FRANKFURT (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.

HONG KONG (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.

LONDON (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.

FRANKFURT (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.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Securities regulators are locking horns with some of America's most powerful mutual funds and Wall Street players over plans to scrap requirements that money market funds hold investment-grade securities.

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Wall Street had its steepest decline in more than two months on Thursday, as more signs of weakness in the labor market and increasingly sluggish growth overseas fueled fears about the ability of the U.S. economy to stage a recovery.

A battered financial sector led Wall Street into bear market territory on Thursday, as Bill Gross, manager of the bond fund Pimco, warned that a "financial tsunami" could ensue if the government failed to support markets.

LONDON (AFP) - Europe's leading stock exchanges fell on Wednesday after Wall Street had closed lower overnight, dragged down by concern over falling oil prices.