UAP Group

The European Central Bank's chief does not support all the proposed new eurozone budget rules that leave penalties for overspending nations up to EU governments, who in the past have shown themselves unwilling to impose any.

The euro rose against the dollar here on Thursday as Germany said that its economy, the biggest in Europe, would grow far faster than expected in 2010, while sterling slumped on weak retail sales data.

Stocks were slightly higher on Thursday on strong corporate earnings, but the indexes were well off their highs as the euro weakened and commodity prices fell.

The government borrowed a record £16.2bn to plug the gap in the public finances in September, figures from the Office for National Statistics show.

UAP Group Iran joins high-level Afghan talks

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