US stocks hit six-month high on news that unemployment fell to a three-year low in January with banks among the main beneficiaries

Equities and commodities benefit from robust US employment data with the FTSE All-World index at its best levels since start of August

Commodities enjoy strong start with the price of Brent crude supported by geopolitical concerns and the demise of Petroplus

The dollar strengthens after US data show a larger than expected rise in employment with investors taking this as a positive signal on the economy

Mining executives are rarely anything other than confident but investors have reason to be more cautious about consolidation, writes Bryce Elder

The freeze in eastern Europe leads to cuts in forecasts but prices soften after Russia says there is no need for export restrictions in April

The ECB’s longer-term financing operations have bought time for the region, but investors and strategists remain well aware that the day of reckoning still looms

Demand for gold has jumped this year, but its stint as a hybrid between a haven and a risk asset could be coming to an end, says Gregory Meyer

London makes broad-based gains with only six FTSE 100 stocks falling as US jobs data and purchasing managers’ surveys lift sentiment

Rapid gains for Société Générale and Crédit Agricole helped the FTSE Eurofirst rise for the fourth consecutive session on Friday

The proposed $88bn merger endorses Glencore’s much-criticised $10bn, 530p a share flotation, showing that the IPO price was right

Asian stocks dip ahead of US jobs data later in the day, while downbeat corporate earnings continue to sway investor sentiment

The use of lower-rated debt in a key US funding market has returned to pre-crisis levels, fuelling fears that the so-called shadow banking system is becoming riskier

Build up of inventories at storage and pipeline hub in Oklahoma puts downward pressure on West Texas crude

Retailers were propelled in different directions as clothing stores updated investors on fourth-quarter expectations

ENRC misses out on rally fuelled by Glencore and Xstrata’s proposed merger while disappointing results elsewhere drag on London index

January’s dip to lowest daily volumes since 2007 blamed on reduced trading by hedge funds and threatens to increase costs for retail investors

Thomas Jordan, acting chairman, says bank has come under domestic political pressure over the potential cost of further interventions

Debt issuance by African countries and companies outside the northern Arab states hit a record $12.4bn last year and demand is rising

Currency bounces after data shows Australia’s trade surplus rises to a record high in 2011 while Swiss franc loses some of its recent strength