There are signs that the economies of two of the world's leading emerging powerhouses, India and China, are starting to falter, while Europe continues to be handicapped by its debt woes, the latest report from the OECD showed on Monday.
Britain fell deeper into recession than first thought in the first quarter of this year after a sharp drop in construction output, raising the likelihood the Bank of England will need to inject more stimulus to protect the economy from the raging euro zone debt crisis
Asian shares rose on Thursday on growing hopes that Europe is taking concrete steps to contain the region's debt woes and head off a systemic banking crisis.
The Nikkei average fell on Wednesday after a meeting between the heads of France and Germany failed to quell doubts about euro-zone leaders' ability to contain sovereign debt woes.
Gold held steady at an over three-week high and silver edged up in anemic trade on Monday, buoyed by expectations of further debt woes in the euro zone.