US stock markets found their floor following three sessions of losses, as the financial sector rallied after the US Senate finished its work on the regulatory reform bill.
 
Bank shares advanced 3.6%. JPMorgan Chase led the Dow Jones Industrial Average, gaining 5.9%, to $40.05. Bank of America followed, adding 4.5% to $15.99.
 
Some of the most controversial measures were not included in the final bill, including a stronger ban on banks trading for their own accounts. A final version of the bill will be hashed out with the House of Representatives next week.
 
Goldman Sachs was also 3.3% higher, to $140.62, and Citigroup added 3.3% to $3.75. The sector was still 3.9% lower on the week.
 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly fell below the key psychological level of 10,000 after the session opened but rallied to stand 1.3% higher at 10,193.39. It was down 4% for the five-day period.
 
"The inmates are running the asylum, this is purely a traders' market," said one analyst, adding that any rebound would first be technical.
 
The S&P 500 indexalso briefly dipped to 1,055, below the trough reached on May 6, when shares made a sudden 5% drop. It then rallied to 1,087.69, 1.5% higher - but still 12% off its 2010 peak.
 
The Nasdaq composite was down 5% for the week, but 1.1% higher on Friday at 2,229.04.
 
Counter-cylical shares reversed their pattern for the week and were among the underperformers. Dollar Tree, the discount retailer, fell 1% to $61.04 after Jefferies raised its recommendation from "hold" to "buy", calling it a "defensive" play on the overleveraged consumer.
 
Walmart was 1.8% lower on the week and AT&T fell 2.2%, both relatively better than the broader indexes.
 
On Tuesday Walmart reported a 10% rise in quarterly earnings. Shares in Target, which also reported earnings, including a rise in same-store sales, were off 1.4% for the five days.
 
Gap raised its full-year profit outlook. The apparel retailer reported a 4% gain in same-store sales in its first quarter. Shares were 1.9% higher at $22.15.
 
According to Thomson Reuters, company earnings for the quarter are up 57% this quarter among the S&P 500 year over year, versus 37% in the previous quarter.
 
Dell, the PC maker, said its margins had fallen nearly 20% and warned of slower demand in the next two quarters, though it blamed seasonal patterns. Its shares fell 6.8% to $13.35.
 
Cyclicals tied to the broader economy gained on Friday, with Alcoa jumping 2.5% to $11.35 and Boeing adding 2.5% to $64.56.
 
But the group was down sharply for the five days. Caterpillar lost 7.4% for the week to $60.09, matching the broader decline. Industrials suffered after a weak Empire State manufacturing survey and a drop in core inflation.
 
Shares of US companies that generate a majority of their revenues in Europe were higher on Friday, but still got hammered over the week. Audio equipment maker Harman International fell 12%, and solar-panel manufacturer First Solar fell 5.6%.  

 European stocks declined to a six- month low as concern grew that the region's governments lack a common position on how to resolve the debt crisis.
 
TrygVesta A/S, the Nordic region's second-largest property and casualty insurer, tumbled 9.4% after reporting a surprise first-quarter loss. BP Plc sank 4.2% as oil is still leaking from a damaged well in the Gulf of Mexico. K+S AG and Porsche SE retreated after analysts downgraded the shares. BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group led gains in basic- resources shares.
 
The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.5% to 237.11, the lowest close since November. The measure trimmed an earlier slump of as much as 2.9% as US equities gained amid speculation the rout in risky assets overshot the potential damage from Europe's debt crisis. The gauge has tumbled 4.6% over the past five days, the fifth decline in six weeks.
 
National benchmark indexes rose in 10 of the 18 western European markets Friday. Germany's DAX dropped 0.7% and the UK's FTSE 100 slipped 0.2%. France's CAC 40 was little changed.
 
The Stoxx 600 has fallen 13% from this year's peak on April 15. The slide has left the measure trading at 14.5 times its companies' reported earnings, the cheapest valuation since 2008. The plunge in global stocks has wiped $5.3 trillion off market value this month.
 
Investors withdrew some $12 billion from US and European equity funds in the week to May 19, the most in almost two years, according to EPFR Global.
 
The Euro Stoxx 50 has fallen 2.3% to 2,574.18 this week, while the VStoxx, which measures the cost of protecting against declines in the Euro Stoxx 50, has jumped 8.4%.
 
In less than two weeks the Stoxx 600 has erased all of the gains that followed the EU's unveiling of a 750 billion-Euro ($939 billion) loan package aimed at stopping the Euro region's weakest members from defaulting.
 
In Germany, business confidence unexpectedly fell this month. The Ifo institute in Munich said its business climate index eased to 101.5 from 101.6 in April. Economists expected an increase to 101.9, according a Bloomberg News survey.
 
Growth in Europe's services and manufacturing industries slowed more than economists forecast in May. A composite index based on a survey of Euro-area purchasing managers in both industries probably fell to 56.2 from 57.3 in April, Markit Economics said in an initial estimate. 
 
GERMANY
 
German stocks fell for a third day, extending a weekly drop, on concern that European government leaders lack a common position on how to resolve the sovereign- debt crisis.
 
K+S, Europe's biggest potash producer, fell after CA Cheuvreux cut its recommendation on the stock, while Porsche declined after Goldman Sachs cut the shares to "neutral." ThyssenKrupp AG, Germany's largest steelmaker, increased 1.3%, climbing with metal prices.
 
The benchmark DAX Index slid 0.7% to 5,829.25 in Frankfurt, paring an earlier drop of as much as 3.1%. The index retreated 3.8% this week and is 7.9% below its April 26 high on concern the sovereign-debt crisis in Europe will hurt the economic recovery. The broader HDAX Index declined 0.6% Friday.
 
