The global credit crunch may force banks to take back up to 1.2 trillion euros ($1.66 trillion) in debt on their balance sheets if investors are unable to refinance it, the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) said on Monday.
Saudi Arabia said on Monday it had signed an agreement with the British government to buy 72 Eurofighter Typhoon jets from BAE Systems for 4.43 billion pounds ($8.84 billion).
Commerzbank is bracing itself for a higher-than-predicted loss from investments related to risky U.S. mortgages that are set to knock a hole in profits, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
American Express agreed to sell its international banking subsidiary, American Express Bank, to U.K. bank Standard Chartered in a deal worth approximately $1.1 billion, the company said in a statement Tuesday.
The European Commission said on Tuesday it was monitoring events at British mortgage bank Northern Rock but it was too early to say whether guarantees pledged by the British government to worried depositors amounted to illegal state aid.
Most banks in Europe are not likely to be hit very hard by the recent turmoil in credit markets, and the Northern Rock crisis is not likely to spill in the U.K. mortgage sector, two top ratings agencies said Wednesday.
The Bank of England made a surprise U-turn on Wednesday, offering to inject 10 billion pounds ($20 billion) next week into money markets in a bid to bring three-month interest rates down.
Germany faces the prospect of unlimited rail strikes this week that could inflict serious damage to Europe's largest economy and even hurt neighbouring countries.
Carlsberg and Heineken raised their joint cash bid for Scottish and Newcastle (S&N) on Thursday, valuing the British brewer at around 7.3 billion pounds ($15 billion).
Swedish fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz said sales rose 14 percent in November, year-on-year, lower than expected by analysts and the latest in a series of signs that European consumers were getting wary of inflation and debt.
The European Central Bank seems to have little choice but to keep rates on hold this time as well, despite rising inflation. Money markets are still not back to normal and there are signs of a weakening economy.
The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday amid continuing uncertainty regarding the outlook for the economy.
France warned rival banks on Tuesday not to try to grab control of Societe Generale as it reels from losses blamed on a rogue trader, but piled pressure on its chairman to resign.
The trader accused of causing about $7 billion in losses at Societe Generale told investigators that he believes his bosses were aware of his massive risk-taking on markets but turned a blind eye as long as he earned money, a judicial official said.
Britain's tax authority is investigating up to 100 British citizens with bank accounts in secretive Liechtenstein after buying data from an informant in a similar move to Germany, a newspaper reported on Sunday.
From harsh criticism of the Federal Reserve in the United States to the MIPIM real estate conference in Cannes, the week was filled with compelling video. But only seven made the cut.
Investors hope the second quarter will be better than the first, when markets went on a rollercoaster of writedowns, trading scandals and record oil prices. Here are CNBC Europe's best videos of the first quarter.