Ukrainians will vote on joining NATO by the end of the decade, Poroshenko says

Weidmann says ECB can only help in short-term, Spain needs to do more

Whereas monetary policy can influence so-called aggregate demand, or economic activity, in the short-term, it cannot boost growth prospects in a permanent fashion, Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann said on Monday.

Stryker said to be mulling a bid for Smith & Nephew, shares rise

US medical technology outfit Stryker is laying the groundwork of another bid for British rival Smith & Nephew.

Talks on Iran's nuclear programme extended until 1 July

Talks between Iran and six world powers on measures to ensure the Middle Eastern country is not able to secretly develop a nuclear weapons capability have been extended until 1 July.

BT in talks with Telefonica to buy O2

British telecoms giant BT has confirmed it is in talks with Spanish firm Telefonica to buy O2.

Theresa May: Britain is facing greatest terror threat in history

Home Secretary Theresa May believes that the terror threat to the UK is now greater than at any other time in history.

German business confidence shoots past forecasts in November

The IFO institute's business confidence index for Germany shot past forecasts in November.

BHP Billiton to cut capital expenditures by $600m in financial year 2015

Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton is set to implement more cuts to its capital expenditure as well as reorganise its management ranks.

Intesa SanPaolo studying bid for all of Coutts

Russian and US foreign ministers to meet on Sunday

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and his US counterpart, US Secretary of State John Kerry, were due to hold a bilateral meeting on Sunday on the sidelines of the current negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme, Interfax reported.

Bank of England opens probe into own staff, according to FT

S&P 500 climbs to new record as Europe and China fuel optimism

RBS admits to error in stress-test calculation, capital ratio revised lower

The Royal Bank of Scotland has admitted to an error it made when calculating its capital ratio for the latest round of stress tests in Europe, saying it had "overstated" its estimated common equity tier-1 ratio (CET1).

ECB begins buying asset-backed securities

The European Central Bank (ECB) has started buying asset-backed securities in an attempt to encourage banks to lend and boost the stagnant economy.

UK retail sales surge past forecasts in October, ONS reveals

UK retail sales soared last month, advancing by 0. 8% month-on-month and 4. 3% on the year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), led by non-food sales, while prices fell at their quickest pace in over a decade.

US Philly Fed index rockets higher in November

The Federal Reserve bank of Philadelphia’s manufacturing sector gauge for the month of November shot higher to a reading of 40. 8 for November, its highest level since March 2011.

US weekly jobless claims fall by 2,000 to 291,000, Labor Department reveals

US initial jobless claims fell by 2,000 to 291,000 in the week to 15 November, the Labor Department revealed on Thursday.

Chinese interbank lending rates spike on demand for liquidity

Lending rates in China spiked on Thursday as demand for liquidity was boosted ahead of a raft of upcoming initial public offering (IPOs) next week, a day after Beijing announced new measures to loosen credit to lower bank funding costs.

EU advocate general throws out UK challenge to its cap on bankers' bonuses

The EU’s advocate general has rejected the UK’s challenge to cap on bankers’ bonuses.

FCA and BoE fine RBS for IT failures

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England (BoE) have fined Royal Bank of Scotland £56m for the computer failures that hit more than over 6. 5m UK customers for several weeks in 2012.