US stocks advanced after National Semiconductor Corp. spurred a rally in technology shares that helped the market overcome the largest drop in American retail sales since September. Treasuries rallied, oil broke a three-day winning streak and the Dollar strengthened versus the Euro.
 
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.4% as of 4 p.m. in New York after reversing its loss in the last 25 minutes of trading. It rallied 2.5% this week, the most since March. Technology stocks in the measure climbed 1.1% Friday as Microsoft Corp. gained 2.7%, while the Russell 2000 Index of small companies rallied 1.4%. Yields on 10- year Treasuries fell 9 basis points to 3.23%. Crude futures slumped 2.3% to $73.78 a barrel. The Euro dropped 0.1% to $1.2112.
 
The technology-stock rally pushed the S&P 500 higher even as a gauge of consumer shares retreated. While the US Labor Department said retail sales decreased 1.2% in May, compared with median economist estimate that called for a 0.2% gain, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan measure of consumer confidence released an hour and a half later rose to the highest level in two years.
 
Stock futures retreated and Treasury yields jumped after the Commerce Department report at 8:30 a.m. New York time. Equities then rallied after the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment increased to 75.5, the highest level since January 2008. The gauge was projected to rise to 74.5, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 65 economists.
 
Falling consumer shares pushed the market lower before the technology-stock rally helped power the S&P 500 higher in the final 25 minutes of trading. Volume of 7.6 billion shares on US stock exchanges was the lowest since April 6.
 
The S&P 500, which surged 3% Thursday, completed its second back-to-back rally since April Friday. The benchmark index for US stocks has fallen 10% since April 23 on speculation the credit crisis spreading in Europe will curb global economic growth. US-traded shares of BP Plc plunged 44% since April 20, when the biggest oil leak in US history began at one of the firm's wells in the Gulf of Mexico.
 
Anadarko, a Texas oil company that owns a 25% stake in the damaged oil rig, was one of the week's worst performers in the S&P 500 index, ending 7.4% lower to $41.79.
 
Anadarko would be responsible for a commensurate part of the final clean-up bill, said BP, which expected costs of the oil spill to be between $3bn and $6bn, according to an analyst briefed by the company.
 
Retail stocks were lower across the board on Friday, with department stores among the worst performers. Macy's fell 0.2% to $21.24, JC Penney declined 1.1% to $25.99 and Saks was 1.8% lower to $8.30.
 
Talbots, a retailer of women's apparel, fell 0.6% to $12.25 even as the stock's target price was raised to $14 per share from $12.30 at Credit Suisse.
 
Discount retailers performed moderately better, with Walmart slipping 0.7% to $50.86, Costco Wholesale inching down 0.2% to $57.52 while Target was up 0.2% to $53.71.
 
Dell, the world's third- largest personal computer maker by market value, was 0.6% higher to $13.15 on Friday. It said it had delayed filing its latest quarterly report as it revises financial results to book a $100m liability.
 
The company also said Michael Dell, chief executive, is in settlement discussions with the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations related to Dell's relationship with Intel, the maker of computer chips. Shares added 0.4% to $20.64.
 
Goldman Sachs was one of the week's worst performing stocks in the S&P 500 index. It declined 4.6% to $135.64 as the SEC announced a second probe into the bank. On Thursday, the stock fell to its 52-week low.
 
Other financial stocks fared better during the week. Bank of America rose 1.6% to $15.60, and Citigroup rallied 2.4% to $3.88.
 
Wendy's Arby's Group rose 7.1% on Friday to $4.65 a day after Nelson Peltz, its chairman, said an unnamed party expressed interest in a potential deal involving the fast food company.
 
The Vix index, a measure of market volatility, fell 6.2% on Friday to 28.68 and declined 19.2% over the week.
 
Motorola, a maker of telecommunications equipment, gained 4% to $7.11 on Friday after the company announced a settlement and licensing agreement with Research in Motion, which makes the BlackBerry device.

 European stocks advanced as a report showed confidence among US consumers rose to the highest level in more than two years, boosting optimism that the world's biggest economy can withstand the sovereign debt crisis.
 
Banco Santander SA led a surge in Spanish stocks after its chairman said he's "optimistic" about the outlook. BP climbed 7.2%, its first gain in five days. Novartis AG advanced 3.1% after winning a US regulatory advisory panel's backing for a multiple sclerosis drug. Club Mediterranee SA rallied 9.4% after posting a profit. Brit Insurance Holdings NV soared after saying it rejected a takeover offer
 
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.4% to 249.46. The benchmark gauge has risen 2% this week after the Federal Reserve said it would act as needed to support the recovery and as economic reports from Japan to Australia reassured investors that the economic recovery is intact. Stocks declined earlier as a report showed sales at US retailers unexpectedly dropped in May, signaling consumers boosted savings as unemployment slowed and stocks fell.
 
The Stoxx 600 is still down 8.3% from this year's high on April 15 amid concern that European nations will struggle to fund their budget deficits. The decline has left the index trading at less than 15 times the reported earnings of its companies, near the lowest level in 17 months.
 
National benchmark indexes gained in 14 of the 18 western European markets. The UK's FTSE 100 increased 0.6% and France's CAC 40 gained 1.1%. Germany's DAX slid 0.1%.
 
Spain's IBEX 35 rallied 4%, the most among the 18 western European markets, as Santander, the nation's biggest lender, surged 7.2% to 8.61 Euros. The bank said that it can benefit from rivals' "weakness" in mature markets, 2009 results were good and the "same will happen" in 2010. Smaller rival Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA gained 5.6% to 8.47 Euros. 
 
GERMANY
 
German stocks were little changed, with the benchmark DAX Index posting a weekly gain, as an unexpected drop in US retail sales helped offset reports on economic growth in China.
 
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Daimler AG retreated more than 1%, while ThyssenKrupp AG followed European basic- resource shares lower. K+S AG, the world's largest salt producer, rallied 3.4% after raising prices for the second time this year.
 
The DAX lost 0.1% to 6,047.83 in Frankfurt, having swung between gains and losses about 20 times Friday. The gauge advanced 1.8% on the week, while it is still 4.5% below its April 26 high on concern the sovereign-debt crisis in Europe will hold back economic growth. The broader HDAX Index also fell 0.1% Friday.
 
The DAX's drop from this year's high has left the measure valued at less than 15 times its companies' reported earnings, near the cheapest since 2008, according to Bloomberg data.
 
BMW and Daimler, the world's biggest makers of luxury cars, retreated 1.4% to 40.09 Euros and 1.2% to 42.74 Euros, respectively.
 
ThyssenKrupp, Germany's biggest steelmaker, slid 1.1% to 21.06 Euros. European basic-resource shares lost 1% Friday, among the worst performer in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.
 
