Europe, Asia | featured news

Investors in Asia continued to sell off risky assets like stocks on Monday, as Europe's prolonged debt crisis and the possibility of a global recession caused investors to flee riskier assets like stocks.

A decision by European central banks to support the region's financial system helped calm Asian markets, setting off a rally across the region in Friday trading....

European stock futures declined Wednesday as Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Societe Generale SA and Credit Agricole SA and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said developed nations should not rely on China to bail them out. U.S. futures and Asian shares dropped.

Six cities from Europe, Asia and the Middle East are competing to host the 2020 Olympics. Submitting bids to the International Olympic Committee by Friday's deadline were Rome; Madrid; Tokyo; Istanbul; Doha, Qatar; and Baku, Azerbaijan.

The U.K. soccer giant chose Singapore for its $1 billion IPO so it could have a dual-share structure—one with voting rights and one without—that enables its owners to effectively retain control of the team.

Stock markets in Asia opened sharply lower Friday amid signs of a possible U.S. recession and renewed worries over the financial health of Europe's banks.

An outspoken Chinese writer and government critic has left his homeland for Germany after police repeatedly threatened him with imprisonment to prevent him from publishing any more of his controversial works overseas. Liao Yiwu arrived in Berlin two days ago at the end of a secretive journey that included transfers in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi and Warsaw, Poland, the writer said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.

A credit agency warning that Greece could face default if it follows an international plan designed to help the country cope with its massive debts caused Asian markets to stall Tuesday.

The ranks of millionaires in Asia for the first time surpassed Europe and in a few years are expected to overtake the United States, according to the latest annual Merrill Lynch-Capgemini World Wealth Report.

As they try to recover, the U.S. and Europe could use a refresher course in Eastern studies.