National Bank of Greece SA led the nation's lenders lower after the government said it may impose a one-off tax on company earnings. Safran SA, which makes commercial jet engines with GE, sank 5.9% after saying 2010 will be a "challenging" year. National Express Group Plc fell the most in 8 years as CVC Capital Partners Ltd. scrapped a takeover bid for the UK bus and rail company.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index retreated 0.7% to 245.58 after closing Thursday at the highest level since Oct. 3, 2008. The regional gauge trimmed its weekly advance to 1.2% Friday as GE's sales trailed estimates and Bank of America posted a loss.

A gauge of banks on the Stoxx 600 declined 1.4% as Bank of America, the biggest US lender, posted a $1 billion third-quarter loss. Deutsche Bank AG, Germany's largest bank, lost 2.8% to 54.83 Euros and BNP Paribas SA, the largest lender in France, sank 2.7% to 54.70 Euros.

German stocks declined after Bank of America Corp. reported a third-quarter loss, sales from General Electric Co. missed analysts' estimates and confidence among US consumers fell more than forecast.

Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG dropped more than 2%. Siemens AG, Europe's largest engineering company, also retreated. Salzgitter AG and ThyssenKrupp AG, Germany's biggest steelmakers, slid with metal prices.

The benchmark DAX Index fell 1.5% to 5,743.39, trimming its weekly gain to 0.6%. The measure has still rallied 57% since March 6 as companies reported better- than-estimated earnings and economic data signaled the global recession is nearing an end. The broader HDAX Index decreased 1.5% Friday.

Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest bank, lost 2.8% to 54.83 Euros, while smaller rival Commerzbank declined 3% to 8.38 Euros.

Siemens tumbled 2.8% to 66.56 Euros. GE, the world's biggest maker of jet engines and medical imaging machines, posted third-quarter revenue of $37.80 billion, while analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated $39.66 billion.

Salzgitter and ThyssenKrupp retreated 1.6% to 70 Euros and 2.3% to 25.12 Euros, respectively. Copper and nickel declined on the London Metal Exchange, weighing on basic- resource shares across Europe.

Funkwerk AG sank 18% to 6.31 Euros, the biggest loss since July 2006. The German maker of phone systems for cars and railways cut its forecast for 2009 due to an unexpected sharp drop in its export business. The company sees sales dropping to about 230 million Euros ($342 million) and a loss before interest and taxes of up to 19 million Euros.

IVG Immobilien AG rallied 5.8% to 8.06 Euros as the company said it sold a number of properties in recent weeks valued at a total of 470 million Euros.

France's CAC 40 Index fell 56.23, or 1.5%, to 3,827.60, trimming its second straight weekly advance to 0.7%. The SBF 120 Index fell 1.4% Friday.

Aeroports de Paris tumbled 2.52 Euros, or 4.3%, to 56 Euros. The company, which runs the French capital's Orly and Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airports, said traffic fell 4% in September to 7.1 million passengers from year-earlier levels.

Archos sank 80 cents, or 13%, to 5.20 Euros, the steepest drop since March. The maker of portable music and video players reported a 24% drop in third- quarter revenue to 14 million Euros ($20.9 million) and said it will sell new shares to raise funds before the end of the year.

Atos Origin slumped 76 cents, or 2.2%, to 34.19 Euros. France's second-biggest computer-services provider said third-quarter sales fell 5.6% to 1.23 billion Euros from a year-earlier pro forma figure of 1.30 billion Euros.

Carrefour dropped 1.04 Euros, or 3.3%, to 30.15 Euros, snapping two days of gains. Europe's largest retailer reported its third straight quarterly sales decline and said profit would be at the low end of its forecast range.

GL Events rose 21 cents, or 1.2%, to 17.12 Euros, gaining for a second day. The exhibition and events organizer said it plans to sell real-estate assets in Hungary and Italy to reduce net debt by 83 million Euros.

Safran slid 74.5 cents, or 5.9%, to 12 Euros, a sixth day of declines, after the maker of commercial jet engines with General Electric Co. said 2010 will be a "challenging" year.

Sanofi-Aventis dropped 2.29 Euros, or 4.3%, to 51.28 Euros, the sharpest decline since June. France's biggest drugmaker was cut to "underperform" from "select list" at Cheuvreux, which cited lower sales estimates for Multaq.

France's current account deficit widened in August largely because of an increase in the goods trade deficit, the Bank of France said Tuesday.

The current account deficit stood at a seasonally adjusted 3.7 billion Euros in August, up from 1.5 billion Euros in the previous month. The deficit in the goods trade widened to 3.9 billion Euros from 2 billion Euros in July. The surplus on services trade contracted to 0.8 billion Euros from 1 billion Euros and that on income account remained unchanged at 1.4 billion Euros.