Continental, Solar Shares
 
K+S climbed 3.4% to 39.33 Euros. The company will raise the price of muriate of potash by 8 Euros per metric ton to 305 Euros. The increase is aimed at adjusting the Euro price toward global market prices, spokesman Michael Wudonig said in an e-mail Friday. Wudonig was responding to a report in the FMB Weekly Potash Report.
 
Continental AG surged 5.7% to 42.41 Euros, extending its weekly gain to 12%. Europe's second-biggest car-parts maker was raised to "buy" from "hold" at Deutsche Bank AG, which said "margins are recovering faster than anticipated" and the "automotive group revenues are growing fast."
 
Q-Cells SE jumped the most in more than a year, climbing 13% to 5.68 Euros. The solar company was raised to "buy" from "sell" at DZ Bank AG, which cited the declining Euro and an improving outlook for solar-panel demand.
 
German consumer price inflation continued to rise in May, in line with preliminary estimates, a final report from the Federal Statistical Office showed on Thursday.
 
The consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.2% year-on-year in May, faster than 1% in the previous month. It was the seventh annual increase in a row. The CPI remained unchanged a year earlier.
 
Higher energy prices influenced inflation to a large extent in May. Energy prices rose 4.9% year-on-year. Further, mineral oil product prices jumped 17.9% with heating oil costs surging 34.6% and motor fuels logging a 14% gain. There was a 2.9% rise in electricity prices.
 
Excluding energy prices, inflation for May stood at 0.8%, the agency said. Stripping out mineral oil products, the rate was 0.5%.
 
Food prices grew for the third consecutive month, up 1.3%. Food and non-alcoholic beverages prices rose 1.1% annually in May, while clothing and footwear prices climbed 1.2%. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels prices increased 1% and health charges rose 0.2%. Transport charges grew 4.1%.
 
On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.1% in May, reversing the 0.1% fall in April. The monthly change was characterised by a 3.5% increase in prices for package holidays and a 4% gain in prices for accommodation services. Prices of clothing and footwear as well as food, especially vegetables, declined.
 
Meanwhile, the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP), which is calculated for European purposes, rose 1.2% year-on-year in May, faster than 1% in the previous month. The index edged up 0.1% compared to the preceding month. Germany's HICP inflation remains below the European Central Bank target of 'below, but close to 2%'.
 
The German government on Wednesday rejected a request by car maker General Motors for state aid to help it restructure its loss-making European subsidiary Opel.
 
The announcement about the rejection of the aid request was made by German Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle, who took the decision after a committee assessing the aid requests from companies affected during recession failed to reach a decision on GM's request.
 
"I am confident that Opel has a good future without credit guarantees," Bruederle said Wednesday while announcing his decision on GM's aid request. "I am convinced that GM has sufficient funds."
 
Earlier, GM had requested the German government for providing 1.1 billion Euros ($1.3 billion) in loan guarantees for its loss-making Opel unit, mostly for restructuring the unit. GM has also announced plans to cut 8,000 jobs at Opel units across Europe and to reduce the production capacity of its European business by around 20%.
 
Currently, there are some 24,000 employees in Opel's four factories in Germany, where it assembles Insignias, Astras and Corsas. Apart from Germany, Opel has plants in Austria, Belgium, Britain, Hungary, Poland and Spain.
 
The 1.1 billion state aid sought from the Germany was part of a larger 1.8 billion Euro loan guarantees GM has requested from European governments for its loss-making unit. The company has said that it intends to spend about 1.9 billion Euros on restructuring Opel.
 
Following the rejection of GM's request for state aid by the German government, Opel's chief executive Nick Reilly said he did not "particularly understand the reasons why" the request was rejected.
 
"GM is naturally very disappointed, as is Opel, with this decision after such a very long process, and we have spent a lot of time answering many, many hundreds of questions, being reviewed by many committees," Reilly said.
 
Reilly said Opel would now "review all our options for funding," adding that both British and Spanish governments have "signaled they are willing to give guarantees so that we will have access to capital markets."
 
General Motors, which emerged from bankruptcy last July, has repaid $8.1 billion in loans it had received from the US and Canadian governments. The company reported its first quarterly profit in nearly three years in May this year.
 
Early September 2009, GM agreed to sell its majority stake in Opel and Vauxhall to a consortium led by Canadian car-parts maker Magna International. The deal was originally expected to be signed early October and to close by the end of November.
 
In October 2009, however, GM scrapped its plans to sell Opel to the consortium led by Canadian auto parts maker Magna, angering the German government in the process. GM then said its board had decided to retain the German unit Adam Opel GmbH and British sister brand Vauxhall, citing improving business environment, as well as the brand's importance to GM's global strategy.
 
The German government had favored the joint bid made by Magna and its Russian partner Sberbank for Opel, ahead of offers made by Belgian investment fund RHJ, Italy's Fiat, and China's Beijing Automotive Industry Holding. The country's political leaders and workers unions also backed Magna's bid for the ailing automaker, believing it would help protect the future of some 24,000 local Opel workers.
 
The German government had offered aid worth Euro 4 .5 billion ($6.7 billion) in loans and credit guarantees to support the Magna deal, and urged other European countries with Opel plants to make commitments to back the deal in order to protect European jobs in the ailing company. 
 
FRANCE
 
France's CAC 40 Index rose 38.88, or 1.1%, to 3,555.52 in Paris, bringing the measure's gain this week to 2.9%. The SBF 120 Index advanced 1%.
 
BNP Paribas added 5.6% to 46.28 Euros, gaining for the third day. The French bank plans to increase its level of front-office fixed-income staffing by slightlyover 10% this year, Les Echos reported, citing Frederic Janbon, global head of the unit.
 
Cie. de Saint-Gobain climbed 2.1% to 32.865 Euros, extending Thursday's 6.3% gain. Citigroup Inc. raised its recommendation on Europe's biggest supplier of building materials to "buy" from "hold."
 
Club Mediterranee, Europe's largest resort operator, jumped 9.4% to 12.60 Euros, rising the most since September 25. The company said bookings advanced in the last eight weeks in every region.
 
JCDecaux increased 3.4% to 21.12 Euros, rising to the highest level since May 13. It was raised to "buy" at Oddo & Cie.
 
Michelin & Cie, the world's second-largest tiremaker, gained 2.6% to 58.59 Euros, its highest level since March 25. It was initiated at "buy" at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.
 
Rue du Commerce slumped 3.3% to 5.80 Euros, dropping for a second day. The online electronics retailer said full-year net income fell to about 400,000 Euros($483,000) from 2.1 million Euros a year earlier.
 
French manufacturing output growth eased in April, while overall industrial production declined for the first time in four months driven by weak energy output.
 
Manufacturing output in April was 0.4% higher than in the previous month, data released by the statistical office INSEE showed on Thursday. The growth rate matched economists' expectations, but was comparatively smaller than the 1.2% gain in the preceding month.
 