German lawmakers approved their country's share of a $1 trillion Euro-region bailout in a vote Friday. The lower house of parliament voted 319 to 73 in favour of contributing as much as 148 billion Euros to indebted European states to backstop the Euro; 195 lawmakers abstained. The upper house, or Bundesrat, also passed the measure, sending it on to President Horst Koehler for signature.
 
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble will present a nine-point plan to his Euro-area counterparts aimed at avoiding a repeat of the fiscal crisis touched off by Greece's budget deficit. The proposal includes calls for faster budget cuts, tougher penalties for countries that flout the rules and the option of an "orderly state insolvency" for Euro countries.
 
In Germany, business confidence unexpectedly fell. The Ifo institute in Munich said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, eased to 101.5 from 101.6 in April. Economists expected an increase to 101.9, according to the median of 37 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. Ifo's gauge of executives' expectations fell to 103.7 from 104.
 
K+S dropped 2.8% to 37.41 Euros after the stock was cut to "underperform" from "outperform" at CA Cheuvreux, which said Europe's largest potash producer "trades at a premium to its peers despite inferior margins."
 
MAN SE tumbled 0.9% to 65.39 Euros, extending its weekly drop to 6.8%. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its recommendation on Europe's third-largest truckmaker to "sell" from "neutral."
 
Porsche fell 1.9% to 34.07 Euros as the maker of the 911 sports car that's combining with Volkswagen AG was cut to "neutral" from "buy" at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which cited "limited sector-relative upside."
 
Deutsche Telekom AG slipped 1.2% to 8.82 Euros. Europe's biggest phone company paid 1.3 billion Euros in the German auction for mobile-phone frequencies.
 
ThyssenKrupp, Germany's largest steelmaker, climbed 1.3% to 21.44 Euros, following metal prices higher. Aluminum, lead, nickel and tin all rose on the London Metal Exchange.
 
Adidas AG climbed 1.9% to 40.01 Euros. The world's second-largest sporting-goods maker expects rising sales in China in the second half of this year, Chief Executive Officer Herbert Hainer said in an interview on Bloomberg Television.
 
Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG advanced 3.1% to 56 Euros after the vacuum pump maker said it expects an operating profit of 22% of sales this year.
 
Thursday, Germany's Federal Statistical Office announced that the producer price index or PPI rose 0.6% year-on-year in April, compared to the 1.5% fall in the previous month. Economists expected an increase of 0.4%. A year earlier, the PPI was down 2.7%.
 
On a monthly basis, the PPI rose 0.8% in April, faster than the 0.7% growth in the preceding month. Economists were looking for an increase of 0.6%.
 
Wednesday, Germany's Federal Statistical Office announced that the number of persons in employment dropped by 107,000 or 0.3% in the first quarter from the previous year, compared to the 0.4% fall in the previous quarter.
 
The number of employed totaled 39.8 million in the first quarter, smaller than the 40.6 million in the previous quarter.
 
The overall decline in employment was mainly due to the decrease in the number of employees, which fell by 109,000 or 0.3% to some 35.5 million in the first quarter, the statistical office said.
 
Meanwhile, the number of hours worked per person in employment decreased by 1.3% compared to the previous year. 
 
FRANCE
 
France's CAC 40 Index slid 1.78, or 0.1%, to 3,430.74 in Paris, extending this week's loss to 3.6%. The broader SBF 120 Index also fell 0.1%.
 
ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, rallied 48.91 cents, or 2.1%, to 24.16 Euros pacing a rebound in basic resource stocks and metal prices.
 
GDF Suez rallied 39.5 cents, or 1.6%, to 25.16 Euros after UBS AG upgraded the owner of Europe's largest natural-gas network to "buy" from "neutral."
 
Separately, the company is planning to keep its stake in Suez Environnement Co. (SEV FP) after a five-year shareholder accord expires. Suez Environnement shares slid 2.3% to 14.44 Euros.
 
Sanofi-Aventis declined 66 cents, or 1.4%, to 46.81 Euros. Total SA lowered its stake in the drugmaker to 5.88%, according to a filing with France's AMF stock-market regulator.
 
Total made the filing because its share of Sanofi voting rights has dropped below the 10% threshold to stand at 9.78%.
 
The French economy would grow 1.4% in 2010, the country's Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said, maintaining the forecast.
 
According to an interview published on Monday's edition of France-Soir newspaper, Lagarde said the second-biggest Eurozone economy is expected to grow 2.5% in 2011 and 2012. She said these forecasts are ambitious but plausible at the same time.
 
Lagarde said the economy expanded at an average 0.3% in the past two quarters. The economy needs to log 0.4% growth in the next two quarters to reach the target. Official figures showed last week that French GDP posted a feeble growth of 0.1% in the first three months of this year.
 
However, she said the projections are very difficult to exercise given the financial crisis. But, the minister noted that when the economy suffered sudden sharp drops, it has seen equally sharp growths. 
 
BELGIUM
 
The Bel 20 in Brussels closed a volatile week out at 2,395.65, up 0.38%.
 
Belgian imaging technology company Agfa-Gevaert posted a net profit of 18 million Euros (22 million Dollars) in the first quarter of 2010, helped by stronger results in the United States and Asia.
 
Both Agfa Graphics and Agfa HealthCare posted strong operational performances, resulting in the positive net result compared with a net profit of 20 million Euros in the previous quarter.
 
However the results show a more general turnaround in fortunes, as Europe emerges from recession, compared to the nine million Euro loss incurred in the first quarter of 2009.
 
Group revenues increased marginally, by 0.3%, to 664 million Euros.
 
Recurring earnings before interest and taxes, or REBIT, rose to 53 million Euros from 28 million Euros a year earlier.
 
Belgian IT, biotechnology and infrastructure investment company GIMV swung to a full-year profit and inched up its dividend due to the increase in the value of its shareholdings and lucrative divestments.
 
