Despite the lack of economic and corporate data, European stocks closed mostly flat as concerns about Greece receded. The dollar weakened.
Most Asian shares rose with resource-related stocks higher on commodity prices and Australia's Arrow Energy surging. The Nikkei was up 2.1%.
Icelanders roundly rejected a deal to repay the U.K. and the Netherlands $5.3 billion lost in the collapse of an Icelandic Internet bank, complicating the island's bid to access badly needed international-aid funding and render normal its relations with the rest of the world.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari is under pressure to name a credible finance minister after the previous officeholder—a vocal critic of government corruption—resigned almost two weeks ago, citing personal reasons.
Germany's finance minister expressed support for creating a "European Monetary Fund" that could bail out indebted nations in the euro zone, showing how Greece's debt crisis is forcing Europe to rethink the institutional design of its common-currency area.
Asian share markets were higher after Wall Street's gains Thursday, with stocks in Tokyo up 1.8% on hopes the Bank of Japan would ease policy further.
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European shares fell after amid mixed U.S. economic data and a further easing of the Greece fiscal crisis. The euro slipped against the dollar and oil and gold fell.
Asian shares were mostly lower Thursday as Wall Street's tepid performance failed to inspire markets. The Nikkei was down 0.3%
The Greek government's new austerity measures drew a positive response from European credit and currency markets, further allaying fears that Greece might default on its debt obligations.
European stocks rose, boosted by a fresh set of austerity measures from Greece and better-than-expected U.S. private sector employment data. The euro gained against the dollar.
A look at Greece's finances over the years since it adopted the euro shows that Greece was the principal author of its debt problems and that fellow European governments turned a blind eye to its blatant flouting of rules.