The increase in production was mainly driven by the electrical and electronic equipment industry, where output rose at a faster pace of 2.1% from the previous month, while the manufacture of transport equipment recovered in April, by rising 1.3%, following a 2.1% fall. The 'other manufacturing' output edged up 0.1%, much smaller than March's 1.9% growth.
 
Overall industrial output, at the same time, dropped unexpectedly by 0.3% on a monthly basis in April, in contrast to a 1.3% increase in the previous month. Economists were looking for an increase of 0.1%.
 
Industrial production is not as bad as the headline suggests, in that it leaves April factory output 0.6% above the previous quarter average, said Tullia Bucco, an economist at UniCredit Research. "We doubt however that momentum can be sustained going forward."
 
Year-on-year, manufacturing output climbed 8.5% in April, faster than the revised 7.7% gain in the previous month. Economists' had expected only a 7.1% increase. On an annual basis, industrial output also grew at a faster pace of 7.9%, following 7.1% in March. The annual growth exceeded 6.9% consensus forecast.
 
The construction output fell 6.7% annually in April, following a 4.6% decline in the previous month. Month-on-month, construction output dropped 2.2%, reversing a 0.9% increase in March.
 
In contrast to a fall in the French industrial output, German industrial production showed 0.9% monthly rise in April. Italian industrial production recorded a 1% month-on-month growth, following the 0.2% rise in March.
 
Separate data issued by Insee Friday showed an increase in non-farm payroll employment in the first quarter. Employment rose by a revised 0.2% after staying flat in in the fourth quarter of 2009. This growth was led by the increase in temporary workers.
 
The French ILO mainland jobless rate stood at 9.5% in the first quarter, unchanged from the fourth quarter. Further, the statistical agency said the employment rate of the population aged 15-64 years increased in the first quarter of 2010, due to the temporary contract employment. The employment rate stood at 63.8%.
 
Business confidence in France's industrial sector decreased slightly in May from April, the Bank of France said on Tuesday. Sentiment among France's service providers picked up during the month. All industrial sectors recorded growth, excepting the automobile sector.
 
The industrial sentiment indicator fell to 101 in May from 102 in April. Economists had forecast the indicator to remain unchanged at 102. The capacity utilization rate for the industrial sector increased slightly in May but was still below its long-term average.
 
Order books improved to bring them closer to a level deemed normal by industries. Inventories were also consistent with targeted levels. The short-term forecasts are oriented towards maintaining production levels, the bank said.
 
Meanwhile, the services sentiment index rose to 96 in May from 94 in April. The rise in services confidence was driven by the IT industry. Prices were more or less flat, while staff levels registered a small increase, the bank said. 
 
BELGIUM
 
The Bel 20 in Brussels concluded a busy trading week on 2,463.85, ip 0.02%.
 
Anxiety is mounting in financial markets that a prolonged bout of political uncertainty in Belgium following national elections next Sunday could prevent decisive action to tackle the nation's debt mountain that threatens to turn it into "the Greece of the north".
 
Interest rates on 10-year Belgian government bonds jumped from 3.15 to 3.50% last week and investors are demanding a mounting premium to hold the debt over corresponding German paper.
 
Belgium's debt is currently at 99% of its gross domestic product, the highest in the Eurozone after Greece and Italy, and is forecast to exceed GDP by the end of the year.
 
Yet no political party is campaigning for an explicit belt-tightening mandate. Despite rising unemployment and sluggish growth, the economy has barely featured in the campaign.
 
"In other European countries you see cuts in public spending. In Belgium that is not happening, and it won't happen without a government," says Philippe Ledent, economist at ING in Brussels.
 
Belgian politics is, instead, dominated by an arcane institutional dispute involving the demarcation of electoral districts in the suburbs of Brussels - a debate that even most Belgians openly admit baffles them. The quarrel brought down the last government, a right-leaning five-party coalition led by Yves Leterme, in April and feeds into a larger debate about devolving more power to the regions.
 
Moreover, the Belgian economy runs a trade surplus, which makes financing debt easier. Household debt is among the lowest in the Eurozone. And Belgium has a solid track record of paying down high debt.
 
However, Belgium's climb out of recession has been slow, with GDP rising by just 0.1% in the first quarter, below the Eurozone average.
 
The structure of its debt could add to its problems. Eighty two% of short-term paper is owned by foreigners. It has relatively short maturity - under six years - meaning Belgium must return regularly to tap the markets for fresh funds.
 
Polls show separatist parties faring well in Dutch-speaking Flanders, which will make the ensuing task of building a coalition with Francophone Walloon partners trickier even than the last election in 2007, when it took 284 days for a permanent government to emerge.
 
Parties on all sides of the political divide say a solution to the communitarian issues, including a new power-sharing agreement between the regions and the federal government, must be brokered before a permanent government can be formed. That is unlikely to happen before September, even if an interim government is quickly formed to handle the rotating presidency of the European Union that Belgium will inherit for the second half of the year.
 
The rise of separatist parties in Flanders does not spell an imminent break-up of the country, but it makes Belgian politics even more unpredictable than before. If the polls are borne out on Sunday, it is not clear who will have a mandate to become prime minister.
 
Political uncertainty in nothing new in Belgium - it's just that they've never had it at the same time as a sovereign debt crisis.
 
The Belgian economy grew at a slower pace in the first quarter, the latest report from the National Bank of Belgium showed on Wednesday.
 
The gross domestic product (GDP) increased 0.1% on a sequential basis in the first quarter, following a 0.3% gain in the previous quarter. The GDP increased for the third consecutive quarter. A year earlier, the GDP slipped 1.7%.
 
Consumer spending rose 0.5% quarterly, while public expenditure grew 0.4%. Overall fixed capital formation shrunk 0.9%. Domestic demand grew 0.2%, while the change in inventories added 0.4 percentage points to GDP. Net exports deducted 0.7 percentage points from GDP.
 
Year-on-year, the GDP increased 1% in the first quarter, rebounding from 0.8% drop in the fourth quarter. This was the first positive GDP figure since the third quarter of 2008. A year ago, the GDP fell 3.7%.
 
The annual and sequential GDP figures were unrevised from the flash report published on April 30th.
 
Belgium is set to hold its general election on June 13. The country has drawn attention amid the recent Eurozone debt crisis as it has heavy debt on its books. The budget deficit is well above the 3% set by the Maastricht Treaty. In May, consumer confidence dropped sharply, while business sentiment deteriorated for the first time since it hit a low point in March 2009.
 
Fraud linked with CO2 emission rights has cost Belgium's public coffers 79 million Euros, reported De Tijd, an amount much higher than what is usually lost each year through "traditional" VAT theft (also known as carousel fraud).
 