Further, the capital account showed nil balance for the second straight month in August, while the financial account showed a surplus of 3 billion Euros, in contrast to the 15.4 billion Euros deficit in the preceding month.

Tuesday, the French statistical office INSEE announced that the consumer price index or CPI dropped 0.4% year-on-year in September, compared to the 0.2% fall expected by economists'. This was the fifth consecutive month of decline in consumer prices.

Month-on-month, the CPI declined 0.2% in September, in contrast to a 0.5% increase in the previous month. Economists predicted a decline of 0.1%.

In September, the consumer price index without tobacco decreased 0.4% annually, and it was down 0.2% compared to the preceding month.

Meanwhile, the harmonized index of consumer prices or HICP decreased 0.4% on an annual basis in September, compared to the 0.2% fall expected by economists'. On a monthly basis, the HICP was down 0.2%. Economists expected a flat reading for September.

The Bel 20 in Brussels closed out Friday at 2,578.14, down 0.24% for the session.

Belgium unveiled plans on Tuesday to cap its budget deficit at 5.7% of gross domestic product next year with higher diesel prices and levies on the nuclear sector and on banks and insurers.

That compared with 6% expected for the Euro zone and a 6.7% figure Belgium could have ended up facing without new measures, Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy told parliament.

Belgium aims to balance its budget in 2015.

Van Rompuy said in his state of the union address that the government expected economic growth in 2010 to be 0.4% and 1.9% in 2011 after the crisis of the past 12 months -- with a contraction of 3.1% in 2009.

'It's not the time for spectacle,' Van Rompuy said (I think he means 'speculation').

Belgium has agreed to extend the life of its three oldest nuclear power reactors for 10 years until 2025 in exchange for annual payments from producers, primarily Electrabel, the Belgian arm of French utility GDF Suez.

Rival SPE, in which EDF plans to buy Centrica's 51% stake, has drawing rights on some 7% of Belgian production.

The 215-245 million Euro annual bill for 2010-2014 is less than the government had initially been seeking.

Belgium will also be charging banks and insurers for guaranteeing deposits and expects to raise 220 million Euros ($325 million) in 2010 and 670 million in 2011.

Belgium has spent more than 20 billion Euros bailing out financial services groups such as Fortis, KBC and Dexia in the past year.

Febelfin, the federation of the Belgian financial sector, said the payments were very substantial and risked undermining Belgium's competitive position. It was also concerned that the burden should be shared fairly among financial companies.

A tax measure designed to attract investment -- notional interest deduction -- would be limited.

Conversely, sales tax for hotels, restaurants and cafes would drop to 12% from 21 and a reduced rate of 6% for the construction sector continued until the end of March.

Belgium was one of nine countries against which the European Commission launched disciplinary action last week over its excessive budget deficit.

The Commission is expected in November to set a date for them to rein in the deficit to below 3% of GDP.

Belgium's central bank has forecast a budget deficit this year of 5.5% of GDP and a contraction of 3.5%. The Belgian economy is one of the world's most sensitive to trade and seen as a bellwether for the Euro zone.

Belgian biotech Galapagos said on Thursday it planned to raise capital through a share issue on Friday to help speed up its clinical product development.

The company also said it was well on track to achieve its 2009 operational and financial objectives, including a target for 100 million Euros in revenues.

Galapagos said it would issue up to 2,125,925 new ordinary shares started on Friday.

The new shares will be offered through an accelerated bookbuild offering to eligible investors, and will list on Euronext Brussels following their issuance.

Galapagos, a bone and joint specialist, said earlier this week it had expanded its alliance with Merck for the development of treatments for the hardening of arteries.

It reported a net loss of 7.3 million Euros in the first half of 2009, on revenues of 37.7 million Euros.

The AEX in Amsterdam finished the week at 322.31, a decline of 0.89% for the day.

Dutch lender DSB was taken over by the central bank and will likely be liquidated after suffering a run amid reports it was insolvent.

Central Bank President Nout Wellink said DSB's liquidation - which the government insisted was not caused by the crisis but by bad management - would result in big losses for creditors and cost many of the 2,000 employees their jobs.

DSB's failure is the first suffered by a bank in the Netherlands since several major banks were given bailouts or taken over by the government at the peak of the financial crisis last year.

The Netherlands said it sold the 2.75% debt at an average yield of 2.69%. The Dutch government planned to sell between 1.5 billion Euros and 2.5 billion Euros of the securities.

ASML Holding NV, Europe's largest maker of semiconductor equipment, reported its first profit in four quarters and joined Intel Corp. in signaling a revival of demand in the chip industry.