It earned a net 117.5 million Euros ($145.9 million) for the year to the end of March 2010, it said on Thursday, against a loss of 322.3 million for the previous year.
 
Its closely watched equity value at the end of its financial year was 43.73 Euros per share, broadly in line with the 43.10 Euros expected by analysts at KBC, it said.
 
GIMV, part-owned by the Flemish regional government, invests in the equity of mostly unlisted companies, mainly in information and communications technology, life sciences and infrastructure.
 
It also has stakes in some small listed companies, such as Ablynx, Alfacam and Movetis - GIMV's gross dividend for the year would be 2.40 Euros per share, slightly higher than the 2.36 Euros payout for last year.
 
Belgium's consumer confidence dropped sharply in May, the National Bank of Belgium said on Thursday.
 
The consumer confidence indicator stood at minus 13 in May, down from minus 8 in the previous month. A year ago, the index was minus 19.
 
The measure for households' saving capacity over the next twelve months increased to 3 in May from 1 in April, while the financial situation indicator fell to minus 1 from 2.
 
Further, the gauge for economic situation in Belgium for the next twelve months decreased to minus 6 in May from 8 in the preceding month. At the same time, the measure for unemployment increased to 47 from 43 in April.
 
According to the debt collection company Intrum Justitia, Belgian businesses had failed to pay 8.7 billion Euros of bills in 2009. The Europe-wide study estimated that the percentage of uncollected debts across Europe rose from 2.4 to 2.6% (in Belgium the figure was 2.5%), totalling 300 billion USD "of unpaid bills and lost business."
 
Further, the study noted that in Europe only 52% of businesses pay their bills on time.
 
6,000 companies were surveyed to complete the study.
 
THE NETHERLANDS
 
In Amsterdam, the AEX finished Friday at 313.41, down 0.46%.
 
Dutch state-owned financial services firms ABN Amro Bank NV and Fortis Bank Netherlands NV Thursday showed a sharp increase in profitability ahead of their merger, which is expected in the third quarter of 2010.
 
"This is the first time that the results of both ABN Amro Bank and Fortis Bank Nederland have been published at the same time. The transfer of ABN Amro Bank and Fortis Bank Nederland to ABN Amro Group on April 1, 2010 marks the start of a new era for the two banks," Chairman Gerrit Zalm said in a statement.
 
At ABN Amro Bank, first-quarter net profit doubled to Eur178 million from Eur87 million a year ago. At Fortis Bank Netherlands, net profit amounted to Eur73 million, compared with a Eur6 million loss a year earlier.
 
The improvements are due to lower loan impairments and higher revenue, the company said. However, it expects higher loan losses in the second quarter of the year.
 
ABN Amro and Fortis Netherlands were nationalized in 2008 at the height of the credit crunch, as Belgian Fortis Holding collapsed under the weight of buying a large part of the former ABN Amro Holding NV.
 
ABN Amro Holding was bought in 2007 by a consortium made up of the UK's Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Fortis Holding and Spain's Banco Santander.
 
Airline Air France-KLM booked a loss of €1.56bn in its 2009/2010 financial year to April and has scrapped its dividend payments in what CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon describes as a 'horror year'.
 
Nevertheless, the company is predicting a return to break even in its current book year excluding the effect of fuel hedges and subject to the cost of European airspace closures because of the ash cloud.
 
Air France-KLM said its priority is to 'control costs via headcount reduction' and to boost its unit revenues by holding the growth in capacity to 1%.
 
The financial services sector regulator AFM has no plans to follow Germany and ban the risky form of share trading known as 'naked short selling', news agency Reuters reports.
 
Naked short selling is the practice of selling shares without owning them, borrowing them, or ensuring that they can be borrowed in the future.
 
The German ban will run until 31 March 2011 and covers trading covered by Bafin, the German regulator.
 
Three former Fortis executives have lost their appeal against being called as witnesses in connection with a damages claim by Fortis investors, the Financieele Dagblad reports.
 
Former CEO Jean-Paul Votron will now appear in court in Utrecht on Friday. Former supervisory board chairman Maurice Lippens and CFO Gilbert Mittler will be heard on June 8 and June 11.
 
The three had argued that they did not speak Dutch well enough to follow the proceedings properly and asked to be heard in French in Brussels, the FD says. The court in Arnhem rejected the appeal, saying the three can use the service of intepreters.
 
A number of investors are suing Fortis for the share price collapse following the partial take over of ABN Amro.
 
In March, the financial services regulator AFM announced it had fined the former Fortis group a total €576,000 for market manipulation and failing to publish price-sensitive information during the takeover.
 
Two fines relate to statements by then Fortis CEO Jean-Paul Votron on June 5, 2008 when he said Fortis' solvency was 'on target' and 'strong'. A month later, the financial services group announced plans to issue new shares, sell off units and slash its dividend.
 
Monday, the Netherlands Central Bureau of Statistics announced that the exports volume increased 13.5% on an annual basis in March, faster than the 10% growth in the previous month.
 
At the same time, imports volume grew 6.4%, accelerating from 4.4% increase in February.
 
Meanwhile, the export value increased 22% year-on-year to Eur 32.5 billion in March, while imports value rose 16% to Eur 28 billion. Thus, the trade surplus amounted to Eur 4.6 billion. This was the highest trade surplus since December 2007. 
 
SWITZERLAND
 
Zurich's SMI ended the trading week on 6,206.59, down 0.89%.
 
Switzerland remains focused on reining in the rapidly strengthening franc, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) announced at a Zurich conference on monetary systems.
 
SNB chairman Philipp Hildebrand made the comment on Tuesday evening as the franc surged to record highs against the Euro despite the introduction of massive bailout measures for indebted Eurozone nations - primarily Greece.
 
The SNB is reported to have made wholesale purchases of the Euro worth tens of billions of francs in a bid to prop up the European currency and stop it sinking below SFr1.40. Swiss exporters are suffering as the rising franc makes their goods more expensive in Europe - Switzerland's biggest market.
 
