Hollande holds line on tax and troops
French president tells UK?s Cameron he will not reverse pre-election pledges on financial transaction levy and Afghan withdrawal
Bomb explodes outside Italian school
Stunned Italians see parallels with the events of 20 years ago when the mafia responded to a crackdown with bombing attacks
Chinese activist ends odyssey in US
Departure of Chen and his family brings to an end the worst diplomatic spat between Beijing and Washington in over a decade
Faltering start for the new Facebook
Glitches delayed the opening of trading and underwriters had to intervene to prevent the group?s shares falling below the $38 price set on Thursday
Spain hit by rise in bad bank loans
Value of bad loans held by banking sector increased a third during the past year to ?148bn and accounted for 8.4% of their entire loan portfolios
President plays up image as ?Mr Normal?
New French president seeks to fulfil his promise to voters after the ?bling-bling? image of his unpopular predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy
Murdoch quashes talk of UK paper spin-off
News Corp?s chief has moved to quash talk about selling its tainted UK newspaper business, saying publishing would remain ?a core component?
Banking: Back to the wall
JPMorgan Chase?s $2bn loss tarnishes the reputation of chief executive Jamie Dimon as a hawk-eyed risk manager prepared to confront regulators