Illegal activity in the trading of CO2 emission rights is a new phenomenon that has emerged since emission trading schemes were implemented at the European level. Fraudsters sell emission rights along with VAT, but then never pass the VAT along to tax authorities.
 
According to Belgium's federal anti-fraud minister Carl Devlies, the sum of 79 million Euros is small in comparison with other countries. Carousel fraud decreased greatly in 2009, he said, costing Belgium 14.6 million Euros, against 29.8 million Euros in 2008.
 
THE NETHERLANDS
 
Amsterdam's AEX finished the trading session and the week Friday on 325.56, up 0.04%.
 
Dutch industrial production increased 10.2% year-on-year in April after rising 7.1% in March, the Central Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.
 
Production of electrical equipment and machinery increased 17.1% in April compared to 10.9% in the previous month. Manufacture of transportation equipment rose 8.9% during the month versus 6.1% in March.
 
Meanwhile, production growth of food and beverages slowed to 1.6% from 5% recorded in the previous month. Growth in oil and chemical production also slowed during the month.
 
Separately, the agency reported that the country's industrial turnover increased 19% year-on-year in April following a 15.7% growth in March. Turnover of oil and chemical manufacturers increased 48.4% year-on-year after a 41.6% rise in the previous month.
 
Revenue from the manufacture of transport equipment rose 10.9% after declining 2.5% in March. Food and beverages industries recorded a 1.6% increase in turnover and firms manufacturing electrical equipment and machinery posted a turnover increase of 8.8%.
 
New orders received by Dutch industrial firms surged 45.3% year-on-year in April compared to 24.4% in the previous month. The biggest increase in new orders was recorded by the transportation equipment industry, where there was an 89.4% rise in new orders compared to 36.6% in the previous month.
 
Tornier, a Dutch medical device company with its headquarters in the United States, is hoping raise as much as $205 million in an initial public offering, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.
 
The developer of orthopedic products  didn't detail the size or price of the planned offering in its filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
 
Tornier, taken private in 2006 by an investor group led by Warburg Pincus, plans to use the proceeds to pay down debt.
 
Amsterdam bicycle company De Fietsfabriek, which helped make cargo bikes the hip way to transport children, has been declared bankrupt.
 
The company has debts of over €1m and has been hit by falling sales, local tv station AT5 said.
 
However, according to the official receivers a number of potential buyers have come forward and there is good hope the company will be able to restart.
 
The Dutch financial services regulator AFM has fined Mercedes €24,000 for extending too much credit to a number of car buyers in 2008 and 2009.
 
The AFM investigated 30 loans made by Mercedes -Benz Financial Services, the regulator said in a statement.
 
It found that the company had used a 'lower norm for living expenses' than set down in the financial sector's code of conduct when it calculated how much certain categories of household could borrow. 'That is serious,' the watchdog said. 
 
SWITZERLAND
 
The SMI in Zurich headed into the weekend at 6,426.74, up 0.79%.
 
The economic climate looks brighter for Switzerland than most of Europe, with an upturn for manufacturers and consumer sentiment still high. But the struggling Euro and a surging housing market give some cause for concern.
 
On Tuesday, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) revised its prediction for gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year from 1.4% to 1.8%. At the same time, it downgraded growth for 2011 from 2% to 1.6%.
 
Unemployment figures for the month of May fell 0.2% to 3.8% - showing the employment market in Switzerland is significantly better than in the rest of Europe.
 
The better news for 2010 was mirrored by Swissmem, the umbrella group for the electrical and mechanical engineering industries, that heralded a 22% growth in orders. "After 15 hard months, prospects... are looking up again," Swissmem stated at the end of last month.
 
Also on the positive side, a survey of small and medium-sized enterprises by UBS showed an improvement in trading conditions in the first quarter, while separate data from the bank showed an acceleration of consumer spending in April.
 
General business sentiment is also increasing with the KOF Swiss Economic Institute's latest economic barometer - measuring expectations from a broad range of industry sectors - showing that most firms forecast more promising times ahead.
 
However, beneath the surface of the apparently improving economic conditions lurk a few demons that are expected to weigh on Swiss firms next year. The most troubling problem is that of European government debt pulling down the value of the Euro, which would make Swiss exports more expensive for its biggest market.
 
Swissmem reported last month that the main driver for improved orders for its members was the steadily growing Asian market. The organisation warned that the Euro's fall to SFr1.40 was damaging margins.
 
The Swiss National Bank's efforts to stabilise exchange rates by buying up large reserves of Euros could also come with a downside, according to KOF. "To block inflationary trends, this development needs to be defused," it warned in a recent bulletin.
 
Economic think tank Avenir Suisse is worried that such low interest rates could result in the buoyant housing market spiralling out of control in areas such as Zurich, Geneva and Basel.
 
Unlike many other countries, Switzerland's housing market resisted the economic crash and remains strong. House prices have risen to 1990 levels in Zurich and interest rates are likely to remain low for some time.
 
In the late 1980s house prices reached unsustainable levels and, coupled with low interest rates and relaxed lending attitudes, resulted in a real estate crash.
 
The potential problem has also attracted the attention of Swiss National Bank (SNB) chairman Phillip Hildebrand, who recently warned banks not to get carried away issuing mortgage loans.
 
"It has not happened yet, but banks could be tempted into lowering their credit standards with increasing competition and shrinking margins," Avenir Suisse said. "The SNB cannot raise interest rates to cool off the property market while the franc is appreciating."
 
Separately, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs said the risk of inflation is expected to remain low. SECO forecast consumer price inflation to reach 1.1% in 2010, before slowing to 0.8% in 2011.
 
Switzerland's seasonally adjusted jobless rate in May was 4%, unchanged from April, latest report from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs showed Tuesday. Economists had forecast slight decrease to 3.9%. There were 156,453 unemployed people in May, down from 157,793 in April.
 
The unadjusted jobless rate eased to 3.8% from 4%, in line with economists' expectations. The number of unemployed fell to 151,074 from April's 158,570.
 
Youth unemployment in May fell to 22,518 from 24,740 in April. Total number of jobseekers was 215,264, down 8,540 from April. Total number of vacancies decreased to 17,097 from 17,294.
 
Switzerland is well on the way to getting itself removed from a "grey list" of tax havens, after parliament approved a series of tax agreements.
 
The House of Representatives on Thursday followed the Senate in overwhelmingly accepting a package of ten double taxation agreements drawn up in accordance with the demands of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
 
There is nothing new about double taxation agreements in themselves. Switzerland has concluded dozens of them over the years. Their main purpose is to ensure that businesses based in two different countries and individuals resident abroad do not get taxed twice.
 
But the agreements placed before parliament contain an important new element: they were drawn up to take into account Article 26 of the OECD's Model Tax Convention, under which countries agree to share relevant data in cases of suspected tax cheating.
 
