As apprehension about Spain's ability to finance its debt mounts, gold prices declined this week following a drop in the euro and a rate decision from the European Central Bank.

After a decent start, gains for London's FTSE 100 were pared late on after a European Central Bank (ECB) press conference failed to boost confidence, meaning that the index finished only slightly higher than the day before.

Spanish banks, that have little or no access to wholesale debt markets after losing billions as a decade-long property bubble burst in 2008, took in vast amounts of cash the European Central Bank pumped into the euro zone banking system in December and February, in operations totaling more than a trillion euros.

European Central Bank head Mario Draghi gave a muted outlook for the European economy and called for a "growth compact" to restore lost competitiveness across Europe.

Gold prices slid slightly lower earlier in the week on concerns about Spain’s capacity to control its finances against default risk following reports of Spanish banks borrowing from the European Central Bank.

LONDON (Reuters) - The top shares reversed early losses to close higher on Friday with traders citing technical reasons as gains in defensive stocks outpaced falls in banks and miners, which remain hamstrung by European debt and global growth worries. London's blue chip index closed up 31.57 points, or 0.6 percent at 5,575.52, in weak volumes, finding support around the 5,500, a level at which ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Edoma Partners, the hedge fund run by ex-Goldman Sachs star Pierre-Henri Flamand, has lagged behind rivals this year after a "frustrating" period when it missed out on a rally in stock and bond markets, a letter to its investors showed. The $1.8 billion Edoma fund, founded by Flamand to make bets on corporate events like mergers, bankruptcies and restructurings, was down 0.85 ...

The central bank of India, Reserve Bank, tells exporters to convert half of their foreign currency earnings into rupees.

Output at factories, utilities and mines declined 3.5 percent from a year earlier, adding to fears that the outlook has worsened because of deficits, political gridlock and inflation.

RBA meeting minutes headline busy week for data, economic indicators; European data to come into spotlight amid political turmoil. 11 May 2012 3:06 PM