Wall Street marks best month in a year in July (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. stocks closed little changed on Friday, but Wall Street wrapped up its best month in a year after the earnings season rounded the final turn with a group of strong results that offset the impact of poor economic data.

UK's Osborne urges banks to lend, restrain bonuses (Reuters)
Reuters - British finance minister George Osborne urged the country's banks to use strong first-half profits to boost business lending rather than pay large bonuses, in an interview published late on Saturday.

Eurazeo in exclusive B&B Hotels talks with Carlyle (Reuters)
Reuters - French financial holding firm Eurazeo said on Saturday it is in exclusive talks to sell its B&B Hotels chain to U.S. private equity firm the Carlyle Group.

BP may sell German gas stations for $2.6 billion: report (Reuters)
Reuters - BP Plc is seeking to sell its German petrol station chain Aral for around 2 billion euros ($2.6 billion), German magazine Wirtschaftswoche reported on Saturday, citing investment bankers familiar with BP's plans.

Jobs data, earnings latest test for stocks (Reuters)
Reuters - U.S. stocks are unlikely to break above a key technical level next week unless monthly jobs data and consumer company results paint a more promising picture of the recovery.

Citigroup paying $75M to settle civil charges (AP)

AP - Banking titan Citigroup Inc. is paying $75 million to settle civil charges that it misled investors about its potential losses from subprime mortgages as the housing bust hit in 2007.

Bleak outlook for economy as growth slows (AP)

AP - The economy is still growing, just not by much. And until that changes, don't look for the jobs to come back.

ICICI Bank profit up 17 percent on better loans (AP)
AP - ICICI Bank, India's largest private sector bank, said quarterly profit rose 17 percent as it cut costs and eliminated bad loans amid revived credit demand in India's growing economy.

Greece turns to military to restore fuel supplies (AP)

AP - Greece said Friday it will use military trucks, navy vessels and commandeered fuel tankers to restore gasoline supplies cut by a strike that has hurt the country's industry and vital tourism trade at the height of vacation season.

Cuomo widens insurer probe with 6 more subpoenas (Reuters)

Reuters - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has subpoenaed six more insurers as the state widens a probe into whether life insurance companies have defrauded families of deceased members of the military.

IMF lowers Spain growth forecast, warns of 'fragile' rebound (AFP)

AFP - The IMF on Friday lowered its 2011 growth forecast for the Spanish economy to 0.6 percent from the 0.9 percent it foresaw in April and warned the recovery "is likely to be weak and fragile."

Out-of-stock Kindle may mean new version coming (Reuters)
Reuters - Amazon.com said its best-selling Kindle device was currently out of stock, leading one Internet analyst to surmise the online retailer was poised to launch a new version.

Michigan voters search for economic savior (AP)

AP - Michigan voters frustrated over lost jobs, home foreclosures and budget deficits will vote in Tuesday's primary election for leaders they hope can move the state out of its economic morass.

Coast Guard allows toxic chemical use on Gulf oil (AP)

AP - The U.S. Coast Guard has routinely approved BP requests to use thousands of gallons of toxic chemical a day to break up oil slicks in the Gulf of Mexico despite a federal directive that the chemicals be used only rarely on surface waters, congressional investigators said Saturday after examining BP and government documents.

Debate on death and taxes heats up as billionaires fall (AFP)

AFP - The question of death and taxes has risen to the fore in Washington as the demise of prominent billionaires has underscored a fluke which allows big estates to escape taxes, but only for this year.

Fiat boss shakes up Italian labour (AFP)

AFP - Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne is shaking up labour relations in Italy by strong-arming unions as he aims to create a global megagroup with US automaker Chrysler.

The Rebirth of Prague's Vltava River (BusinessWeek)
BusinessWeek - When Petr Vojak was deciding where to settle down with his family last year, his aim was clear. He wanted somewhere peaceful yet central. Eventually, they decided on a new flat in a northern district along the Vltava river, which flows through Prague.