Last year, exporters were concerned at the Euro sinking below SFr1.50 and now it is hovering between the SFr1.40 to SFr1.41 mark. Hildebrand said he was concerned that the strong franc could lead to a trend of price deflation.
 
Economists at Bank Sarasin believe the Euro will remain under pressure for some time as fears remain that the Greek debt mountain crisis could spread to other countries, such as Italy, Portugal, Spain and Ireland.
 
Swiss engineering exports fell by a fifth last year, but Sarasin's Alessandro Bee believes exporters could survive the latest currency fluctuations as domestic economic conditions improve.
 
"Exporters will certainly feel the effects of the SFr1.40 mark against the Euro, but the general economic situation is not as severe as it was a year ago and indicators are pointing to a robust recovery," he told swissinfo.ch.
 
"But if the franc goes down to SFr1.35 against the Euro, exporters might have to scale down production or even close down Swiss factories and move them to emerging markets."
 
The recent market and currency volatility has been sparked by fears that Greece would default on its €300 billion debts. The European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have put together a €750 billion (SFr1.1 trillion) bailout package to help avert the threat.
 
Speaking at the Zurich conference on Tuesday evening, IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn expressed confidence that the bailout package combined with Greek public sector reforms would work.
 
And he was confident that the bailout would stabilise other countries if they gort into trouble with their debts.
 
"One more, one less is not that much of a problem," Strauss-Kahn told the conference. "We're dealing with many countries and programs and we have the resources available to do so."
 
The rescue fund comprises €500 billion from Eurozone countries and €250 billion from the IM .Switzerland, as an IMF member, could be called upon to provide an estimated SFr5.6 billion to that pot.
 
The irony of Switzerland - a non-member of the EU - paying to bail out a Eurozone country has not been lost on the media or some politicians. But Alessandro Bee believes the projected contribution makes perfect sense for Switzerland.
 
"The rescue fund was announced to create market stability and that could only be good news for Switzerland that sends most of its exports to Europe," he told swissinfo.ch. "The fund would only be used to distribute loans in a worst case scenario and we do not think this situation would actually materialise."
 
The direct exposure of Swiss banks to shaky Greek investments is not as bad as feared earlier in the year.
 
Earlier figures suggested the Swiss financial sector had $64 billion (SFr71 billion) tied up in Greece, but it later emerged that the figures were distorted by including the assets of Greek bank EFG Eurobank that was headquartered in Switzerland.
 
When EFG moved its HQ to Luxembourg this year, the level of "Swiss" bank investments in Greece sank to $3.6 billion.
 
Compared with Greece and its unmanageable €300-billion debt burden (around 115% of GDP), Switzerland is in a relatively healthy position. Switzerland posted a SFr2.7 billion budget surplus last year while its debt sank to around 40% of GDP.
 
This year, Switzerland is expected to overshoot its budget by SFr2.68 billion, which is forecast to reduce in 2011. Having experienced soaring public debt in the 1990s, Switzerland imposed a brake mechanism on public borrowing to keep it under control.
 
In November, the government outlined plans to cut spending by SFr1.5 billion annually over the next three years.
 
AUSTRIA
 
In Vienna, the ATX rounded off the day at 2,397.81, up 0.55%.
 
The People's Party (ÖVP) is split on the question of Austria going it alone on a tax on financial transactions, it emerged this week.
 
Federal Economy Chamber (WKO) President Christoph Leitl and ÖVP finance spokesman Günter Stummvoll support doing so, but party whip Karlheinz Kopf and State Secretary for Finance Reinhold Lopatka have reservations.
 
ÖVP Economy Minister Reinhold Mitterlehner has said a go-it-alone approach should be "a last resort." He claims that such a tax would not work without the participation of core EU countries and that a unilateral approach would "not be ideal for Austria as a business location."
 
The Social Democrats (SPÖ) remain hopeful of ÖVP support for such a tax. SPÖ Social Minister Rudolf Hundstorfer notes that Leitl and Stummvoll support it, and SPÖ State Secretary for Finance Andreas Schieder claims there is growing support in other EU member states for a Europe-wide tax on financial transactions.
 
Austria's rate of inflation in April was 2.0%, unchanged from March, according to Statistik Austria.
 
The agency reported Tuesday that inflation would have been only 1.1% in April without the inclusion of petroleum products, the price of which increased by an average of 23%.
 
The agency said that higher prices for car fuel had accounted for one-third of the rate of inflation in April.
 
The price of household energy rose by 3.9% and of apartment rents by 4.2% year on year in April.
 
Food and non-alcoholic drinks cost 0.6% more, clothing and shoes 1.5% more and tobacco products and alcoholic drinks 2.1% more last month.
 
Cars were two% and airline tickets 13.1% cheaper last month.
 
The consumer price index (VPI) stood at 109.5 at the end of April, compared to 100 at the end of base year 2005.
 
The pensioners price index was 2.3% higher in April after rising by 2.1% in March and 1.2% in February year on year.
 
The agency noted that pensioners spent more than younger people on medical services and medications but less on car fuel.
 
SWEDEN
 
Stockholm's OMX completed a hectic week Friday closing on 953.77, up 0.62%.
 
After seven straight quarters of a steady decline in the number of available jobs, the demand for labour has increased in the first quarter.
 
In the first three months of this year, the number of job openings rose by 16%, or 44,100, of which 33,200 were in the private sector, according to Statistics Sweden (Statistiska centralbyrån, SCB).
 
The number of job vacancies increased in the private and public sectors at 21% and 5% apiece in the first quarter. Within the manufacturing and extraction industries, the number of available jobs increased by 49%.
 
"The number of employees increased mainly in the culture, entertainment and recreation sector, as well as in health care. Gross pay also rose in those industries," wrote SCB's Anders Eklund and Maria Nilsson in a press release.
 
