European Closing Bell

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• Spain's PM Mariano Rajoy Denies Corruption Charges

  

  The Spanish PM has strongly denied claims that he and other members of the governing party received secret payments. "I have never received or distributed 'black money', it's false," he said, stressing that he would not resign.

• UK Banks Lost $1.5 Billion Brand Value 

  

  David Haigh, CEO at Brand Finance, says UK banks lost $1.5 billion brand value on the money laundering and Libor scandals.

• Europe Stocks Extend Gains After US Jobs Data 

  

  European shares inched up on Friday, as investors took advantage of the past two sessions' losses to snap up equities more cheaply, reassured by a run of solid data from China, Europe and the United States.

• Have Euro Zone Tail Risks for Banks Gone? 

  

  Bill Blain, senior fixed income broker at Mint Partners, says the euro zone crisis will kick off again.

• US Jobs vs. US GDP Number 

  

  Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics, weighs today's positive jobs figures against yesterday's bad GDP number.

• Worst Not Over for Spain Banks After Big Writedowns

  

  Spain's largest banks have reported dismal results over the past 24 hours, hit by toxic real estate assets, and according to analysts, the results highlight the desperate need for Spain's banks to raise more capital.

• Spain Stocks Brace as Short-Selling Ban Ends

  

  Spain's short-selling ban came to an end on Thursday but analysts say that although the lifting of the ban is a sign of improved sentiment, further downward pressure should be expected in the coming weeks.

• Upward Trend For Oil Continues: Analyst 

  

  Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity markets strategy at BNP Paribas, says today is just a pause in the upward trend for oil price.

• Europe Shares Close Lower as Earnings Weigh 

  

  A leading pan-European stock index fell on Thursday, hit by drops in brewing group AB Inbev and oil major Shell, and some expected further weakness in the near term.

• Deutsche Bank's Jump in Capital Ratio 

  

  Dirk Becker, head of banking sector research at Kepler Capital Markets in Frankfurt, says Deutsche Bank could have achieved the jump in its capital ratio by selling risk positions.

• Stimulus Will Do Little for Spain's Worsening Debt

  Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is expected to announce stimulus measures as soon as Friday and the EU looks willing to ease budget deficit targets for Madrid, but it could all be in vain as the debt mounts up, according to an HSBC economist.

• Will Egypt Mess Up Its Transition? 

  

  David Butter, associate fellow at Chatham House, contemplates the difficulties of recovery and restoring confidence in Egypt.

• Technical Look at the Markets  

  

  Roelof van den Akker, technical analyst at ING Wholesale Banking, takes a technical look at the DOW transportation index, the US 30-year T-Bond future and the euro/dollar exchange rate.

• Europe Shares Close Lower After US GDP Disappoints 

  

  European shares extended losses to close lower on Wednesday after U.S. gross domestic product data came in weaker than expected.

• Beginning of a Pull-Back in US Stocks? 

  

  Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at ConvergEx Group, sees the beginning of a pull-back in the U.S. stock market.

• H&M Is Still Expanding: CFO  

  

  Jyrki Tervonen, CFO of H&M, tells CNBC the company continues expanding in 2013.

• Will Stimulus Release the Spanish Bull? 

  

  Jamie Dannhauser, senior economist at Lombard Street Research, says Spain's priority should never have been fixing the fiscal deficit, commenting on the Spanish stimulus measures to be unveiled later this week.

• US GDP Number Isn't Too Bad: Econ 

  

  Peter Dixon, senior economist at Commerzbank Securities, shares his views on the disappointing U.S. GDP numbers.

• Investors Throw Spain a Lifeline as Economy Shrinks

  

  With record unemployment figures, a fractious political scene, years of declining retail sales and Wednesday's depressing growth data, Spain appears to be sinking. Yet an improvement in risk appetite and falling borrowing costs continue to prop up the economy.

• Technical Look at the Markets  

  

  Riccardo Ronco, technical analyst at Aviate Global, joins CNBC for a technical look at the equity v.s. bond ratio and the S&P 500.