Spanish Banks

A separatist group seeking independence for Spain's northern Galicia region detonated bombs at banks in seven towns Thursday, causing damage but no casualties, police said. The bombs, triggered by timing devices, shattered windows and damaged the doorways of banks in Santiago de Compostela, La Coruna, Pontevedra, Vigo, Orense, Lugo and El Ferrol.

MADRID -- Two mansions in Madrid, five luxury cars and seven seaside Mediterranean properties linked to former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak have been seized by Spanish police. In all, Spain has frozen more than $36.5 million in assets believed to belong to Mubarak, the autocratic leader ousted by public protests in February 2011. The seizure followed a request from the new Egyptian government, which is seeking to recoup assets from Mubarak and 130 people associated with his regime.

BankAmerica, continuing to shed assets in an effort to focus its business and strengthen its capital base, said Thursday it will sell two West German units--its consumer banking subsidiary and credit card operations--to Banco de Santander of Spain for an undisclosed price. A BankAmerica spokesman said the San Francisco bank holding company expects a pretax gain of $45 million from the sale. The deal is set to close in the second quarter of this year, the company said.

LONDON - European leaders took a step forward Friday in their effort to put all of the Eurozone's banks under central oversight but sketched out a time frame that suggests the new system will not be up and running until months after its anticipated start date. An agreement in June to appoint a single banking supervisor for the 17 nations that use the euro was hailed as a major weapon in the fight against the region's persistent debt crisis. Stronger oversight would pave the way for ailing banks to receive help directly from Europe's bailout fund, without governments having to step in with aid that then worsened their own budget problems.

European Union leaders meeting in Brussels surprised and impressed markets worldwide Friday by taking unexpectedly decisive action to boost confidence in the struggling euro common currency and committing to stronger economic and political integration over the next few years. Expectations had been low that the 27 EU presidents and prime ministers would do more than highlight the deep divisions between heavily indebted nations mired in recession - such as Italy, Spain and Greece - and the bloc's economic powerhouse, Germany.

Stock are higher a few minutes after the opening bell as investors welcomed the results of stress tanks of Spanish banks, as well as other positive news about Europe's economy. The Dow Jones industrial average is up 72 points to 13,427. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up eight points to 1,449. The Nasdaq is up 14 points to 3,130. Monday is the first day of trading of the fourth quarter. Markets around Europe rose. However, credit rating agency Moody's might downgrade Spain's debt to junk status this week.

MADRID - Europe offered Spain a lifeline Saturday to rescue its deeply indebted banks, after Madrid begrudgingly acknowledged that it would become the fourth and largest Eurozone government to seek aid to contain the continent's debt crisis. After a three-hour video conference with fellow Eurozone finance ministers, Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos signaled his government's intention to request assistance from Europe's rescue fund, already depleted by bailouts to Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

LONDON - Skepticism over a bailout plan for Spain's flailing banks drove the country's borrowing costs Tuesday to their highest level since Madrid adopted the euro, adding to fear that Europe's stubborn economic and financial crisis is entering a dangerous phase. The recent offer of as much as $125 billion from Spain's European partners to shore up its banking sector was supposed to calm markets, not unsettle them. But following what has become a pattern, investors' initial confidence quickly evaporated as they started examining the fine print of Europe's latest stopgap measure to combat its 2 1/2-year-old debt crisis.

Bloomberg News European stocks rose as investors bet central banks will add to measures unveiled by the region's governments to contain the sovereign-debt crisis and data from China and Japan fueled optimism Asia will drive global growth. Invensys Plc advanced 2.2% after a report said China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corp. may make an offer. Aviva Plc, the U.K.'s second-biggest insurer, jumped 3.6% after it named a new chairman. Rhoen Klinikum AG slumped 7.9% after Fresenius SE failed in its 3.1 billion-euro bid to buy the company.

Stock are higher a few minutes after the opening bell as investors welcomed the results of stress tanks of Spanish banks, as well as other positive news about Europe's economy. The Dow Jones industrial average is up 72 points to 13,427. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up eight points to 1,449. The Nasdaq is up 14 points to 3,130. Monday is the first day of trading of the fourth quarter. Markets around Europe rose. However, credit rating agency Moody's might downgrade Spain's debt to junk status this week.