Net income fell to 19.7 million Euros ($29.3 million), or 5 cents a share, in the third quarter, from 73.3 million Euros, or 17 cents, a year earlier, Veldhoven, Netherlands-based ASML said in a statement Friday. That beat the 10.6 million-Euro average of seven analysts' estimates.

ASML, the maker of machines that fabricate chips for Apple Inc.'s iPods and Nokia Oyj's mobile phones, expects "significant" sales growth in the first half of 2010 as customers resume investments. Intel, the world's biggest chipmaker, forecast sales and profitability that topped estimates Thursday, setting the stage for a broader recovery in technology earnings.

ASML's fourth-quarter revenue will be about 550 million Euros, the company said Friday. ASML's third-quarter sales fell 20% to 555.3 million Euros, beating the 528.9 million- Euro average estimate of 15 analysts. Net sales in both the third and fourth quarters would exceed 500 million Euros, the company said last month.

In the third quarter, ASML received bookings for 35 machines with a value of 777 million Euros, beating Beijsens' 620 million-Euro estimate. Order value this quarter will at least match that of the preceding three months as chipmakers invest in equipment that allows them to make smaller chips for personal computers and mobile phones and reduce manufacturing costs, ASML said Friday.

Dutch biotechnology firm Pharming reported a wider than forecast loss in the third quarter on high costs for getting approval for its flagship drug Rhucin.

The net loss was 8 million Euros, compared with a loss of 7.5 million Euros a year earlier and an average analyst forecast for 6.6 million.

Pharming's cash position at the end of September was 10.6 million Euros, after an exchange programme for its 2007 convertible bonds aimed at improving its financial profile.

At the end of September, Pharming said the 70 million Euros in 2007 convertibles had been reduced 10.9 million Euros.

Pharming, which produces therapeutic proteins in milk of genetically modified animals, lodged a request for marketing approval of Rhucin with the EMEA at the start of September.

Pharming developed Rhucin to treat hereditary angioedema, characterised by acute attacks of painful swelling of the skin, intestine, mouth and throat.

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV agreed to sell beer brands in nine eastern European countries to CVC Capital Partners Ltd. for as much as $3 billion, reducing debt with its second asset sale to a buyout firm in a month.

The world's biggest brewer said it will get about 1.1 billion Euros ($1.6 billion) in cash from CVC, which will also give AB InBev a six-year interest-bearing note worth about 300 million Euros as a deferred payment obligation. Leuven, Belgium- based AB InBev will receive as much as $800 million in further compensation, depending on CVC's return on investment.

CVC gets assets including the Czech Republic's Staropramen in the biggest leveraged buyout in continental Europe since Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy last year. AB InBev has been repaying debt since it was created by the former InBev NV's $52 billion purchase of Anheuser-Busch Cos. last year, which united brands from Budweiser to Stella Artois.

Thursday, the Netherlands Central Bureau of Statistics announced that the retail sales decreased 7.7% year-on-year in August, compared to the 3.5% fall in July, revised from 3.6% decline reported initially. Economists expected a decrease of 4%.

The retail sales volume dropped 7.1% on an annual basis in August, while prices fell 0.7%.

For the January to August period, retail sales slipped 5% compared to the same period of the previous year.

Vienna's ATX closed the trading session and trading week Friday at 2,725.23, a drop for the day of 0.47%.

Smelly bankers? UniCredit Bank Austria AG has bought 10.72% of ordinary shares of OJSC Concern "KALINA" (Ekaterinburg). The details of the deal and the price of the stock have not been made public while experts estimate the deal to be worth 17.5 million Dollars according to the company's capitalization of 163 million Dollars.

The Russian office of the bank stated that UniCredit Bank Austria AG is a nominee shareholder. The bank has not revealed who the beneficiary is. Analysts point out two probable causes for this purchase. Kalina's shares are considered to be undervalued in the market, after a serious fall in 2008 their price has tripled this year and keeps on rising. It can not be ruled out that this may be done to get a credit facility against the shares.

Thursday, the Statistics Austria reported that consumer prices rose 0.1% on a yearly basis in September, slower than a 0.3% rise the previous month.On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased 0.1% in September.

The slower pace of annual growth in prices was mainly due to slower rises in prices of clothing and footwear, utilities, household equipment, miscellaneous goods and services among others. At the same time, prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, transport and communication as also education declined.

Meanwhile, the harmonized index of consumer prices were flat on a yearly basis in September, after a 0.2% rise the previous month. On a monthly basis, the HICP was up 0.2%.

