Credit Suisse, the Swiss bank, has warned investors against buying shares in Greek banks. It was a conclusion reached after lengthy analysis of bank reserves, likely profits and relationship to the ailing Greek economy. But it hardly seemed necessary – there can be few investors queueing up to add Greek bank stock to their portfolio, The Guardian reported. That is the case for most European banks. Share prices have dived since last year and despite a few mini rallies, remain depressed. In March Credit Agricole shares topped €12; last week they were just above €6.

U.K. entertainment rights company Chorion is on the brink of collapse and owner 3i Group PLC is expected to appoint Deloitte as administrator shortly, a person familiar with the situation told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. 3i bought the owner of rights to such popular literary and entertainment brands as Enid Blyton's Noddy and the Agatha Christie crime novels in a GBP136 million ($221.5 million) buyout in May 2006.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is weighing whether to yield to a demand by some lawmakers for a bigger voice in future debt bailouts as a condition to win her party's approval for a stronger euro-zone rescue fund, as a parliamentary vote on the issue was delayed a week, The Wall Street Journal reported. Granting the German parliament the right to approve or reject future bailouts could trigger similar demands from parliaments across the euro zone, whose lawmakers are closely observing Berlin's actions. That could lead to further delays in the EU's approval for the Greek rescue.

Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, acknowledged on Monday that growth in the euro zone could be weaker than expected, suggesting that the central bank might be more reluctant to raise interest rates again, the International Herald Tribune reported. But Mr.

The Italian government backtracked on parts of its widely criticized austerity package on Monday, scrapping a tax on high earners and scaling back cuts to local authority funding, The Globe and Mail reported. In a statement after seven hours of talks at Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s home outside Milan, the government said it would also exclude years spent at university and military service from retirement age calculations, delaying retirement for some people.

Swedish auto maker Saab Automobile AB could be forced into bankruptcy over unpaid wages by the end of this week, labor union IF Metall said Monday, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Darko Davidovic, a lawyer at IF Metall, told Dow Jones that on Aug. 26 Saab received requests for payment of the union's 1,486 members' wages for August. Read more. (Subscription required.)

The European economy is set to soften further and there are real concerns that the financial market turmoil will derail the recovery, European Union Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn said Monday, Dow Jones reported.

A new agency with legal powers to enforce debt restructuring agreements between banks and struggling home owners is being considered by the Government to deal with the rise in distressed mortgages. The Cabinet is awaiting a report from an expert group, which is due by the end of next month, before making any major decisions in this area. However, a high-level Government source told the Irish Times yesterday it would avoid any measures “on such a scale that people feel they can abandon their mortgages”.

France and Germany may effectively run the European Union, but Finland has been demonstrating how even a small country can disrupt their grand designs, the International Herald Tribune reported. By insisting that it receive collateral from Greece in return for aid, Finland is threatening to upend an agreement that euro zone countries, led by France and Germany, made in July to expand the E.U. bailout fund. Finland would contribute less than 2 percent of the guarantees provided to the fund, known as the European Financial Stability Facility.

The British Bankers' Association (BBA) has thrown its weight behind a call from Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, for European banks to be forced to recapitalise to help prevent another financial crisis, The Guardian reported. Fears of a sequel to the 2008 credit crunch are growing because of banks' exposure to weak economies in the eurozone, where countries such as Italy, Spain and Greece are struggling to maintain international investor confidence.