairy firm Mueller Group, which is looking to increase its scale of operations in Europe. The recommended cash offer of 390 pence per share is at a 60 percent premium to Robert Wiseman shares' close on Thursday, a day prior to the announcement of the offer. "It's a fair price," analyst Charles Pick of Numis Securities said, pointing out the tough market conditions in which Robert Wiseman operates.