The chief executive of Commerzbank is predicting a wave of mergers among Germany's cooperative and savings banks. Martin Blessing, who heads Germany's second biggest bank, noted that there were still almost 2,000 banks in Germany, in contrast to about 20 in Spain.
Investors
Wall Street ends with slight losses, energy weighs again
U.S. stocks ended slightly lower on Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi brushed off pressure for more immediate monetary policy action but said the issue would be addressed early next year.
Asia cheered by U.S. economic resilience, euro struggles
Asian stocks rose on Thursday amid fresh signs of resilience in the U.S. economy, while the euro wallowed near two-year lows before a much-anticipated European Central Bank meeting that could open the door to more stimulus.
Cyclicals lead Wall St. higher; Dow, S&P end at records
U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, with both the Dow and S&P 500 ending at records, as data pointed to improving conditions in the U.S. services sector, boosting cyclical stocks.
Global shares take heart from oil bounce, dollar capped
Stock markets recovered from their latest bout of oil and growth-related trauma on Tuesday, helped by promises from U.S. policymakers and the head of the IMF that lower fuel costs would boost the world economy.
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Shale stocks have been hard-hit as investors see margins all but evaporating following the slide in crude oil prices, but the U.S. shale energy boom is not over.
China hopes that last week's interest rate cut will increase lending into the economy to shore up flagging growth, but measuring any rise will be impeded by a number of tricks the country's bankers use to manipulate the figures.
Oil prices, oil-related shares and oil-linked currencies all tumbled in Asia on Friday, in the wake of OPEC's decision to refrain from cutting output despite a huge oversupply.
U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday boosted by tech shares, with the S&P 500 and Dow industrials closing at records, while the energy sector was once more the largest weight on the market as crude prices continued to flirt with multi-year lows.
Activist investor Carl Icahn raised his stake in U.S. car rental company Hertz Global Holdings Inc to 10.77 percent from 8.48 percent. The billionaire was already Hertz's largest shareholder and in the past few months had successfully pushed for management changes and won board seats on the company.
Asian stocks edged up on Wednesday after data showing the U.S. economy growing at a relatively solid pace calmed investor anxiety over slowing global growth, while the Australian dollar languished near four-year lows against the dollar.
Asian shares gave back some of their China-inspired gains on Tuesday, while oil prices slumped ahead of this week's OPEC meeting.
U.S. fund firms are taking extra measures to make sure they don't get stuck holding hard-to-sell bonds in the event that fixed income markets see a massive race to the exits when interest rates start to rise.
European stocks were set to open slightly higher on Monday, adding to Friday's sharp rally sparked by dovish comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and a surprise interest rate cut in China.
