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Asian stocks snapped the longest losing streak in eight months as the Bank of Japan pledged to add monetary stimulus and Citigroup Inc. recommended buying industrial shares. European equity-index futures rose before an Italian bond sale, while copper and Australia’s dollar gained. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.6 percent as of 3:04 p.m. in [...]

Asian stocks fell the most in two weeks, while the Australian dollar rose and gold rebounded after better-than-expected data on Chinese manufacturing boosted speculation the nation will refrain from additional steps to ease monetary policy. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) slid 0.7 percent as of 3:02 p.m. in Tokyo, poised for the biggest drop [...]

Confidence among U.S. consumers climbed to a 12-month high in February, signaling household spending will help sustain the expansion. The Conference Board’s index increased more than forecast, to 70.8 from 61.5 in January, figures from the New York-based private research group showed today. Economists projected the gauge would climb to 63, according to the median [...]

European finance ministers held back a rescue package for Greece in a rebuff that left lawmakers in Athens under government pressure to endorse a newly minted austerity plan or exit the euro. “In short: no disbursement without implementation,” Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said in Brussels late yesterday after chairing emergency talks of euro-area policy [...]

The biggest year for overseas buyouts by Japan’s companies since at least 2000 was financed without a single yen coming from a $130 billion program Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda set up to spur such deals.

Australia’s central bank cut interest rates for the first time since 2009 and a Chinese manufacturing index slid, stoking concern that Europe’s debt crisis is weighing on Asia’s export-dependent economies. The Reserve Bank of Australia today reduced its key lending rate to 4.5 percent from 4.75 percent, saying Europe’s woes are starting to hit Asian [...]

The Bank of Japan expanded stimulus as Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis caused an appreciation in the yen that may endanger a recovery from the March earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis. Governor Masaaki Shirakawa and his policy board expanded their credit and asset-purchase programs to a total of 55 trillion yen ($724 billion) from 50 trillion yen [...]

European leaders “have risen to the challenge,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. French President Nicolas Sarkozy proclaimed their July 21 summit a “historic turning point” and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean- Claude Juncker called it the “final package, of course,” to extinguish the debt inferno. Then they went on vacation. Before they returned to work, the [...]

Proposals to beef up Europe’s bailout fund by offering to guarantee portions of the debt owed by the region’s weaker governments threaten to trash France’s top credit rating. The nation’s 10-year notes are the third-worst performers this quarter — behind only Greece and Belgium — as traders speculate the European Financial Stability Facility will be [...]