WASHINGTON, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - Troubled lender Wachovia Corp. appeared determined Sunday to plow ahead with a planned union with Wells Fargo & Co., despite an order from a New York State Supreme Court in favor of jilted suitor Citigroup.

BERLIN, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - With Germany making a blanket guarantee to cover all of the country's savings, other European countries were under increased pressure on Monday to bolster their financial defences.

LONDON, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - British finance minister Alistair Darling is considering giving banks billions of pounds in return for shares to shore them up in the face of the global credit crunch, media reports said Monday.

TOKYO, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - Japan's central bank said it injected 1.0 trillion yen (9.5 billion dollars) into the short-term money market on Monday to try to ease strains on the financial system.

ROME, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - Italy will resurrect the idea of creating an European bank bailout fund at a meeting of EU finance ministers in Luxembourg on Monday, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said.

BRUSSELS, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - BNP Paribas announced Sunday that it is taking control of ailing finance group Fortis's operations in Belgium and Luxembourg, in a deal which will make Belgium the largest shareholder in the French bank.

LONDON, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - Lehman Brothers, which fell victim to the credit crunch last month, lobbied the US Federal Reserve to be given access to liquidity this summer but was turned down, the Financial Times reported Monday.

WASHINGTON, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - A US appeals court has struck down an earlier injunction order on a proposed merger between banks Wells Fargo & Co and Wachovia, Wells Fargo announced in a statement late Sunday.

WASHINGTON, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - A US appeals court has struck down an earlier injunction order on a proposed merger between banks Wells Fargo & Co and Wachovia, Wells Fargo announced in a statement late Sunday.

BERLIN, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - Small and medium-sized firms, the backbone of the German economy, are still shielded from the global financial crisis but fear that frozen credit lines could eventually deal a crushing blow.