The acute labour shortage in the private sector in terms of vacancies amounted to 11,000 positions, an 18% rise from 2009.
 
However, the number of those employed fell by 1.5% to 3.94 million people. During this period, the manufacturing sector lost 53,200 jobs. The number of employees working in manufacturing decreased by 8.9% from the same quarter last year.
 
Monday, the Statistics Sweden said in a final report that the industrial production increased a seasonally adjusted 4.1% on a monthly basis in March, revised from 4% rise reported initially. In February, the production index was down 0.2%.
 
Year-on-year, industrial output climbed a working day adjusted 6.7% in March, same as the preliminary report published on May 7. This was the biggest annual industrial output since March 2007.
 
For the January to March period, industrial output grew 1.5% compared to the same period of the previous year.
 
The recent crisis taught the lesson that the central bank should become more outspoken about possible future financial crises, Swedish central bank governor Stefan Ingves told the Financial Times in an interview published on Wednesday.
 
He said the world's monetary guardians should worry less about losing credibility if they "cry wolf" because of the tremendous cost to society when things go wrong.
 
Sweden's households' debt increased considerably to around 80% of GDP. "That can't go on forever. That's not to say it's a huge problem Friday but it could become a problem in the future," he said.
 
"One of the lessons from the past few years is that if there is too much debt out there, in one form or another, be it in the household sector, the corporate sector or public sector, that comes back to haunt you," Riksbank governor told FT.
 
Sweden's Riksbank wants to replace the 20 kronor ($3) note, known as 'Selman' as it depicts the celebrated Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf, with a new coin but the parliamentary finance committee has granted clemency and put a stop to the plan.
 
The Riksbank had argued that "Selman" has become increasingly dilapidated with age causing practical problems for machines deployed to process the notes. It has also become more difficult to judge whether the notes are genuine.
 
The bank thus decided to sound the death knell for the 20 kronor note and replace it with a more perfunctory coin but the Riksdagen Committee on Finance was not persuaded of the virtues of the plan.
 
"The committee however approves the Riksbank proposal to introduce a 2 kronor coin and a 200 kronor note. The reason is that they will replace a significant amount of one kronor coins and 100 kronor notes. The number of notes in circulation will thus decline which will cut handling and purchasing costs as well as ease the burden on the environment," the committee said in a statement.
 
DENMARK
 
In Copenhagen, their OMX headed into the weekend at 375.91, down 0.81%.
 
Possible conflicts in banking regulations between Gibraltar and Spain have led to a considerable fine for Jyske Bank, according to bank management
 
Spanish financial authorities have issued Jyske Bank a 1.7 million Euro fine for violating the country's money laundering regulations, reports Jyllands-Posten newspaper.
 
Activities at Jyske Bank's division in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar are at issue in the case, where the Spanish authorities assert they have been denied access to vital information.
 
In the decision to fine the bank, the violations were described as 'very serious' and Jyske Bank in Gibraltar was cited for failure to properly report, unwillingness to investigate certain transactions, and having inadequate control procedures.
 
It is the first time a Danish bank has been fined for violations of another country's money laundering rules.
 
Jyske Bank has appealed the decision to the Spanish courts, claiming that the situation is due to disagreements between the Spanish authorities and authorities in Gibraltar.
 
'Our department is supervised by the authorities in Gibraltar and reports to them, but the Spanish authorities believe they are also entitled to certain information,' explained Peter Stig Hansen, Jyske Bank's chief legal counsel.
 
He adamantly denied the bank has participated in or contributed to money laundering. Hansen called the current case 'a political matter', stating that from the Danish perspective the bank has complied with all EU rules, and therefore also to those pertaining to Spain.
 
'We have to pay the fine as it stands right now, but we plan on getting the money back if we win the appeal,' said Hansen.
 
According to documentation from the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, the case has been underway for some time. Authorities in Denmark were first informed about the possible violations in November 2008 and information on the case was most recently exchanged between Denmark and Spain in March 2009.
 
However, Jyllands-Posten reports that Jyske Bank had previously lost a similar case with the Spanish authorities.
 
Hansen said he was not able to give more information about the specifics of the alleged violations and pertinent rules in the instant case, saying the bank's division in Gibraltar and the territory's financial authorities are handling the matter.
 
Central bank director Nils Bernstein has agreed to review the organisation's travel regulations after allegations of overspending on official travel.
 
According to Bernstein, Nationalbanken officials follow the same guidelines as for cabinet ministers, but revelations by Ekstra Bladet newspaper showed Bernstein's 10,000 kroner daily travel allowance when visiting European Central Bank headquarters was double the amount spend by finance minister Claus Hjort Frederiksen.
 
Since 2005, Bernstein and vice director Jens Thomsen have made a total of 72 trips with at least one overnight stay.
 
Denmark's total producer price index rose 5.1% on an annual basis in April, the statistical office said on Monday.
 
Meanwhile, the domestic produced goods prices rose 5.9% annually in April and imported goods prices grew 4.8%.
 
On a monthly basis, the overall price index for domestic supply of goods increased 1.3% in April, while the domestic producer prices rose 0.6%. 
 
NORWAY
 
The OBX in Oslo secured a Friday close of 313.94, up 1.71%.
 
Norges Bank, The Central bank of Norway, disclosed in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, that it holds 11.8 million shares of SanDisk, representing 5.13% stake in the Milpitas, California-based company.
 
SanDisk designs, develops, manufactures, and markets NAND-based flash storage card products that are used in various consumer electronics products.
 
As of May 10, 2010, Norges Bank may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of 11.8 million common shares of the company.
 
Tuesday, the Statistics Norway announced that the trade surplus stood at NOK 27.1 billion in April, up from NOK 23.39 billion a year ago.
 
