VENTURE CAPITAL POST

A string of reversals from sharp moves the previous day marked global financial market trading on Wednesday, with stocks and oil gaining ground and the U.S. dollar falling after its biggest rally in two years.

Internet retailer Amazon.com Inc.'s (AMZN.O) main German operating unit paid just 11.9 million euros ($16 million) in tax in 2014, despite the group recording $11.9 billion in sales to German customers last year, regulatory filings show.

Greece's financial crisis and signs of growing opposition to austerity in Spain sent the euro to its lowest level in a month on Tuesday, while shares and commodities took a knock as the dollar powered higher.

The dollar hit a one-month high against a basket of major currencies on Monday after stronger-than-expected underlying U.S. inflation bolstered the Federal Reserve's case for an interest rate hike later this year.

China overtook France last year as the world's second largest wine grower by area under cultivation as it continued to plant vast fields of mostly imported grape vines to meet growing demand.

Spain's Banco Sabadell (SABE.MC) could look to expand further in Britain after agreeing a 1.7 billion pound ($2.5 billion) takeover of TSB (TSB.L), one of the biggest cross-border banking deals since the financial crisis of 2007-09.

Once depicted as a "Blue Banana" stretching from Manchester to Milan, Europe's industrial heartland has moved eastwards just as its political center of gravity has shifted to Germany.

The European Central Bank's bond purchases will create an unsustainable stock market rally and are unlikely to boost euro zone investments, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis warned on Saturday.

EU finance ministers agreed the details of a 315 billion euro ($338 billion) investment plan on Tuesday to help revive the European economy without piling up more debt, and now aim to get the first projects going by the end of the year.

Cross-border lending is growing in the euro zone for the first time since the bloc's financial crisis prompted banks to retreat from highly indebted countries such as Spain, Greece, Ireland and Italy.

Hutchison Whampoa (0013.HK), owner of Britain's fourth-largest mobile operator Three, is in talks with Telefonica (TEF.MC) about buying its O2 network, the Sunday Times reported, citing unnamed city sources.

The chief executive of controversial online ride-sharing company Uber stuck a newly conciliatory tone on Sunday, promising to create 50,000 new jobs this year across Europe in cities that are willing to reach deals to help his firm operate.

After a head-spinning bout of volatility, next week will be dominated by one question: Will the European Central Bank take the ultimate policy leap or pull its punches?

Spanish renewable energy firm Abengoa (ABG.MC) (ABGek.MC), which is selling assets to cut debt, said it had raised $328 million from selling shares in its U.S. unit after banks underwriting the offer bought more of the stock.

France's floundering economy pushed car sales 6.8 percent lower year-on-year in December, while Spanish sales jumped by 21.4 percent, helped by a subsidy scheme, and also rose in Italy, according to auto industry associations.