UK and European equities shuddered to their lowest levels since 2005, a bleak end to a torrid week, as record oil prices fuelled inflation fears and sent investors fleeing to safety

The euro sold off sharply this week after the European Central Bank signalled it was not planning another rise in eurozone interest rates. The move came as the single currency looked to be staging an assault on its record high above $1.60 against the dollar

Trading was dominated during the week by surging oil prices. The rise in energy prices, however, masked losses in base metals and some agricultural commodities

London markets hit their lowest level in more than 2½ years, but ITV bucked the trend as takeover talk provided a distraction from trading worries

Steel stocks lost their gleam in Europe as fears about slowing demand for cars tarnished the whole sector

Asia-Pacific equities were mixed but the mood was still extremely cautious as worries about the US economy and surging oil prices ate into company profits

The number of financial bets on crude oil prices hitting $200 a barrel before the end of this year has almost doubled in the last month, a further sign of growing concern that oil prices will continue to rise sharply in the near term

US equity markets made tentative gains and pared losses for the week, shrugging off data showing that the US shed jobs for a sixth straight month in June and the services sector contracted unexpectedly

A weak Hong Kong stock market has prompted the Macao gaming company controlled by tycoon Stanley Ho to limit its initial public offering to less than half of the $1bn it originally sought to raise in January

The Australian Stock Exchange became the latest bourse to offer traders the ability to locate their computer servers next to an exchange's matching engine to improve trade execution times

Origin Energy has formally rejected a hostile A$13.8bn (US$13.3bn) takeover bid from BG Group amid widespread expectations that the UK gas producer will be forced to raise its offer if it wants to secure the Australian group's huge coal-bed methane reserves

Equity markets slumped and with oil at a fresh record high, the S&P 500 closed below its March low, as bruised investors awaited important interest rate and jobs data

Corporate bond issuance has slumped in the last 10 days as market sentiment has soured because of increasing concerns over inflation and slowing growth