US STOCKS tumbled for a second straight day on Friday as escalating eurozone debt fears roiled European markets and sharply boosted safe-haven buying of dollar and gold.
THE European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said on Saturday it had increased its 2010 growth forecasts for Eastern Europe from 3.3 to 3.7 per cent but warned recovery remains fragile.
SPAIN'S government, under pressure on the markets and from its EU partners, said on Friday it is considering taxes hikes to help slash the public deficit, in addition to other unpopular measure already announced.
Spain, Portugal set tone as austerity sweeps Europe
Rome said last week that it would need to add some five billion euros to the 20 billion euros (25 billion dollars) it planned to trim from 2011-12 spending in order to lower the deficit to 2.7 percent in 2012.
Portugal on Thursday ordered deep wage and spending cuts along with higher taxes to slash the public deficit by more than half.
A day earlier, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced a raft of measures totalling 15 billion euros including cutting civil service pay by five percent.
Spain's long-awaited jobs reform, likely this week, will cut the cost of hiring and firing. The reform is key to Spain's ability to create jobs, pay down its debts and build up muscle to turn around an economy which shrank 3.6 percent year-on-year in 2009.
In Britain, among the first steps taken by new Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday was to order a five-percent salary cut for cabinet members.
In Italy, while a tax hike seems out of the question, the government said Thursday it would withhold development funds from four regions running large healthcare deficits, telling them to raise local taxes.
Geithner confident EU will resolve crisis, yuan will rise
INDIAN STOCKS
RPower net up 3-fold to Rs 683 cr
RNRL profit up 27 %
R-Infra's yearly net rises despite dip in 4th quarter
RCom Q4 net profit falls 16 per cent
Axis Bank inks largest ATM outsourcing deal
Jindal Power may launch Rs7,200 cr IPO by June-July
ITC pushes Bharti out of top 10 m-cap firms
Q4 blues: SBI seeks more time for higher NPA provision
New urea policy will allay industry fears on gas price
EIL FPO likely mid-July; 4 merchant bankers shortlisted
Oriental Bank plans branch in Dubai
Tata Motors plans passenger car launch in Thailand
PTC, Ashmore launch fund for power projects
DLF to raise Rs 2,700cr to reduce debt by a third
RIL signs MoU with Russian firm to make butyl rubber
ATF price hiked by Rs104 to Rs42,556 a kl in Delhi
Rajesh Exports scouts for gold mine
GMR to bid for Maldives airport project
Air India clocks 16.7-pc growth in number of passengers
Two-wheelers: 13 large cities to go BS-III from Apr 1
Three firms shortlisted for CIL's $2-bn overseas projects
SAIL to set up Rs 60,000-cr steel project in Jharkhand
Indian economy to grow by 8.5 pc in 2010-11: CII
