AP - Wall Street has ended a dismal day with a huge decline. The Dow Jones industrials are down nearly 350 points after retailers and the Labor Department added to investors' mounting economic worries and prompted a wave of selling.

Reuters - Wall Street had its worst day in more than two months on Thursday, as more signs of weakness in the U.S. labor market and increasingly sluggish growth overseas fueled a fierce sell-off.

AFP - The European Central Bank kept its key lending rate unchanged on Thursday and slashed its growth forecasts for this year and next, sending stock markets and the euro into tailspins.

AFP - Share prices fell sharply in Frankfurt and Paris on Thursday ahead of European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet's press conference due after the central bank's latest call on interest rates.

AFP - Hong Kong is considering banning fishing trawlers in its waters to save fish stocks, a report said Thursday. The drastic proposal comes as annual catches were estimated to be 30 percent above sustainable levels, the South China Morning Post said, citing a consultation paper from the Food and Health bureau.

AFP - German fertiliser group K+S will join the DAX 30 index of blue-chip stocks, reflecting its growing business as prices for commodities and foods rise globally.

AP - A former Wall Street broker pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he and a colleague duped investors into purchasing more than $1 billion in high-risk securities by making it look as though the trades were protected by the federal government.