Vienna Airport shares eased 0.4% Thursday after reporting mixed traffic results in Sep-2009. The airport's passenger traffic and aircraft movement declines remained stagnant at -6.6% and -9.3%, respectively, while the cargo traffic decline deteriorated from -4.0% in Aug-2009 to -9.7% in Sep-2009:

Passenger numbers: 1.8 million, -6.8% year-on-year

Cargo volume: 20,404 tonnes, -4.0% year-on-year

Aircraft movements: 21,102, -9.8% year-on-year

GLV Inc announced this week that the Austrian Takeover Commission has approved GLV's voluntary takeover bid, effective immediately, to purchase up to 100% of the shares of Christ Water Technology AG.

Holders of CWT shares are being offered a cash consideration of (Euro)3.35 per CWT share representing a total equity purchase price of approximately $105 M (using a 1.60 Canadian Dollar/Euro exchange rate). GLV's Offer to CWT shareholders has received the support of CWT's largest shareholder, Mr. Andreas Weissenbacher, who holds approximately 27% of the shares of CWT principally through WAB Privatstiftung which signed a binding commitment to irrevocably tender its shares into GLV's takeover bid.

The completion of the Offer is subject to having a minimum of 90% of CWT's shares tendered into the Offer, and to certain other conditions. GLV aims to close the transaction in November or December 2009.

GLV is a leading global provider of technological solutions used in water treatment, recycling and purification, as well as in pulp and paper production.

Zurich's SMI ended the week on 6,345.26; a decline Friday of 0.59%.

Swiss Life Holding AG climbed 4.5% to 140.2 Francs after Citigroup Inc. raised its recommendation for Switzerland's biggest life insurer to "buy" from "hold." The analysts increased their price estimate on the shares by 33% to 160 Francs.

Petroplus Holdings AG, the largest refiner in Europe, surged 4.6% to 27.94 Swiss Francs.

Economic expectations for Switzerland continued to improve in October 2009. The relevant ZEW-CS Indicator of Economic Sentiment increased by 7.0 points month-on-month, reaching the 65.0 mark. Accordingly, a majority of 67.5% of the financial market experts surveyed predict that the economic momentum will improve over the next six months. Only 2.5% expect the economy to deteriorate. This is the result of the current Financial Market Test Switzerland, carried out monthly by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in cooperation with Credit Suisse (CS).

The assessment of the current economic situation also improved by 7.0 points - albeit still hovering at a low level - and the corresponding balance now stands at minus 55.0 points. The overriding majority of 87.5% of survey participants still expect short-term interest rates to hold steady. Inflation expectations edged up just slightly in October, with a 35.9% share of the financial market experts anticipating higher prices on a six-month horizon. 59% of the respondents forecast no change in terms of inflation.

The focal point of this month's "special question" is directed on the G-20 summit meeting in Pittsburgh. Regarding the results of the summit meeting, 14.3% of the respondents acknowledged that their expectations had been fulfilled, while 54.8% expressed a "neutral" view and a total of 30.9% were disappointed. Particular interest was directed at targeted reforms of financial institutions as well as financial market regulations. A respective share of 29.6% of respondents acknowledged that significant results were realised in these two areas.

The ZEW has conducted a similar monthly survey for Germany since 1991. The aim of the Swiss survey is to develop indicators both for Switzerland's general economic climate as well as for the Swiss services sector.

Specifically, survey participants are asked to give their medium-term expectations for important international financial markets as regards the development of the economy, the inflation rate, short- and longer-term interest rates, equity prices and exchange rates. In addition, the financial experts are also asked to assess the earnings situation of companies in the following Swiss services sectors: banks, insurance, consumer/retail, telecoms and services as a whole.

The Swiss economy has now bottomed out and should return to a path of growth in the fourth quarter, the Quarterly Business Cycle Indicator survey from the Swiss bank UBS said Thursday. The indicator signaled renewed expansion.

The business cycle indicator for the fourth quarter, based on a September survey of 350 Swiss companies, rose to 0.2%. "It indicates that there will be a slight upturn in growth compared with a year ago, suggesting the Swiss economy is probably out of recession," the bank said in a statement. Economists at the UBS are forecasting a growth rate of 7.1% for the next year.

"Swiss firms are beginning to feel more confident about the future, reflecting expectations that the economy should see mild growth in the fourth quarter of this year," the UBS said. "Although the expansion will be modest, the economy appears to be stabilizing as the recession fades."

The latest survey found that there was less pressure on both domestic and international new orders in the third quarter, as well as on output, revenues and earnings. Firms expect the improving trend to continue. However, the employment situation is still lagging behind the upturn in the economy, UBS economists noted. The staff reduction trend is expected to persist for the foreseeable future.