Exports increased 11.1% on an annual basis to NOK 63.63 billion in April, while imports grew 7.7% to NOK 36.51 billion.
 
The export value of crude oil stood at NOK 25.8 billion in April, up NOK 1.6 billion from the previous month, the statistical office said.
 
For the January to April period, exports and imports increased by 0.4% and 0.8% , respectively compared to the same period of the previous year. During the period, the trade surplus narrowed to NOK 121.87 billion from NOK 121.99 billion last year.
 
Norway and the other Nordic countries are intensifying global efforts to prevent international tax evasion by signing agreements with Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada and St. Lucia.
 
The new agreements represent the continuation of a major project by the Nordic Council of Ministers to enter into information exchange agreements with international offshore financial centres worldwide. Since the autumn of 2007 the Nordic countries have entered into a large number of information exchange agreements, and together the Nordic countries hold the leading position in the global efforts to combat tax evasion.
 
Denmark, as President of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2010, has given priority to the continuation of Nordic co-operation to stop tax evasion. The Nordic countries have agreed to extend this co-operation until 2012.
 
A signed information exchange agreement gives the tax authorities access to information on tax evaders' capital investments and incomes. In addition, agreements help to uncover assets that have not been reported at home. For constitutional reasons, the agreements are entered into on a bilateral basis and are passed in the countries' parliaments before taking effect.
 
Google and the Norwegian-owned company Global IP Solutions on Tuesday announced that they have entered into a transaction agreement.
 
Under the agreement Google Acquisition Holdings Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Google, will make a recommended voluntary public cash offer to acquire all the issued and to be issued shares of GIPS for NOK 13.0 (USD 2.12) in cash per share, or an aggregate price of approximately NOK 421 million (USD 68.2 million) based on the currently issued and outstanding share capital of GIPS.
 
The offer price represents a premium of 142.1% over the closing share price of GIPS stock (adjusted for the rights issue in GIPS completed in March 2010) on January 11, 2010, the last trading day prior to GIPS making a public announcement of strategic interest from a potential buyer, a premium of 170.8% over the subscription price per share of GIPS stock in the last rights offering completed in March 2010 and a premium of 27.5% compared to the closing share price on 14 May, 2010, the last trading day prior to the offeror's public announcement of its intention to make the offer. Furthermore, the offer price represents a premium of 54.6% compared to the adjusted volume weighted average market price for the last three month period prior to the announcement of the transaction. 
 
FINLAND
 
Helsinki's OMX wound down the week at 6,301, down 0.14%.
 
The recession that started in the latter half of 2008 claimed nearly 15% of households' property income and almost seven% of their entrepreneurial income compared with the income accumulation in the previous year, but wage and salary income still grew by around one%. According to Statistics Finland's income distribution statistics, measured by the median of households' disposable income the average income level remained almost unchanged.
 
The income level weakened at the extreme ends of the income distribution. The income of the highest-income households decreased most and the share of the richest income decile in all income declined for the first time since 2002, mostly due to reduction in sales profits. On the other hand, the income of the lowest-income decile diminished due to real weakening of basic social security and rise in housing costs.
 
The strong fall in property and entreprenEurial income resulted in lowering of income in entreprenEur households in 2008. However, entreprenEurs' income has grown in the 2000s faster than that of other socio-economic groups. The income of unemployed persons diminished by 3.5% in 2008. Over the 2000s the livelihood of the groups living mostly on income transfers, unemployed persons and students, has fallen even more behind the level of the average income earner. Even so, the income of students rose by 4.5% in 2008.
 
The average income level among those living in rental households is clearly lower and growth in income slower than among those living in owner-occupied dwellings. In 2008 the housing expenditure burden, or the share of housing costs of disposable monetary income, was 20%, on average. For those living in rental dwellings the burden was, on average, 27%, for those living in indebted owner-occupied dwellings 15% and for those living in debt-free owner-occupied dwellings eight%. The burden is highest for the lowest-income earners and it falls when income grows: in the lowest income decile the burden was, on average, 40% of income, in the highest eight%. Inclusion of instalment of housing loans increased the burden most in the highest income group, to 14%, on average.
 
A comparison of housing conditions in 29 European countries shows that Finland belongs to countries with bigger than average rental markets with its around 34 share. The share of rental dwellings is higher than this in ten countries. The share is biggest in Germany where every second household lived in rented housing. Finland's average housing expenditure burden was the tenth lowest in Europe.
 
Monday, the Statistics Finland announced that the producer price index or PPI for manufactured products rose 3.6% year-on-year in April, faster than the 2.9% growth in the previous month.
 
On a monthly basis, the PPI increased 0.5% in April, faster than the 0.3% rise in the preceding month.
 
Export price index rose 3% annually in April, rising from 1.9% growth in March. At the same time, import price index climbed to 6.7% from 4.7%. Month-on-month, export prices and import prices grew by 0.6% and 1.4%, respectively.
 
Meanwhile, the wholesale price index or WPI rose 4.1% year-on-year in April, faster than the 2.8% increase in March. The WPI was up 0.8% compared to the preceding month. 
 
SPAIN
 
Madrid's Ibex Bourse pulled itself into the weekend on 9,407.30, up 1.48%.
 
Tuesday, Spain's National Institute of Statistics announced that the industrial turnover increased 12% year-on-year in March, faster than the 7.2% growth in the previous month. A year earlier, industrial turnover was down 20.5%.
 
Turnover in durable consumer goods rose 6.6% annually in March, while turnover in capital goods grew 9.6%. Turnover was up 12.5% for the intermediate goods.
 
For the first three months of the year, industrial turnover was up 6.9% compared to the same period of the previous year.
 
Separately, the statistical office said industrial new orders increased 13.6% on an annual basis in March and was up 7.9% in the first quarter.
 
The Spanish economy edged out of a deep recession in the first quarter, latest official figures confirmed.
 
