Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Friday sought to assuage concerns over Chinese investment in Europe, saying China has no intention to "buy" the continent, The Wall Street Journal reported. At a business forum in the southern province of Guangdong during a state visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mr. Wen said China is "willing to cooperate with Europe to fight the current crisis." "Some people say this means China wants to buy Europe. This is a concern and doesn't fit reality,'' he added. "China doesn't have this intention, and doesn't have this ability." Mr.

Hungary’s national airline, Malev, has ceased operations in the latest development to shake the country’s ailing economy and pile pressure on prime minister Viktor Orban, the Irish Times reported. Malev abruptly announced yesterday morning that it was grounding all flights, amid fears that its aircraft could be impounded abroad after they were not allowed to take off from Dublin and Tel Aviv airports.

Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile has made a 3 billion crowns ($446 million) offer for bankrupt Swedish group Saab which has drawn a cool response from receivers, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Friday, Reuters reported. The receivers want bids for parts of Saab rather than the whole business as that would raise more for creditors, the source said. Saab was declared bankrupt last December after months of efforts to keep it afloat by owner Swedish Automobile. "Youngman made an offer for all of Saab on Monday.

The government this week pressured one banker to give up his bonus and humiliated another by stripping him of his knighthood, populist moves that may assuage taxpayer anger over propping up failed banks, but risk long-term damage to the City financial district, Reuters reported. Britons, facing bleak job prospects, rising prices and harsh state spending cuts, are incensed at huge executive pay packages, in particular bonus payouts to bankers many blame for triggering Britain's worst recession since World War Two.

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said Thursday that China would consider working with the International Monetary Fund to help shore up Europe’s finances. But he left unclear whether China was willing to drop conditions that so far have made its proposed help unappealing to European nations, the International Herald Tribune reported. While Chinese leaders have pledged not to link political demands to financial investments, they have sought concessions, such as getting the European Union to relax trade strictures against low-cost Chinese goods. Mr.

Central bankers and public interest groups have lined up to demand tougher rules for banks at the European parliament in Strasbourg, as the battle over how to make financial institutions safer without stifling Europe’s economy intensifies, the Financial Times reported. On Thursday, the public interest group, Finance Watch, called on the parliament to tighten the planned European Union directive on bank capital, even as bank executives and some politicians warned of a potential credit crunch.

Spain's jobless claims shot up 4% in January from December to 4.59 million, a sign that the euro zone's fourth-largest economy is still shedding jobs at a record rate, The Wall Street Journal reported. All sectors posted more claims but the rise was sharpest for services at 5.1%. In construction, weighed down by a four-year property slump, the number of residents registered as job seekers rose 2.1%. Compared with the same period a year ago, overall claims rose 8%.

Hungary's government Thursday appointed a controller to monitor finances at troubled national airline Malev after the state-owned company went into bankruptcy protection at the beginning of the week, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported. The airline has amassed a debt of HUF60 billion ($271.7 million), and has to repay the government HUF100 billion of state aid after it was found in breach of European Union rules.

British bank Lloyds has appointed a receiver to three hotels, including the Burlington in Dublin, over debts of more than €200 million owed by property developer Bernard McNamara, the Irish Times reported. Paul McCann of Grant Thornton has taken control of the hotels, including the five-star Parknasilla in Co Kerry and the Cork International Airport Hotel, as well as the former Ormond Hotel on the north quays in Dublin. The Ormond closed in 2006 shortly after Mr McNamara purchased the property. He tried unsuccessfully to sell it in 2009.

Four companies each day went out of business in January, new data showed today, the Irish Times reported. The report from InsolvencyJournal.ie showed a total of 135 companies went bust last month, a rise of 39 per cent compared with 2011. The majority of the failed companies were in the services sector, accounting for 32 per cent of the overall total, while the construction industry accounted for 26 per cent. The retail industry, hit by falling consumer demand amid the current economic fragility, saw the number of insolvencies rise by 66 per cent in the month.