Most world leaders plan to attend a climate summit in Copenhagen this month, boosting chances that a new U.N. deal to fight climate change will be reached.

Australia's parliament rejected laws to set up a sweeping carbon emissions trade scheme on Wednesday, scuttling a key policy of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and setting a trigger for an early election.

The U.S. dollar was on the defensive broadly on Wednesday while the euro and higher-yielding currencies extended impressive gains as investor risk appetite showed little sign of waning ahead of the year end.

Asian stock markets tracked a strong session on Wall Street, which saw the Dow climbing more than one percent to end at its highest level so far this year.

Japanese manufacturers' confidence rose in November to levels not seen since October 2008, but sentiment remained negative overall and the pace of recovery is expected to be slow in an economy mired in deflation, a Reuters poll showed.

The Federal Reserve must be prepared to raise interest rates if necessary before the jobless rate has fallen to "acceptable levels", or risk losing its inflation-fighting credibility, a senior Fed official said on Tuesday.

When Staples decided on its Black Friday specials this year, it knew the deals wouldn’t stay secret for long. In the Internet age, retail surprises are quickly becoming things of the past as ads leak online weeks before their official unveiling.

While many investors may see this as a good opportunity to re-enter the market, they will likely be more choosy on their return.

The U.S. manufacturing sector grew in November for the fourth straight month but at a slower rate than expected, according to an industry report released Tuesday.

The US government will have to cut down on borrowing by giving up on some publicly-financed programs or face inflation in one or two years, Sam Zell, chairman of Equity Group Investment, told CNBC Tuesday.

The US economy will never recover until banks start lending and they are not doing that now, despite claims to the contrary by the financial institutions, legendary real-estate developer Donald Trump told CNBC Tuesday.

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The euro zone manufacturing sector grew for the second consecutive month and at a faster rate than expected but the divergence between Spain and the rest of the big four economies widened, a survey showed on Tuesday.

The dollar is set to strengthen from its current base and could rebound toward 78.50 points if the trend higher is confirmed, Roelof van den Akker, chartist at ING Wholesale Banking, told CNBC Tuesday.

European stocks notched up their biggest one-day gain in four-and-a-half months on Tuesday, with banks rebounding as recent worries about Dubai's debt receded, and macroeconomic data further boosting sentiment.