AFP - Factories and refineries in the 15 nations sharing the euro ratcheted down production in May at the fastest rate in nearly 16 years amid growing economic headwinds, according to official EU data on Monday.

AFP - European stocks were firmer on Monday but Asian markets fell as investors digested measures to bolster US mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac amid a raft of major company takeover news.

AFP - International donors have pledged 1.2 billion euros (1.9 billion dollars) to help build Kosovo's battered economy, surpassing their target, the European Commission announced Friday.

AFP - Guyana Thursday said Caribbean Community (Caricom) negotiators allegedly hid details of the Economic Partnership Agreements with the European Union that would put the region at a disadvantage.

AP - The dollar was higher against the euro Thursday, a day after the president of the European Central Bank warned that an inflation price spiral was evident in the euro zone.

AFP - A big drop in Germany's trusty trade surplus underscores fears the biggest European economy might have shrunk in the second quarter of this year, analysts said Wednesday.

AFP - EU finance ministers gave Slovakia the final greenlight on Tuesday to adopt the euro on January 1, 2009, leaving the ex-communist country less than six months to prepare for the changeover, an EU official said.

AFP - Britain's EU partners piled pressure on London Tuesday to improve its public finances, setting a deadline of the 2009-2010 budget year for cutting its deficit to EU norms, an official said.

AP - European and most Asian stock markets fell Tuesday, hit with renewed fears over U.S. credit problems and their impact on financial companies after weakness in the previous session on Wall Street.

AFP - Britain's economy, buckling under the credit crunch and a slowing property market, faces a "serious risk" of recession as firms face soaring costs and falling orders, according to a survey published Tuesday.

Reuters - Serbia's new government will focus on quick entry into the European Union, strengthening the country's economy and keeping Kosovo as a part of Serbia, Prime Minister designate Mirko Cvetkovic said on Monday.