With Christmas and New Year approaching, air fares and hotel tariffs for favoured destinations such as Goa are going through the roof.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has said Europe's debt crisis is pushing the 17-country Eurozone towards recession and dragging down the global economy.

In an uncertain economy, Suveen K. Sinha unearths boutique investment banks which are proving better at sealing deals than the big ones. It is not just the lower expenses that make them click with clients. All six that BT spoke to insisted that their clients loved them because they were always there for the clients.

Starring: N. Srinivasan, Swati Piramal, Enase Okonedo, Milind Kamat, Soumitra Dutta

Starring: J.S. Sarma, Rahul Khullar, Dev Amritesh, Y.K. Hamied, Hiroyuki Suzuki, Pallavi Jha

New French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have voiced their support for the debt-stricken nation to remain in the euro zone.

Starring: R.H. Patil, Vidya Nataraj, Angad Paul, Frederick DeLuca, Ajay Banga and Jack Canfield

Thursday's decision by the ECB's 23-member governing council follows two months with rate cuts aimed at spurring lagging growth, and a decision in December to inundate banks with cheap credit.

While the EU fiscal deal reached on Friday may help save the euro, the political consequences of the rift with Britain could be enormous. It also remains to be seen whether the European Central Bank will take more aggressive action to buy the bonds of heavily indebted countries.

Markets rallied further on Monday on hopes that Europe's leaders will agree on a plan to restore long-term confidence in the euro, saving it from collapse and averting global economic chaos.

US stocks pared most of their early losses and ended mixed after French and German leaders said that there will be a definitive agreement to address the region's debt problems.

US stocks surged on Monday, with the blue-chip Dow soaring nearly 250 points, as news showed Germany and France were near a final deal to shore up European banks.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 391 points and at one point was down more than 500, a return to the volatility that gripped the market.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 1.7 per cent to close at 8,668.86 while South Korea's Kospi advanced 1.4 per cent to finish at 1,774.08.

A promise by European leaders to help Greece avoid default sent US stocks sharply higher on Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 140.88 points to close at 11,246.73.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng reversed early declines to eke out a 0.1 per cent gain to 19,045.44. Mainland China's Shanghai Composite Index also staged a comeback.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 303.68 points to close at 10,992.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 31.67 to 1,154.23. The Nasdaq composite fell 61.15 to 2,467.99.

Quick takes on major events of the last fortnight

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said they have agreed to involve private creditors in a new financial rescue on a voluntary basis.

The alleged victim, a 32-year-old chambermaid, on Wednesday testified against Strauss-Kahn that \"there was nothing consensual\" about the assault.