NEW YORK -- Stocks rallied 1% in early trading, as investors saw more reasons to be optimistic about Europe's debt crisis. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 143 points, or 1.1%, to 13,581 shortly after the opening bell on Wall Street. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 15 points, or 1.1%, to 1,456. The Nasdaq was up 28 points, or 0.9%, to 3,144. Stress tests of Spain's troubled banks reportedly turned out better than expected. Investors also digested a report showing U.S. manufacturing increased in September, following three months of decline.

Bloomberg News U.S. stocks advanced, snapping a three-day decline in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, as European officials took steps to protect Spanish banks. Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. increased at least 1.1% as Spanish bond yields fell. Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. aluminum producer, lost 1.7% after reporting second- quarter results. Applied Materials Inc. tumbled 2.5% after cutting its forecasts. Advanced Micro Devices Inc., the second-biggest maker of processors for personal computers, slumped 6.2% after reporting an unexpected decline in sales.

NEW YORK -- Stocks gained in early trading Tuesday after European leaders agreed on bailout terms for Spain's troubled banking system. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 43 points, or 0.3%, to 12,779 shortly after the opening bell. The Standard and Poor's 500 index rose 7 points, or 0.5%, to 1,359. The Nasdaq was up 8 points, or 0.3%, to 2,939. Major European stock indexes were up about 1% or more. Spain's costs of borrowing eased, meanwhile. The country's 10-year bond yield slid to about 6.7%, down from about 7% Monday.

Bloomberg News European stocks rose as investors bet central banks will add to measures unveiled by the region's governments to contain the sovereign-debt crisis and data from China and Japan fueled optimism Asia will drive global growth. Invensys Plc advanced 2.2% after a report said China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corp. may make an offer. Aviva Plc, the U.K.'s second-biggest insurer, jumped 3.6% after it named a new chairman. Rhoen Klinikum AG slumped 7.9% after Fresenius SE failed in its 3.1 billion-euro bid to buy the company.

European Union leaders meeting in Brussels surprised and impressed markets worldwide Friday by taking unexpectedly decisive action to boost confidence in the struggling euro common currency and committing to stronger economic and political integration over the next few years. Expectations had been low that the 27 EU presidents and prime ministers would do more than highlight the deep divisions between heavily indebted nations mired in recession - such as Italy, Spain and Greece - and the bloc's economic powerhouse, Germany.

Advancing his policy of taking over major foreign companies, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Thursday that he would nationalize Spanish-owned Banco Venezuela, the country's third-largest financial institution. Chavez said during an afternoon telecast that he was seizing the bank because its owner, Banco Santander, was planning to sell it anyway. The Spanish concern, which acquired the bank in 1996, had not issued a formal comment by Thursday evening.

MADRID -- Two mansions in Madrid, five luxury cars and seven seaside Mediterranean properties linked to former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak have been seized by Spanish police. In all, Spain has frozen more than $36.5 million in assets believed to belong to Mubarak, the autocratic leader ousted by public protests in February 2011. The seizure followed a request from the new Egyptian government, which is seeking to recoup assets from Mubarak and 130 people associated with his regime.

LONDON - Skepticism over a bailout plan for Spain's flailing banks drove the country's borrowing costs Tuesday to their highest level since Madrid adopted the euro, adding to fear that Europe's stubborn economic and financial crisis is entering a dangerous phase. The recent offer of as much as $125 billion from Spain's European partners to shore up its banking sector was supposed to calm markets, not unsettle them. But following what has become a pattern, investors' initial confidence quickly evaporated as they started examining the fine print of Europe's latest stopgap measure to combat its 2 1/2-year-old debt crisis.

MADRID - Europe offered Spain a lifeline Saturday to rescue its deeply indebted banks, after Madrid begrudgingly acknowledged that it would become the fourth and largest Eurozone government to seek aid to contain the continent's debt crisis. After a three-hour video conference with fellow Eurozone finance ministers, Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos signaled his government's intention to request assistance from Europe's rescue fund, already depleted by bailouts to Greece, Ireland and Portugal.