FRANCE - With rumors of a downgrade, the French are deeply worried about the potential loss of their top credit rating. The market turmoil and share price losses last week show how nervous investors have become. Does France have the political will to impose the strict austerity measures needed to save its rating?
GERMANY - As the debt crisis worsens, governments fear the rating agencies, which have the power of life and death over whole economies. The Big Three helped to cause the 2008 financial crisis and are now accused of worsening the euro zone's woes. But a look behind the scenes shows that there are few alternatives to the mighty agencies.
USA - A pack of 30 teens helped themselves to items in a Maryland 7-Eleven early Sunday morning in what authorities have labeled another instance of a possible flash mob. The store, which is located in Germantown, Maryland, was empty at 2 am Sunday morning when a group of teenagers calmly walked in and picked out items as though they were shopping. Then, just as calmly as they entered the store, police say, they exited without paying for the items.
KANSAS CITY, USA - Kansas City Mayor Sly James vowed Sunday that he'd take steps to end large, nighttime gatherings of unsupervised teenagers and preteens on the Country Club Plaza by holding parents to account. How, he didn't know. But whatever plan is developed, it will be a joint effort of the mayor and the City Council, James said after consultation with school officials, police and the juvenile court, among others.
BEIJING, CHINA - Aided by at least $43 million in assistance from the government of Massachusetts and an innovative solar energy technology, Evergreen Solar emerged in the last three years as the third-largest maker of solar panels in the United States.
SWITZERLAND - Switzerland, the nation that hasn't gone to war with a foreign power since Napoleon, is reluctantly debating a generational taboo: ceding monetary independence to win a battle over its runaway currency.
GERMANY - Growth in the German economy slowed sharply between April and June and was weaker at the start of the year than previously thought, figures show. The economy grew by just 0.1% in the quarter, according to provisional figures from the national statistics office.
UK - A family who fled war torn Somalia for Britain have exchanged their modest home in the West Midlands for a 2 million pounds detached house in one of London's smartest neighbourhoods - with the taxpayer picking up the bill.
GERMANY - In a Spiegel interview, billionaire investor George Soros criticizes Germany's lack of leadership in the euro zone, arguing that Berlin must dictate to Europe the solution to the currency crisis. He also argues in favor of the creation of euro bonds as a way out of the turbulence.
EUROPE - The leaders of Germany and France have three bad choices as they decide whether to save EMU this week, or pretend to do so.
EUROPE - Investors worldwide have lost confidence in economic leadership, driving financial markets into a "new danger zone", the head of the World Bank has warned ahead of a crucial meeting that could shape the future of the eurozone.
EUROPE - Germany and France are ruling out common eurozone bonds to solve the bloc's current debt crisis, in spite of renewed pressure ahead of a meeting of chancellor Angela Merkel and president Nicholas Sarkozy on Tuesday.
LONDON, UK - Prime Minister David Cameron declared Monday that Britain faces a battle to find its moral compass following four days of riots that left five people dead, thousands facing charges for violence and theft, and at least 200 million pounds ($350 million) in property losses.
USA - Pakistan allowed Chinese military engineers to photograph and take samples from the top-secret stealth helicopter that US special forces left behind when they killed Osama bin Laden, the Financial Times has learnt.
UK - Business confidence among UK firms is falling, two surveys have suggested. The Business Trends optimism index from accountants BDO fell to 95.1 in July from 95.6 in June. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said that more employers planned to cut jobs than increase staffing levels in the third quarter.