This means that Switzerland will no longer restrict its administrative assistance to cases of presumed tax fraud (which involves the falsification of documents). It will also provide information where tax evasion is suspected - in other words, where money not declared to national tax authorities has been deposited in a Swiss bank.
 
Until now, Switzerland had been the only country which made a distinction between fraud and evasion.
 
Although the new obligation deals yet another blow to Swiss banking secrecy, the government decided to adopt it in March 2009 after coming under intense international pressure.
 
A number of countries, led by France and Germany, had accused Switzerland of encouraging tax evasion by offering undeclared money a home in Swiss safes.
 
The issue came to the fore as the world financial crisis meant that states found themselves facing liquidity shortages. Tensions came to a head in 2009 when, under pressure from the G20 group of industrialised states, the OCDE put Switzerland on its "grey list" of tax havens.
 
The only way for Switzerland to get off the grey list was for it to sign 12 double taxation agreements which included the new article. This it achieved in September 2009.
 
Exchange of information will take place once the new agreements come into force.
 
AUSTRIA
 
Vienna's ATX ended the week on 2,363.11, up 1.04%.
 
The Austrian economy did worse than the European Union (EU) average in the first quarter of this year, according to a leading think tank.
 
Institute for Economic Research (WIFO) announced Friday (Fri) the Austrian gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 0.3% in the first three months of 2010 compared to the fourth quarter of last year.
 
The EU-wide average GFP meanwhile soared by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2010 compared to the last three months of last year.
 
WIFO pointed out soaring mineral oil prices would not only keep investments low but also lead to declining spending by Austrians.
 
Researcher agency KMU Forschung Austria however announced earlier this week that Austrians' spending power rose strongly in "crisis year 2009". The body said people's purchasing power jumped by 4.6% year on year, adding that Austrians had around 135 billion Euros of disposable income to spend.
 
WIFO meanwhile stressed the Austrian economy would continue to recover from the impact of the economic crisis, but added this process would occur slower than initially expected.
 
Austria's trade deficit widened to Eur 1.08 billion in the first quarter from Eur 1.05 billion in the same period last year, the Statistics Austria said Tuesday.
 
Exports rose 3.9% year-on-year in the first three months of this year and imports were up 3.8% annually. Imports from the EU member states increased 4.2% in the first quarter, while exports to these countries increased 3.8%. Shipments to countries outside Europe grew 4.1% year-on-year and there was a 2.8% increase in imports from these countries.
 
In March, the trade deficit was Eur 368.2 million, up from Eur 307.5 million recorded a year ago. Meanwhile, exports grew 9.6% year-on-year and imports rose 9.9% annually.
 
Austria's wholesale price inflation accelerated to 4.9% in May from 4.8% in the previous month, the Statistics Austria said Monday. The index registered 0.4% increase compared to the previous month. The wholesale price index reflects price trends for goods that are sold by wholesale enterprises. 
 
SWEDEN
 
In Stockholm the OMX rounded off the week at 1,016.29, a dip of 0.14% for the day.
 
Swedish growth and inflation expectations increased in one year perspective and two-year perspective, results of a survey released on Wednesday showed.
 
TNS SIFO Prospera's survey of money market players suggests inflation would be 1.5% in next one year, up from 1.3% expected in the March survey. Participants raised their outlook for the next two years to 2% from 1.9%. However, they believe inflation in the second year from now will stay within the Riksbank's 1%-3% tolerance band.
 
Survey participants foresee an increase in repo rate in the next three months and would reach 1% in one year. Thereafter, the rate would be increased in the two-year.
 
The Swedish economy would grow 1.7% in the next one year and 2.2% in the two years from now. In the previous survey, the economy was forecast to grow 1.1% in next 12 months and 2% in 24 months. On a five-year perspective, the Swedish economy would grow 2.5%, slightly slower than the 2.6% growth forecast in the previous survey.
 
Money market players' one-year outlook on wage increase was unchanged from the previous survey. But, they expect slight increase in the next two years and five years.
 
TNS SIFO Prospera has been commissioned by Sveriges Riksbank to conduct a series of surveys, twelve times a year, aiming at mapping expectations of inflation, GDP and future repo rates in Sweden among money market players. The mandate also includes mapping expectations of future GDP-growth and repo rates, for money market players also the five year government bond rate, the SEK/Eur and SEK/USD rates.
 
Swedish central government payments showed a surplus of SEK 20 billion in May, the National Debt Office said in a report on Monday. The balance for May was smaller than the SEK 25.2 billion surplus estimated by the Debt Office due to lower tax revenue.
 
Tax revenue was SEK 4.5 billion lower than expected in May after three consecutive months of higher tax revenue than forecast. The lower revenue was somewhat compensated by lower disbursements, the report showed. The net lending was SEK 2.1 billion higher than calculated. Interest payments on central government debt, at the same time, were SEK 0.6 billion lower than calculated.
 
Data revealed that central government payments resulted in a deficit of SEK 138 billion during the twelve-month period up to the end of May. Central government debt totaled SEK 1,116 billion at the end of May.
 
Swedish consumer price inflation increased at a slightly faster than expected pace in May, a latest report from Statistics Sweden showed on Thursday.
 
The consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.2% year-on-year in May, faster than 1% in the previous month. Economists had expected an increase of 1.1%.
 
On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.2% in May, after a flat reading in the preceding month. Economists were looking for an increase of 0.1%.
 
The price increase was mainly driven by the higher interest costs for owner occupied housing, up 2.4% and clothing and footwear prices, up 1.4%. The combined contribution to inflation was 0.1 percentage points. Increase in rents, prices of books and dairy products also added 0.1 percentage points.
 
The increases were partly offset by lower prices for vegetables, down 6.2%. This deducted 0.1 percentage points. Prices of electricity also dropped in May, but the agency noted that the decrease had no influence on the monthly change as the electricity price level for April is underestimated.
 
The underlying inflation rate according to CPIF was 2.1% in May, smaller than 2.2% in April. Economists had forecast a core inflation rate of 2%. On a monthly basis, the CPIF edged up 0.1% after staying flat in the previous month.
 
The CPIX rose 1.8% year-on-year in May and 0.1% from the previous month. Meanwhile, the harmonized index of consumer prices rose 1.9% over a year earlier and increased 0.1% compared to the preceding month.
 
Thursday, the TNS SIFO Prospera's survey of money market players, commissioned by the Riksbank, suggested that inflation would be 1.5% in next one year, up from 1.3% expected in the March survey. Participants raised their outlook for the next two years to 2% from 1.9%. However, they believe inflation in the second year from now will stay within the central bank's 1%-3% tolerance band.
 
In April, the central bank revised down its inflation outlook for this year to 1.1% from 1.6% estimated in February. Forecast for 2011 is placed at 2.1%, down from 2.9% projected earlier. 
 
NORWAY
 
Oslo's OBX completed the week on 323.29, up 0.52% for the session.
 
