'FLAVOR OF THE MOMENT': A bearish sentiment could not offset the effect of stock markets being 'hit with the defibrillator paddles' again and again, one analyst said
The price of oil jumped back above US$90 on Friday, boosted by renewed optimism that the flagging US economy, the world's biggest energy consumer, would be getting back on track.

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Asian currencies completed a weekly advance, with Malaysia's ringgit and Singapore's dollar reaching decade highs, as US interest rate cuts and spending plans revived confidence in global economic growth.

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The dollar rose against the euro on Friday, continuing to find support from a quick accord on an economic stimulus plan between the White House and Congress.

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European stocks fell for a seventh week on concern efforts by US policymakers and regulators to stem credit-market losses won't be enough to keep the world's largest economy from sliding into a recession.

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US stocks regained some stability in the past week, with investors hoping the Federal Reserve will deliver fresh interest rate cuts in days, but analysts warned that markets would remain volatile.

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BEAR MARKET: The MSCI Asia Pacific Index registered its fourth consecutive weekly decline this week, but the Fed's reduction of borrowing costs limited its momentum
Asian stocks fell for a fourth week on concern the global economy was slowing, sending the region, along with Europe, into a bear market.

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BENCHMARKS: The influential developer of international market indexes said it plans to respond in June to institutional investors' comments about its classification criteria
An influential financial services firm launched a review this week into the way it classifies a foreign stock market as either emerging or developed, a move that could eventually trigger the reallocation of billions of dollars in global capital.

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A wave of crime is sweeping rural parts of the US, with organized gangs and petty thieves heisting commodities ranging from wheat to almonds, copper wires to hardwood trees.

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FedEx Corp is reportedly in talks to buy all or part of Deutsche Post AG's DHL delivery business in the US, a deal that would help it challenge larger rival United Parcel Service Inc (UPS).

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World business leaders and political powerbrokers wrapped up their annual gathering in Davos yesterday by revisiting the issue of global economic uncertainty that clouded this year's event.

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Japanese electronics manufacturers Matsushita and Toshiba are planning major consolidation of their battery businesses amid surging prices of raw materials and rare metals, news reports said yesterday.

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