Export- oriented sectors including machinery, electrical engineering and metal industries rose in the third quarter, and are expected to improve over the fourth quarter. The bank said while the export oriented and financial services sector seemed to have overcome the negative shocks for now, the impact on the rest of the economy is yet to come.

The survey showed that the slump in the watch making industry would continue in the fourth quarter, with slower pace of declines in new orders and slight improvement in sales and earnings. "There are no signs that the watchmaking industry has turned the corner," they said.

The UBS economists expect the jobless rate to come in higher next year compared to the level this year. Moreover, they forecast the sentiment among consumers to be subdued, the construction sector to see a decline. "Thus, next year for many may feel worse than the growth outlook would suggest, as the forecast is driven by the basis effect."

Switzerland's jobless rate in September rose to 3.9% from August's 3.8%, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs reported Wednesday. The rate matched economists' expectations.

The number of unemployed people totaled 154,409 at the end of September, up 3,578 from the previous month. Compared to the corresponding period of last year, unemployment increased 58,429.

Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 4.1% in September, in line with expectations. In August, the unemployment rate was 4%.

The OMX 30 in Stockholm rounded out the week at 927.76, a small positive gain of 0.08% for the day Friday - but better than most Regional bourses.

Swedish Match AB, Europe's largest maker of smokeless tobacco products, jumped 3.8% to 151.50 kronor on speculation Philip Morris International Inc. will make a takeover bid for the company.

Ericsson AB rose 2% to 72.60 kronor after Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd. reported third-quarter net loss of 164 million Euros ($245 million), less than analysts anticipated.

Inflation expectations among key financial and business groups in Sweden have risen in recent months but money market players forecast slightly slower rate hikes than previously, a central bank poll showed on Wednesday.

The TNS Prospera survey of employee and employer organisations, purchasing managers and money market players showed headline inflation was seen at 0.8% in 12 months' time and 1.6% in two years.

The outcome was above a June poll which showed expectations for consumer prices to be up 0.7% in a year and up 1.4% in two years.

The central bank targets a range for CPI around the two% level.

Data this week showed Sweden's consumer prices index fell 1.6% year-on-year in September, the steepest annual fall for a single month since records began in 1954.

Sweden's central bank has forecast it will keep its key repo rate hike at a record low of 0.25% over the coming year until a recovery takes firm hold.

Money market players saw the Riksbank raising rates slightly more slowly than in a survey conducted in September. They saw the repo rate at 1.0% in 12 months, compared with 1.1% previously, and at 2.4% in two years' time.

A Reuters survey showed last week expectations that the central bank will raise interest rates already in April or July as the bank takes stock of signs of economic recovery and rising asset prices.

The Riksbank will make its next rate announcement on Oct. 22.

Oslo's OBX finished the day Friday on 309.89, a drop of 0.03% for the session.

The Norwegian Kroner reached a fresh 1-year high on Thursday after the government this week announced plans to spend more oil revenues in 2010 than in 2009, shortly before the central bank is expected to start a new tightening cycle.

Some economists said they expected the Kroner to weaken somewhat in the short term due to profit taking and potential dampened interest rate expectations, but that it would generally stay strong due to the relatively strong economy.

The Kroner -- which has strengthened about 19% since December -- reached an new year-high at 8.2440 to the Euro in early trade , but weakened later in the day, trading at 8.2813 by 1037 GMT and at 5.5610 against the Dollar .

Norway's centre-left coalition government presented on Monday a budget that aims to boost spending of oil cash from 2009 when it raised spending amid the global financial crisis.

Outlook for higher rates have contributed to the general strengthening of the Kroner since the summer, economists said.

Norges Bank -- which has slashed rates from 5.75% from October last year -- has said it will soon start to raise rates from a record-low 1.25%, and most economists expect it to do so to 1.50% on Oct. 28 meeting.

The central bank will also present this year's last Monetary Policy Report at this meeting -- where it gives a trajectory for where rates are heading.

A strong Kroner will make it tougher to raise rates, as it will dampen inflation -- closely tracked when setting rates. The bank targets core inflation at 2.5% in the medium term.

Norway's plan to spend a record amount of its oil wealth to support the economy even after it emerged from recession will pave the way for bigger central bank interest rate increases starting this month, economists said.

The world's fifth-largest oil exporter expects to use a record 148.5 billion Kroner ($26.4 billion) of its $450 billion oil fund to generate an extra 0.5 percentage point of economic growth next year, the Finance Ministry said Thursday. That's a 10.9% increase in spending from the oil fund on 2009.