Norwegian investment in oil and gas activity is estimated to climb to a record high in 2011, while the investment estimate for 2010 has also been revised upwards.
 
Total investments in oil and gas activity in 2011, including pipeline transportation, are estimated at NOK 146.3 billion, the highest on record, the first-time estimate by the Statistics Norway said Thursday. The estimate for 2010 is adjusted upward at NOK 139.7 billion.
 
The estimated investment amount for 2011 would be NOK 10.2 billion more than the corresponding estimate for 2010 that was given in the second quarter of 2009. The agency noted the increase was mainly driven by a sharply higher estimate for fields on steam.
 
Meanwhile, there has been downward adjustments in the level of investment in exploration, field development, onshore activity and pipeline transportation.
 
The investments for exploration activity in 2011 are estimate at NOK 30.1 billion, NOK 3 billion less than the estimate for 2010 given in the second quarter of 2009.
 
Investments for field development and fields on stream in 2011 are estimated at NOK 109.7 billion, an increase of NOK 14.3 billion compared to the corresponding estimate for 2010. Onshore activities and pipeline transportation are estimated at NOK 5.8 and NOK 0.7 billion, respectively.
 
Total investments in oil and gas activities for 2010, including pipeline transportation, are estimated at NOK 139.7 billion. This estimate is NOK 4.1 billion higher than the estimate given in the previous quarter but NOK 5.5 billion lower than the corresponding estimate for 2009.
 
Norwegian consumer price inflation eased in May due to a fall in electricity charges from the prior month, the latest report from Statistics Norway showed on Thursday.
 
The consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.5% year-on-year in May, slower than the 3.3% growth in the previous month and 3.4% in March. Thus, inflation slowed for a second month in a row. Economists had expected an increase of 2.8%.
 
The easing in inflation was mainly due to a fall in the prices on electricity included grid rent by 11.6% in May from April versus a 1.7% decline a year ago. Further, prices on fuels and lubricants slipped 0.4%, compared to the 3% increase last year. The prices on airline fares climbed 4.6% and footwear rose by 2.9%.
 
Food and non-alcoholic beverages prices rose 0.7% annually in May, while clothing and footwear prices fell 3.4%. Transport charges grew 2.7% and education costs rose 3.3%. Communication charges fell 2.9%.
 
Month-on-month, the CPI declined 0.5% in May, compared to a 0.2% rise in the previous month. Economists were looking for a 0.4% decline.
 
Food and non-alcoholic beverages prices rose 0.1%, while clothing and footwear prices grew 0.7%. Health costs fell 0.1%. For the first five months of the year, the CPI increased 3% compared to the same period of the previous year.
 
The CPI adjusted for tax changes and excluding energy products (CPI-ATE) rose 1.5% year-on-year, matching economists' expectations. Core inflation was slower than 1.7% in the previous month. On a monthly basis, the index edged up 0.1% compared to a 0.3% rise in April. Economists had forecast a 0.2% rise.
 
Separately, the statistical office said the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP), which is calculated for European comparison purposes, rose 2.6% year-on-year in May, slower than the 3.4% gain in the previous month. This was mainly due to a fall in electricity prices. Month-on-month, the HICP fell 0.5%.
 
Norway's producer price inflation eased in May, it was also revealed Thursday.
 
The producer price index (PPI) rose 18.4% year-on-year in May, slower than the 26.7% growth in the previous month. Manufacturing, mining and quarrying output grew 6.5%, slowing from 9.7% gain in April. Electricity, gas and steam output climbed 24.8% versus 35.2% in April.
 
Intermediate goods output grew 7.2% annually in May. Production of consumer goods and energy goods increased by 2.9% and 29.8%, respectively. Production of investment goods fell 0.7%.
 
On a monthly basis, the PPI dropped 0.5% in May, reversing from 3.5% gain in April. The decline in prices was mainly due to electricity charges, which fell by 11.3% from the prior month. Further, extraction of oil and natural gas prices slipped 0.3%, while electricity, gas and steam supply fell 11.3%. However, manufacturing, mining and quarrying prices grew 0.3%. 
 
FINLAND
 
In Helsinki, the OMX closed out the week on 6,575.14, up 0.24% for the day.
 
Finnish gross domestic product, or GDP, fell 0.4% sequentially in the first quarter, the Statistics Finland said Wednesday. It followed a revised 0.2% decline in the fourth quarter. The economy contracted for a second consecutive quarter following growth in the third quarter of 2009.
 
On an annual basis, the working day adjusted GDP declined 0.8%, but much slower than fourth quarter's revised fall of 5.2%. GDP has been falling since the fourth quarter of 2008. At current prices, working days adjusted GDP dropped 0.1%.
 
The seasonally adjusted GDP was down 0.6% year-on-year in the first quarter following a 5.4% decline in the previous quarter. That was the sixth straight quarterly fall in GDP.
 
Compared to the fourth quarter, exports and private consumption continued to decline. Export volume dropped 11% and private consumption by 0.5%. Investment was down 0.9%.
 
Finland industrial production grew by working day adjusted 8.8% in April from twelve months earlier. April's growth figure was bigger than the 2.4% increase seen in March. In April, seasonally adjusted output rose 2.1% month-on-month, following a 1.9% rise in March.
 
Forest industry showed the largest annual growth of 22.9% in April. After decreasing for nearly eighteen months, the metal industry grew 9.3%. Meanwhile, output of chemical industry decreased 8.2% due to a service shutdown in oil refining. Production of food industry plunged 16.6%.
 
The capacity utilization rate in manufacturing improved to 69% in April. The utilization rate in the forest industry rose to 84.8% and that in the metal industry climbed to 66%.
 
Finnish trade balance swung to a surplus of Eur 355 million in April from Eur 345 million deficit in March, the National Board of Customs said Wednesday. A year ago, the trade balance was a surplus of Eur 645 million.
 
Total exports rose 7% year-on-year to Eur 4.36 billion. Exports to EU grew 10% to Eur 2.4 billion and those to the Eurozone climbed 3% to Eur 1.3 billion.
 
On the other hand, total imports gained 17% to Eur 4 billion. Imports from EU were up 9% to Eur 2.28 billion and those from Euro area climbed 9% to Eur 1.38 billion. 
 
DENMARK
 
The OMX in Copenhagen drew the week to a close on 402.22, a gain on the day of 0.10%.
 
Denmark's consumer price inflation eased in May, a report by Statistics Denmark showed on Thursday.
 
The consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.2% year-on-year in May, slower than 2.4% in the previous month. The inflation came in line with economists' expectations.
 
Prices on alcoholic beverages and tobacco increased the most by 5.1% annually in May, mainly due to higher prices of tobacco. Communication charges grew 1.9%, while housing and education costs rose by 4%, each.
 