Latest data from the National Institute of Statistics showed Wednesday that the gross domestic output expanded 0.1% in the March quarter, reversing a 0.1% contraction in the previous quarter. This is the first positive growth since first quarter of 2008.

 
On an annual basis, the GDP, however, fell 1.3%, slower than the 3.1% decline in the December quarter. It was the smallest contraction since the fourth quarter of 2008.
 
Both GDP figures matched their initial estimates. "With the Government recently announcing new austerity measures and the private sector still sitting on mountains of debt, the pick-up may prove to be a flash in the pan," Ben May, an economist at Capital Economics said.
 
On May 12, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced fresh budget cuts aimed at bringing down the country's large budget deficit of 11.2% of GDP. Public sector would be slashed by 5% on average this year and frozen in 2011. The prime minister said the government planned to save up to Eur 15 billion through the new measures and that it would shave a further 1.5 points off the deficit to gross domestic product ratio by 2011.
 
The annual decline in domestic demand slowed to 2.5% in the first quarter from 5.3% in the previous quarter. On the other hand, the contribution of exports to GDP growth eased to 1.2 points from 2.2.
 
Significant improvement was witnessed in household consumption, which dropped only 0.6% annually in the first quarter compared to 3.5% in the previous three months. Further, gross fixed capital formation shrunk at a slower rate of 9.9% versus a 12.9% slump in the previous quarter.
 
"Unfortunately, we doubt that the pick-up in consumer spending will last for long," May said in a note. "After all, Spanish households remain highly indebted by Euro-zone standards and the full impact of the labour market downturn on wages has yet to be felt."
 
Both exports and imports of goods and services registered positive growth rates for the first time since the first half of 2008. Export of goods and services rebounded to 8% growth from a decline of 2.9% in the previous quarter on improved demand from Spain's export destinations, mainly from the European Union. Imports of goods and services also recorded 2.6% growth, recovering from a 9.6% fall.
 
"With exporters suffering from a severe lack of competitiveness and domestic demand set to be squeezed by a prolonged bout of fiscal tightening, it seems very unlikely that Spain is on the cusp of a strong and sustained recovery," May observed.
 
PORTUGAL
 
The PSI General in Lisbon limped through the trading session Friday, closing at 2,427.71, up 0.78%.
 
Wednesday, the Statistics Portugal announced that the industrial producer price index or PPI rose 3.9% on an annual basis in April, faster than the 3% growth in the previous month. A year earlier, producer prices were down 4.1%.
 
On a monthly basis, industrial PPI was up 1% in April, faster than the 0.4% increase in the preceding month.
 
Meanwhile, manufacturing producer prices rose to 4% annually in April from 3% in March, and was up 1% compared to the preceding month.
 
Tuesday, the Statistics Portugal announced that the jobless rate stood at 10.6% in the first quarter, up from 10.1% in the previous quarter. A year earlier, the jobless rate was 8.9%.
 
The number of unemployed persons totaled 592.2 thousand persons in the first quarter, larger than the 563.3 thousand persons in the previous quarter.
 
The labour force participation rate stood at 52.7% in the first quarter, up from 52.5% in the fourth quarter. The labour force totaled 5.60 million persons. 
 
ITALY
 
Italy's FTSE MIB Index advanced 253.86, or 1.3%, to 19,535.91. The gauge fell 1.2% this week. The following stocks were among the most active on the Italian market Friday.
 
Banca Carige gained 4.5 cents, or 3%, to 1.55 Euros after Fitch Ratings changed the bank's outlook to "stable" from "negative."
 
Bulgari, the world's third-largest jeweler, retreated for a third session, falling 9.5 cents, or 1.6%, to 5.95 Euros. Luxottica Group SpA (LUX IM), the world's largest maker of eyeglasses, declined 52 cents, or 2.6%, to 19.5 Euros. The Euro climbed to its highest level in a week against the Dollar, on optimism European Union officials will take further action to halt the region's debt crisis.
 
Cairo Communication rose 6.25 cents, or 2.8%, to 2.29 Euros, a first gain this week. "Sales in the second quarter are accelerating because of better advertising trend and benefitting by new TV contracts," Equita Sim SpA wrote in a note.
 
Fiat advanced 24 cents, or 2.9%, to 8.65 Euros, snapping a two-day loss. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trimmed its price estimate on the Italian carmaker to 15 Euros from 16 Euros, while keeping a "conviction buy" recommendation on the stock. The brokerage said it considers Fiat as "the most attractive value proposition" in its coverage on a 12-month view.
 
Exor, Fiat's main shareholder, gained 41 cents, or 3.3%, to 12.94 Euros.
 
Geox rose 19 cents, or 4.9%, to 4.06 Euros. "The shares are recouping some ground after dropping more than 20% in a week," said Filippo Cavadini, a fund manager at RMJ Sgr in Milan. He noted that Chairman Mario Moretti Polegato "bought shares in the shoemaker in light of the correction in share prices."
 
Prysmian, the world's second-biggest cable maker, increased 49 cents, or 4.4%, to 11.76 Euros. Exane BNP Paribas, which has a "neutral" rating on the stock, said in a note Friday that "the continuing deterioration in some markets is now coming to an end."
 
Saras  gained 4.7 cents, or 3%, to 1.62 Euros. The owner of the largest oil refinery in the Mediterranean is benefitting from a rebound in crude-processing margins this quarter, Vice Chairman Angelo Moratti said in an interview.
 
STMicroelectronics, Europe's largest chipmaker, rose 6.5 cents, or 1%, to 6.34 Euros, ending a two-day loss. Infineon Technologies AG's Chief Executive Officer Peter Bauer forecasts the rebound in the worldwide chip market to last beyond the end of next year, Boersen-Zeitung reported, citing an interview.
 