Norges Bank Governor Svein Gjedrem said last month the bank had considered raising the benchmark rate at the Sept. 23 meeting from a record-low 1.25% after the economy looked poised to deliver a stronger recovery than policy makers had expected. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, whose Labour Party was re-elected last month, has remained committed to stimulating the economy even after recovery took hold. This adds to the need for tighter monetary policy, economists said.

Mainland gross domestic product grew 0.3% in the second quarter, ending six months of recession. The country's oil wealth has shielded it from the worst of the economic crisis, and Norway's unemployment rate has remained the lowest in Europe throughout the global decline. The jobless rate will average 3.2% this year and 3.7% in 2010, the ministry estimates.

Public spending will grow 2.1% in 2010, following a 5.6% rise this year and 3.8% growth in 2008, according to the government. "Fiscal policy in Norway is very expansionary compared to the policies of most of our trading partner," the Finance Ministry said. Gjedrem in a Sept. 30 speech characterized the central bank's policy rate as "extraordinarily low."

Interest rate cuts were quick to feed through to the economy, with about 90% of mortgage holders using floating rates, according to the Finance Ministry. Gjedrem said in a Sept. 30 speech that the bank "must take account of developments in equity prices and property prices when projecting inflation and output."

House prices now match their peak from the summer of 2007, not adjusting for the impact of inflation, the Finance Ministry estimates. Prices rose 1.8% in the third quarter from the previous period, after gaining 5.3% in the previous three months, Norway's statistics office said Friday.

The government raised its outlook for the economy and now expects non-oil output to grow 2.1% next year. That compares with a May 15 forecast for 0.75% growth.

Norway, which is also the world's second-largest natural gas exporter, puts most of its revenue from oil and gas in a pension fund that invests abroad to avoid stoking inflation in the domestic economy. The Government Pension Fund - Global is Europe's largest equity investor.

Expenditure guidelines stipulate that the government should limit spending to the expected return of the fund, which is estimated at 4%. In 2010 the government will exceed the spending limit by 44.6 billion Kroner, overspending for a second consecutive year.

Stoltenberg's coalition government has pledged to keep high employment levels and expand the welfare system while maintaining "responsible economic steering." The government has also said it will keep taxes and duties unchanged.

Oil income will fall 16% this year to 244.8 billion Kroner, the Finance Ministry estimates. It sees the price of crude rising to 425 Kroner a barrel next year from 375 Kroner this year but remaining below last year's price of 536 Kroner.

The OMX in Helsinki closed out the week on 6,236.34, a decline of 0.13%.

Friday, the Statistics Finland announced that the wages and salaries sum of the whole economy dropped 3.5% year-on-year in August, in contrast to the 0.9% growth in the previous month.

For the June to August period, wages and salaries sum decreased 0.8% on an annual basis, compared to the 6.3% increase recorded a year ago.

During the period, wages and salaries sums in manufacturing dipped 8.6%, while wages and salaries sum for construction slipped 4%. The decline was also recorded in the wages and salaries sums in trade and other services.

Nokia, the world's largest maker of mobile phones, said Chief Financial Officer Rick Simonson will become head of its low-end mobile-phone unit in the devices division.

Within the division, Nokia created two new units from Oct. 1, with one called Mobile Phones and one called Smartphones, the Espoo, Finland-based company said in a statement Friday. Simonson, who has been CFO since 2004, will also head "strategic sourcing" for the entire devices division.

Chief Executive Officer Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo and his predecessor, Jorma Ollila, had been CFO and senior vice president for finance respectively and had headed the entire mobile-phones division before taking the top job. Thursday, Nokia posted its first loss since it began reporting quarterly in 1996. It forecast an unchanged market share of 38% for handsets in the fourth quarter and said component shortages had hindered some shipments.

"It's great to have Rick move to such an important operational role," Kallasvuo said in the statement. "His deep knowledge of the business and its financials will be valuable for the significant part mobile phones plays in Nokia's business."

The third-quarter net loss was 559 million Euros ($834 million) as Nokia wrote down the value of its Nokia Siemens Networks joint venture with Siemens AG. Its share of the smart- phone market declined to 35% from 41% in the previous quarter as consumers shunned the Nokia N97 touchscreen phone in favor of Apple Inc.'s iPhone.

The mobile-phone unit will include low-end and midrange devices accounting for more than half of Nokia's handset sales. Simonson's appointment is effective Nov. 1, Nokia said. Jo Harlow was appointed to oversee smart-phones a few weeks ago, said Doug Dawson, a Nokia spokesman.

Timo Ihamuotila, who joined Nokia in 1993 and currently heads global sales, will become CFO, Nokia said.

Finland has been ranked by a new EU Commission study as having among the best prospects in Europe for long-term economic success. Despite a relatively faster aging of the population, the new report sees Finland's public sector economy as one of the most sustainable within the EU.