On a monthly basis, the CPI remained unchanged in May, in line with economists' expectations. It follows a 0.2% gain in the previous month. Food and non-alcoholic beverages prices fell 0.4%, while clothing and footwear prices dipped 0.3%. Transport charges fell 0.2%.
 
Meanwhile, the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP), which is calculated for European comparison purposes, rose 1.9% on an annual basis in May, slowing from 2.4% growth in April. Month-on-month, the HICP fell 0.1%, after rising 0.2% in April.
 
Danish exports decreased in April from the previous month, a report by Statistics Denmark showed on Wednesday.
 
Exports excluding ships and aircrafts dropped a seasonally adjusted 11% on a monthly basis to DKK 41.9 billion in April, in contrast to the 15.4% growth in the previous month. Shipments of food products, beverages, tobacco fell 12.4% and those of the finished products and other goods slipped 13.6%. Chemicals and chemical products exports decreased 13%.
 
Similarly, imports excluding ships and aircrafts dropped 3.9% in April from the previous month, compared to the 6.9% increase in the previous month. Imports of fuel and lubricants climbed 24.8% and those of chemicals and chemical products fell 5.5%. Thus, the trade balance showed a surplus of DKK 5.8 billion in April, down from DKK 9.5 billion in the previous month.
 
The trade surplus, including ships and aircrafts narrowed to DKK 5.6 billion in April from DKK 9.4 billion in the preceding month. Exports and imports dropped by 11.5% and 4.3%, respectively compared to the preceding month.
 
Separately, the statistical office said the current account surplus stood at DKK 7.8 billion in April, rising from DKK 7.3 billion in the previous month. This was mainly due to surplus of goods and services, both stayed at DKK 4.4 billion. A year earlier, the current account surplus stood at DKK 5.1 billion.
 
Production in Danish industrial firms decreased in April with the output in non-durable goods industries falling notably.
 
Output dropped 1.8% year-on-year in April and 0.8% month-on-month, the Statistics Denmark said Monday. The monthly figure for March was revised down to show a 0.2% decline versus the 0.1% growth reported earlier.
 
Manufacture of non-durables slid 7.2% monthly and output of durables fell 4.4%. However, production in capital goods industry increased 7.6%.
 
Meanwhile, total industrial turnover slipped 8.4% month-on-month. Capital goods industry recorded the biggest turnover decline of 13.6%. Revenue from the export market fell 9.9%, while in the domestic market, turnover dropped 5.4% monthly.
 
Industrial new orders declined 11.2% on a monthly basis. New export orders decreased 12.2%, while there was a 8.1% drop in orders received from the domestic market. The export orders received by the capital goods industry, accounting for the major share in total exports, declined 15.2%. 
 
SPAIN
 
The IBEX in Madrid finished the trading session Friday on 9,561.70, a huge gain on the day of 3.95%.
 
Spain's government is expected to issue a decree for bringing in Labour market reforms after a bid to evolve a consensus on the matter failed, reports said.
 
On Thursday, conciliatory talks involving trade union representatives and employers organization, CEOE, failed to break the deadlock with both sides sticking to their respective positions.
 
Trade union representatives warned that they will respond with a general strike if authorities attempt to unilaterally impose reforms.
 
Public sector workers staged a 24-hour walk out on Tuesday to protest the planned cost-cutting measures by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's government. But it failed to evoke a massive response prompting questions over the support commanded by the unions.
 
The government has set a June 16 deadline for pushing through the reforms which are aimed at slashing the Iberian nation's soaring budget deficit, which is currently running above 11% of its GDP.
 
The proposed austerity measures mainly include a 5% slash in workers wages starting June and a wage-freeze in 2011. Besides, suspending automatic inflation-adjustments for pensions, doing away with childbirth payments to parents, and a massive $1.4 billion reduction in government allocation are also in the offing.
 
While authorities say the measures will help save close to $19 billion over the next two years, trade unions allege that the austerity plan targets ordinary Spaniards.
 
Spain's public sector currently has a 2.5 million plus workforce and the country has an unemployment rate of 20%, among the highest in the developed world.
 
Public-sector workers in Spain have begun a 24-hour strike to protest an average five% cut in pay, the country's first public wage cuts in three decades.
 
The trade union confederation CCOO has called upon more than 2.5 million public-sector employees to join the industrial action Tuesday.
 
Early reports say municipal cleaning services were largely paralyzed in the morning hours.
 
Most of the postal workers also joined the strike, while sectors such as health services, firefighters and prisons were providing minimum services, and some public broadcasters cut down on programs, trade union leaders claimed. Hundreds of thousands from schools and local government also joined the stir.
 
The strike was the first major Labour unrest faced by Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero since he took over power in 2004.
 
After insisting for months that Spain would be relatively unaffected by the economic crisis, the Socialist government backtracked on a policy of not slashing social benefits under pressure from the European Union and other international analysts, who were concerned that the European debt crisis that began in Greece could spread to Spain.
 
The salary cut was part of a government austerity package aimed at reducing the country's budget deficit from 11.2% in 2009 to six% in 2011 and to below the EU limit of three% by 2013.
 
The bitter austerity measures, announced last month, threaten the public sector employees with freezing of salaries in 2011. The government estimates a cost cutting of 4.5 billion Euros ($5.4 billion) by this measure.
 
The austerity package worth 15 billion Euros ($18 billion) also includes freezing pensions, trimming public investments and eliminating a bonus to the parents of new-born children.
 
Demonstrations were also planned all over the country Tuesday, and an eventual general strike is in the offing over the government's plans to reduce protection for workers on permanent contracts in order to make the Labour market more flexible. 
 
PORTUGAL
 
The PSI General in Lisbon closed out the week at 2,528.83, up 0.89%.
 
The Portuguese economic performance improved in the first quarter, latest report by Statistics Portugal showed on Wednesday.
 
The gross domestic product (GDP) increased 1.8% year-on-year in the first quarter, rebounding from a 1% fall in the previous quarter. This was the first positive GDP figure since the third quarter of 2008. The first quarter GDP was revised from 1.7% drop reported initially. A year earlier, the GDP decreased 3.9%.
 
The gross capital formation slipped 3.8% annually in the first quarter, following a 12.6% fall in the previous quarter. At the same time, the gross demand increased 13%, compared to the 2% decline in the fourth quarter.
 
Sequentially, the GDP climbed 1.1% in the first quarter, revised from 1% estimated initially. In the fourth quarter, the GDP slipped 0.1%.
 
Separately, the statistical office said the trade deficit widened to Eur 4.80 billion in the February to April period from Eur 4.63 billion a year ago. In March, the trade deficit stood at Eur 4.42 billion. Exports increased 18.4% year-on-year to Eur 8.98 billion in the February to April period from Eur 7.86 billion last year. At the same time, imports climbed 12.9% to Eur 13.78 billion from Eur 12.21 billion a year earlier.
 