Unione di Banche Italiane rose 29 cents, or 3.9%, to 7.81 Euros. Deutsche Bank AG, which has a "hold" rating on the stock, said in a note Friday that the agreement with labour unions to cut headcount by 895 "is very supportive of UBI Banca, especially as it could more than offset any eventual increase of personnel expenses linked to the renewal of the National labour contract (2011), at a limited one- off cost."
 
Italy recorded a seasonally adjusted trade deficit of Eur 1.87 billion in March, larger than the deficit of Eur 1.73 billion in the previous month, the Italian statistical office ISTAT reported on Tuesday.
 
Exports increased 2.2% in March compared to February, while imports increased 2.6%.
 
Between January and March, exports grew 6.9% compared to the preceding three month period, while imports grew 10.1%. 
 
GREECE
 
The perpetrators of current problems (well, one of many it seems) Greece drew a line under this trading week on 1,595.10, up 0.81%.
 
The Greek government is determined to do the most dramatic budget reduction measures of the modern history and initial results were positive, Prime Minister George Papandreou said.
 
According to the transcript of CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" program aired on Sunday, Papandreou said his government cut budget by 40% compared to last year. He also said the government is on target to achieve a reduction in deficit from 13% of GDP to 3%.
 
When asked about Germany's reluctance to provide huge financial aid to Greece, Papandreou said the money Greece was offered is not free as its a loan, and Athens is paying back the loans it gets. He agreed with the view that Greece was "a victim of the American investment banks" and said the country has initiated a parliamentary investigation into the role these banks played in triggering the recent crisis.
 
Speaking on the same program, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said she will support the introduction of financial activities transaction tax to avoid malfunctioning of the system. However, she said it is not exactly similar to what the International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn has proposed.
 
The IMF chief said on the program that the global economy is not out of the woods yet as a large part of the recovery is still fueled by public support and private demand is still weak. "The world is a better place than one year ago, but the world is still a dangerous place," he said.
 
Greek construction activity, measured by the number of building permits dropped 23.1% on an annual basis in February, the statistical office said on Friday.
 
The private construction activity decreased 22.9% annually in February, while the public construction activity in the overall construction volume grew 1.7%.
 
The total number of new building permits issued by the authority thorough out the nation amounted to 3,465 in February, representing 0.63 million square metres, the statistical office said.
 
For the January to February period, the total construction activity decreased 6.6% compared to the same period of the previous year. During the period, the private construction activity fell by 6.4%.
 
Greek jobless rate stood at 12.1% in February, up from 11.3% in the previous month.
 
With another general strike set to hit Greece tomorrow, investors are closely watching to see whether Prime Minister George Papandreou can withstand the pressure to transform the consumer-driven economy.
 
Greece, which Thursday received the first installment of a European Union aid package, cut its budget deficit in the first four months by 42% and expects to borrow on the financial markets as soon as circumstances allow, Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou said.
 
"The program has been designed to make it possible to stay away from financial markets through the end of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012. We don't expect this to be the case; we want to come back to markets much sooner," Papaconstantinou told reporters in Brussels after a meeting with European Union counterparts. "When exactly will depend on the situation in international markets."
 
Euro-area ministers and the International Monetary Fund agreed in early May to a 110-billion-Euro aid package for Greece. In return, Athens pledged to implement austerity measures corresponding to almost 14% of gross domestic product in exchange for the rescue funds that EU officials hoped would stem declines in the Euro.
 
"The program is on track, the budget in the first four months of the year shows a reduction of the deficit exceeding 40%, 41.8% to be precise," added the minister. "The rest of the measures in the following months are being implemented and will be on time."
 
With 5.5 billion Euros already delivered by the IMF, Greece has now received the first 20-billion-Euro tranche of the loans, the Greek Finance Ministry said in a statement.
 
Athens now can and will repay an 8.5-billion 10-year Euro bond which matures Friday, a government official said.
 
The Greek government will be paying interest of around 5%, far below current market yields of well over 7% for Greece's 3-year bonds.
 
Investors are closely watching whether Greeks will swallow the bitter austerity pill, or whether the wave of public anger continues to rise, and if it does, how well Prime Minister George Papandreou can withstand the pressure to transform the consumer-driven economy.
 
Greek 10-year government bonds rose Thursday, snapping a three-day decline.
 
Greece's 10-year bond yield dropped 32 basis points to 7.95%. The yield premium over German Bunds, the region's benchmark securities, narrowed 27 basis points to 492 basis points.
 
The two-year yield slid 85 basis points to 7.09%.
 
European finance ministers said Thursday Greece's debt crisis won't lead to a continent-wide austerity drive that may tip the economy back into a recession.
 
Economists said the market feels a sense of relief that Greece will be able to meet its liquidity needs, adding that while "the default risk hasn't been eliminated, it has been deferred."
 
Greece aims to cut its deficit from nearly 14% of GDP to 3% by 2014, though the magnitude of this challenge makes it a task never achieved by any other government.
 
EU-IMF bailout plan provides sustainability
 
Ratings agency Fitch said Thursday the implementation of a 110-billion-Euro aid plan for Greece funded by the European Union and International Monetary Fund provides a path to medium-term debt sustainability.
 
The aid package "minimizes near-term liquidity risk for Greece, obviates the need for the sovereign to tap international capital markets until 2012 and offers the government a path to solvency," provided that a proposed fiscal consolidation plan is implemented fully and effectively," said Paul Rawkins, a senior director on Fitch's sovereign ratings team.
 
The agency noted, however, that debt is still set to rise to almost 150% of gross domestic product before stabilizing in 2013, "making this route a highly challenging one."
 
Fitch currently rates Greece at BBB- with a negative outlook.
 
Late on Monday, the agency noted that money market funds have got rid of all their investments in Greece and cut exposure to Spain and Portugal on concerns about high sovereign debt levels in the Eurozone countries.