The Commission's 2009 Sustainability Report is at odds with evaluations by Finland's own Finance Ministry. Experts there have repeatedly expressed concern that the upward shift in the median age of the population poses a serious future threat to the economy.

The European Commission study says some countries are better prepared than others to meet their future pension and healthcare needs. This report lists Finland along with Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia and Sweden as one of the few countries that have already made the necessary budgetary adjustments to keep their economies sustainable as the population ages.

Finland's position, according to the Commission has been eased especially by a pension system that has funds which can act as a buffer should state finances weaken.

In Copenhagen, the OMX finished trading Friday to close at 339.42, down 0.26% on the day.

Sustainable World Capital ranks the top 10 cleantech countries. Not surprisingly, Denmark is #1 with Germany & Sweden close behind.

Home to the soon-to-be Copenhagen Agreement, Denmark is striving for 100% renewables. The country was hit hard by the first oil embargo and in response the nation emerged to became the leader of both wind and energy efficiency technologies.

Enormously high car taxes have also led to the creation of the most bike-friendly city in the world. The country has also actively promoted public-private partnerships through the Climate Consortium Denmark, which produced a sophisticated website called EnergyMap.dk that tracks the wide array of cleantech companies residing in Europe.

Monday, the Statistics Denmark announced that the consumer price index or CPI rose 0.8% year-on-year in September, slower than the 1.1% growth in the previous month.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages prices dropped 1.4% on an annual basis in September, while clothing and footwear prices climbed 1.3%. At the same time, transport charges were down 2.9%.
 
On a monthly basis, the CPI increased 0.2% in September, after rising 0.3% in August.

Meanwhile, the harmonized index of consumer prices or HICP rose 0.5% in September, slowing from 0.7% increase in the previous month. Month-on-month, the HICP was up 0.2%.

Madrid's IBEX finished the week on 11,676.40, sharp decreases of 1.46% for the session.

Repsol YPF SA, Spain's biggest oil company, said tests on a natural gas well offshore Venezuela drilled with Eni Spa revealed the presence of crude oil, which the government said may help speed the field's development.

The Cardon IV field ranks as Venezuela's largest gas discovery and one of the world's five biggest finds in 2009, the Madrid-based company said late Thursday in a statement. The well, called Perla 1X, produced 620 barrels a day of oil, "limited by the specifications of the installation," the company said.

The 33 square-kilometer (13 square-mile) field contains the natural-gas equivalent of between 1 billion and 1.4 billion barrels of oil, Repsol said. That is about 5.5 to 7.7 trillion cubic feet of gas, more than the total reserves of neighboring Colombia, which now exports the fuel to Venezuela.

The presence of oil will ease financing for field development, Venezuelan Energy and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said on state television. The field will produce very light "crude condensate," with a gravity of 50, he said. Light oil, with a higher gravity, sells for more than heavy oil. Much of Venezuela's output has a gravity of 16.

Repsol wants to boost oil and gas production through new discoveries off the coasts of Brazil and Venezuela after four years of declining output, while Venezuela aims to increase natural gas output to overcome a deficit. It currently imports about 250 million cubic feet a day from Colombia.

Development of the field, the company's largest discovery, will take four or five years, Repsol Chief Executive Officer Antonio Brufau said in an interview Sept. 14.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez first announced the discovery last month, after conversing with Brufau. At the time Chavez said the field may contain 8 trillion cubic feet of gas, while Repsol said it was still under evaluation.

Petroleos de Venezuela SA, also known as PDVSA, will get a 35% stake in the project, with Repsol and Eni splitting the remainder, Repsol said Thursday. "The results of the well exceeded pre-drill expectations," Eni said in an e-mailed statement Friday.

Venezuela has 174.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, the largest in South America. The country had 2.6% of the world's proved natural-gas reserves in 2008, or the ninth-largest in the world, according to BP Plc.

The well was drilled by a jackup oil rig called the Ensco 68. Venezuela nationalized a similar rig, the Ensco 69, when Ensco International Inc. halted work amid a payment dispute.

Spain's industrial turnover dropped 18.8% on a yearly basis in August, but slower than a 24.9% fall in the previous month, the National Statistics Institute said Friday. The turnover has been falling in double digits continuously since October last year. In the first eight months of the year, turnover slipped 26.5% compared to last year.

At the same time, industrial new orders declined 18.4% year-on-year in August, slower than a 26.1% drop in July. New orders have also been declining in double digits since October last year. In the January to August period, new orders were down 27.9% compared to the same period last year.

Lisbon's PSI Generali rounded out the day and the week Friday at 2,984.76, a drop of 0.39% for the final session of the week.