The Euro is unlikely to fall to parity with the US Dollar and the measures so far taken to ease financial market tensions are expected to work, Portugal economy minister Jose Vieira da Silva said Tuesday.
 
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Shanghai, Da Silva said the recovery in Europe is fragile. He said the recently announced austerity measures across the Eurozone would work towards restoring confidence.
 
Eurozone finance ministers on Monday approved Eur 440 billion austerity package that was designed a month ago to help those countries in danger of insolvency. The fund, together with Eur 60 billion from the European Commission and Eur 250 billion from the International Monetary Fund was aimed to reduce the risk of the Greek public-debt crisis spreading to other states with a high deficit, such as Spain or Portugal. 
 
ITALY
 
Italy's FTSE MIB Index gained 269.18, or 1.4%, to 19,660.27 in Milan. The gauge has climbed 4.9% this week.
 
Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena followed bank shares higher across Europe, gaining 2.8 cents, or 3.2%, to 91.1 cents. "We are expecting a rally in European bank shares, triggered by the stabilization that the EU purchases of sovereign bonds will bring to markets and the size of the correction that we have seen to date," MF Global wrote in a note Friday. Banca Popolare di Milano Scrl (PMI IM) rose 7 cents, or 2.1%, to 3.43 Euros. Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP IM) increased 6.25 cents, or 3%, to 2.18 Euros. Unione di Banche Italiane ScpA (UBI IM) gained 22.5 cents, or 3.2%, to 7.29 Euros.
 
Bulgari, the world's third-largest jeweler, fell 11.5 cents, or 1.8%, to 6.25 Euros after sales at US retailers unexpectedly dropped in May, signaling consumers boosted savings as employment slowed and stocks fell.
 
Impregilo added 7.4 cents, or 3.9%, to 1.98 Euros, after Banca Profilo initiated coverage of the stock with a "buy" recommendation and a price estimate of 3.2 Euros.
 
Separately, shares of Italy's biggest builder rose above their 20-day moving average.
 
Pierrel SpA advanced 16 cents, or 4.5%, to 3.71 Euros, after saying that Russian regulators approved its Articaine anesthetic.
 
Pirelli & C. Real Estate jumped 2.45 cents, or 7.1%, to 36.95 cents after Pirelli & C. SpA Chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera said that Pirelli Re, which the tiremaker is in the process of separating, "doesn't need partners," speaking to reporters in Venice.
 
Prysmian climbed 44 cents, or 3.6%, to 12.71 Euros. The world's second-biggest cable maker won a contract worth more than 200 million Euros ($242.6 million) to connect offshore wind plants in Germany, according to a statement distributed by the Italian exchange.
 
Unipol Gruppo Finanziario advanced for a third day, rising 1.7 cents, or 2.6%, to 66.85 cents. Gruppo Banca Leonardo SpA reiterated a "buy" rating on the insurer, noting that the "shares plummeted 24% -- net of dividend paid -- since the announcement of the capital increase on March 25." The brokerage says it's "unlikely for the capital increase to be carried out at a large discount on current market prices."
 
Italy's economy grew less than previously estimated in the first quarter, latest figures from the statistical office Istat showed Thursday.
 
Gross domestic product, or GDP, rose 0.4% sequentially in the first three months of this year, slightly slower than the 0.5% growth reported initially. It followed 0.1% contraction in the fourth quarter.
 
"This is a fairly unbalanced report, which confirms that recovery is still there, but that more is needed on the domestic demand front to make it sustainable," ING Bank Economist Paolo Pizzoli said.
 
Among the components of GDP, final consumption expenditure dropped 0.1% sequentially, of which households final consumption expenditure stagnated and government spending declined 0.5%. Gross fixed capital formation was up 0.6%. A 5.3% rise in exports boosted growth in the first quarter. Imports increased 3.3%.
 
On an annual basis, GDP climbed 0.5%, also slower than the preliminary estimate of 0.6% rise. In the fourth quarter, the economy contracted 0.1%, revised up from a 2.8% decline reported earlier. 
 
GREECE
 
The Athex Composite in Athens ended the trading session and the week Friday on 1,484.13, up 0.52% for the day.
 
Greece's unemployment rate slowed for the first time in three months in March, the Hellenic Statistical Authority said Thursday.
 
The jobless rate stood at 11.6% in March, down from 12.1% in February. The rate was however, much higher than the 9.2% logged a year ago. The number of unemployed was 578,723, while there were 4.3 million inactive people in the country during the month.
 
The number of employed decreased by 65,773 persons or 1.5% from March 2009 and increased by 19,848 persons or 0.5% from the previous month. Similarly, unemployment increased 26.6% year-on-year and fell 4.4% month-on-month.
 
The highest unemployment rate was recorded among persons of 15 to 24 years age group. The rate for the group was 29.8%.
 
Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said Wednesday that the country is on track to meet its 2010 deficit targets, with data suggesting that the deficit dropped about 40% in the first five months of the year.
 
During the same period, revenue increased 8%, while spending dropped by more than 10%, Papaconstantinou said in Athens. He noted that speculations that Greece will face a default or would leave the Euro area were baseless.
 
The country accumulated a budget deficit of 13.6% of gross domestic product in 2009. The government has pledged to cut the shortfall to 8.1% of GDP this year.
 
Greece targets to bring the budget deficit under 3% in 2014 in exchange for financial aid from the E.U. and the International Monetary Fund. The government has unveiled a number of austerity measures to slash the deficit, sparking mass unrest and violent demonstrations in the streets of Athens.
 
Greece's economy contracted at a faster pace than estimated earlier in the first quarter, a latest report from the statistical office showed on Wednesday.
 
The gross domestic product (GDP) at constant prices dropped a seasonally adjusted 1% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter, faster than the 0.8% decline in the previous quarter. The GDP decreased for the sixth consecutive quarter since the fourth quarter of 2008. The first quarter GDP was revised down from 0.8% decline reported initially. A year earlier, the GDP decreased 1%.
 
Year-on-year, the GDP dropped 2.5% in the first quarter, revised from 2.3% fall reported initially. In the fourth quarter, the GDP slipped 2.5%.
 
Gross fixed capital formation decreased 14.6% and total gross value added dropped 3.2%. On an unadjusted basis, the GDP decreased 2.5% in the first quarter, same as in the previous quarter. The first quarter GDP was revised from 2.3% fall estimated initially.
 
At current prices, the GDP dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.2% sequentially in the first quarter, after a 1% growth in the fourth quarter. On an annual basis, the GDP grew 0.6%, compared to the 0.7% fall in the previous quarter.
 
Exports decreased 0.5% year-on-year in the first quarter, while imports fell 6.6%. At the same time, merchandise exports and imports fell by 3.9% and 11.1%, respectively.