The number of tourists who stayed in Portuguese hotels edged up in August for the first time in a year, but hotel revenues fell again as they relied on promotional price cuts to attract visitors during the recession.

National Statistics Institute data on Wednesday showed that revenues dropped 6% from a year earlier to 259 million Euros ($386 million), but showing a continuing year-to-date slowdown of the fall in revenue caused by the global crisis.

In the January-August period, revenues fell 10.5% to 1.23 billion Euros.

Tourism-linked revenues, including hotels, account for over 10% of the Iberian country's economy. These have been hard-hit by the global economic crisis after last year's record tourist arrivals and revenues.

The number of foreign tourists in August still fell 4% to 847,000, but showed an improvement after sliding 6.6% and 9% in the previous two months.

The total number of hotel guests edged up 0.4% to 1.69 million in August as the number of Portuguese travellers rose over 5%.

Excluding last April, when the overall number was boosted by Easter holidays, which in 2008 were in March, there has not been an increase in the number of hotel guests since August 2008.

In the first eight months of this year, the number of guests was still about 4% lower than a year ago, totalling 8.96 million people.

Tuesday, the Statistics Portugal said the consumer price index or CPI fell 1.6% year-on-year in September compared to the 1.3% drop in the preceding month. This was the seventh consecutive month of decline in consumer prices.

In September, the core CPI, which excludes energy components and fresh unprocessed food products declined 0.2% annually, in contrast to the 0.2% rise in the previous month.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages prices recorded the largest decline, down 5.9% on an annual basis in September. At the same time, transport charges and clothing and footwear prices decreased by 3.7% and 3.4%, respectively.
 
On a monthly basis, consumer prices grew 0.2% in September, compared to the 0.3% decrease in August.

Meanwhile, the harmonized index of consumer prices or HICP dropped 1.8% year-on-year in September compared to the 1.2% fall in the preceding month. Month-on-month, the HICP decreased 0.1%, in contrast to the 0.5% rise in August.

Italy's benchmark FTSE MIB Index fell 187.42, or 0.8%, to 24,152.34, paring its weekly gain to 1.6%.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy's third-biggest bank has received "several" offers for the 135 branches it's selling as part of an asset-disposal plan, General Manager Antonio Vigni told reporters in Rome Friday. Monte Paschi gained for a third day, adding 0.7 cents, or 0.5%, to 1.47 Euros.

Kerself increased 27 cents, or 2.9%, to 9.55 Euros. Italy's biggest maker of photovoltaic cells signed a letter of intent with investors to form the largest solar energy producer in Italy, according to a statement distributed through the Italian exchange. The agreement will add 300 million Euros to 2010 revenue, the company said.

Saras jumped 15.75 cents, or 6.4%, to 2.63 Euros. The owner of the Mediterranean region's biggest refinery rose as crude oil was little changed after rising to a one-year high above $78 a barrel, helped by a larger drop in US gasoline stockpiles than analysts had forecast.

Seat Pagine Gialle; the publisher of phone directories denied a newspaper report that its main investors are discussing the sale of their stakes in the company to a group led by businessmen Virgilio Degiovanni and Fabio Arpe. Degiovanni and Arpe may team up with a Libyan partner and three or four other investors to make a bid for Seat, MF reported, without saying where it got the information. Pagine Gialle rose 1.04 cents, or 4.6%, to 23.91 cents.

Greece's ASE Index plummeted 2.2% as the Finance Ministry said it's considering imposing a one-off tax on profits from banks and other companies to reduce the budget deficit; the index closed the session at 2,830.01.

National Bank of Greece, the country's biggest lender, sank 3.6% to 26.80 Euros as Morgan Stanley also downgraded the shares to "equal weight" from "overweight." Alpha Bank SA, the third-biggest, dropped 6.4% to 13.10 Euros.

Greece's unemployment rate rose to 9.6% in July from 8.6% in June as weak construction and tourism led to job shedding, the country's statistics service (NSS) said on Wednesday.

Year-on-year, Greece's jobless rate jumped by 2.6 percentage points from 7.0% in July last year. The rate is not adjusted for seasonal factors.

After a decade of booming economic growth and three years of falling unemployment, Greece's economy is on the verge of recession with tourism and construction feeling the slump.

About 19,000 jobs in the tourism sector were lost in the first half after a 9.6% drop in visitor numbers, the tourism industry association SETE said in July.

Joblessness is higher in the younger age groups, with the unemployment rate in the 15-24 age group rising to 23.9 from 20.9% in the same month last year.

Unemployment was also affecting women more than men with the jobless rate at 13.8% versus 6.6% for the male population.