A look at economic developments around the globe (AP)

A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Thursday:

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LONDON — The violence in Libya dominated markets, sending stocks lower and oil prices higher.

Libya produces about 1.6 million barrels of crude per day and has the biggest oil reserves in Africa.

But the biggest worry in the markets is not necessarily Libya but whether the crisis spreads through the Persian Gulf.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed down 0.1 percent, Germany's DAX fell 0.9 percent and the CAC-40 in Paris ended 0.1 percent lower.

Oil prices in New York hovered around $100 a barrel — up about 20 percent in the past week — while Brent crude in London rose nearly $3 to above $114.

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TOKYO — Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 1.2 percent as the yen jumped on a safe-haven bid. A stronger yen hurts Japan's exports.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed down 1.3 percent, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.8 percent, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.6 percent and benchmarks in Singapore, New Zealand and India also declined.

China's main benchmark rose 0.6 percent.

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ROME — Libya's violent upheaval has taken 1.2 million barrels of oil off the global market as energy plants and ports are shut down, according to Italy's Eni, the largest producer in Libya.

The figure represents most of Libya's total daily production, which before the crisis was about 1.6 million barrels of crude. The country sits on the biggest proven oil reserves in Africa.

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LONDON — When Moammar Gadhafi told the world he was a changed man, some leaders were skeptical. Others, like Britain's Tony Blair, were quicker to see the benefits of rapprochement with the oil-rich nation.

Now, as Gadhafi's regime crumbles, questions are being raised about whether Britain, the United States, and others were too quick to embrace a volatile despot linked to terrorism and oppression as they sought lucrative business deals.

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BRUSSELS — Russia's premier and the president of the EU's executive Commission clashed over EU plans to stop suppliers of oil or gas from also directly managing pipelines — a move that threatens to hit Russian gas monopoly OAO Gazprom.

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BERLIN — German government lawmakers are demanding that the eurozone's future bailout fund not be allowed to buy the bonds of troubled governments — a veiled threat they might also block long-awaited changes to the current fund.

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CAIRO — Egypt's stock exchange says an announcement about its reopening, already repeatedly delayed, will come next week. The Egyptian Exchange has been closed for nearly a month amid unrest surrounding Hosni Mubarak's ouster.

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BERLIN — Germany's budget deficit was 3.3 percent of gross domestic product in 2010, lower than previously estimated and only just above the limit set by European Union rules.

An initial estimate in January was 3.5 percent. Germany last year exceeded the 3 percent limit set for members of the 17-nation eurozone for the first time in five years.

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LONDON — Confidence over Europe's economic recovery improved further in February, another sign that the impact from the government debt crisis has for now abated.

The EU's executive branch said its economic sentiment indicator spiked by a point in the eurozone to 107.8, its highest level for nearly three and a half years.

Much of the survey was taken before this week's sharp rise in oil prices.

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LONDON — The Royal Bank of Scotland, Britain's largest government-owned bank, reported a smaller net loss for 2010 after returning to profit in the final quarter of the year. RBS said its recovery from the crisis was ahead of schedule.

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JOHANNESBURG — The launch of a state-owned mining company is renewing questions about whether South Africa has long-term plans to nationalize the lucrative industry.

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LONDON — Moody's rating agency cut Cyprus' credit grade by two notches, citing worries about its banks' exposure to crisis-hit Greece, rising debt and a lack of economic competitiveness.

Moody's lowered its rating on Cypriot government bonds to A2 from Aa3 with a stable outlook, meaning no further downgrades are being considered.

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CAIRO — Leading international ratings agency Standard & Poor's placed two Bahrain-based insurers on "CreditWatch Negative," citing the mass unrest that prompted the earlier downgrade of the Gulf nation's sovereign rating.

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A look at economic developments around the globe (AP)

A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Tuesday:
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CAIRO — Egypt's stock exchange postponed its already long-delayed reopening until next week and markets in the Gulf Arab region posted their third consecutive day of declines as unrest in Libya and elsewhere in the region battered already fragile investor confidence in the Mideast.
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MILAN — Two oil companies, including the biggest energy producer in Libya, suspended production in the country due to the deadly protests against the regime of Moammar Gadhafi. Oil prices jumped in New York.
Italy's Eni halted and Spain's Repsol-YPF halted operations. Eni puts out 244,000 barrels of gas and oil equivalent a day in Libya, about a quarter of the country's exports. Repsol produced 34,777 barrels in the country last year, about 3.8 percent of national output.
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TOKYO — Moody's Investors Service sounded the latest alarm on Japan's massive debt, cutting the outlook on the country's credit rating as it questioned the government's power to enact reforms.
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NEW YORK — Oil prices soared to the highest level in more than two years as violence spread in Libya and Moammar Gadhafi's grip weakened over the country. Only a small amount of Libya's oil production appear to have been affected, though analysts fear that revolts will spread to OPEC heavyweights like Iran.
Libya is the world's 18th largest oil producer, pumping out around 1.8 million barrels a day, or a little under 2 percent of global daily output. The OPEC country also sits atop the biggest oil reserves in the whole of Africa.
With so much uncertainty surrounding a large chunk of the world's daily oil production, market prices surged.
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LONDON — Growing concerns over Libya's violent crisis weighed on stocks worldwide.
With deep rifts opening up in Moammar Gadhafi's regime, air force pilots defecting and a bloody crackdown in the capital of Tripoli, investors are fretting over how the crisis will end and what the impact on the North African country's oil production will be.
The jump in crude prices is a worry for investors. It reinforces fears of inflation and rising raw materials costs.
The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed down 0.3 percent, the CAC-40 in France dropped 1.2 percent and Germany's DAX ended less than 0.1 percent lower.
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TOKYO — Earlier in Asia, the Nikkei 225 stock average dropped 1.8 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 2.1 percent, South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.8 percent and China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.6 percent.
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CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — At least 100 people were reportedly missing and believed buried after a powerful earthquake that killed at least 65 in one of New Zealand's largest cities.
The quake toppled the spire of the city's historic stone cathedral, flattened tall buildings and sent chunks of concrete and bricks hurtling onto cars, buses and pedestrians below.
The New Zealand dollar slid 1 percent against the dollar while the country's benchmark stock index fell 0.7 percent.
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BRUSSELS — The European Central Bank warned that the eurozone needs much stricter rules on government borrowing and tighter oversight on spending by households and businesses.
The warning comes as the European Union and its member states haggle over how to improve the so-called Stability and Growth Pact, whose caps on budget deficits and debts were never strictly enforced in the years leading up to the debt crisis.
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BEIJING — China's banks and other top state companies will be required to hand over more profit to the government as Beijing shifts resources to encouraging consumer spending and small businesses.
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CAIRO — Saudi Arabia's oil minister says the oil powerhouse has ample spare capacity to offset any supply disruptions as unrest in Libya sent oil markets surging.
Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, currently produces around 8 million barrels per day.
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LONDON — Standard & Poor's became the second credit rating agency in as many days to downgrade Libya as the country reels from days of violence, which has reportedly left over 200 people dead.
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ATHENS, Greece — A general strike in Greece is set to disrupt flights and cripple public transport and other services on Wednesday. Unions are stepping up their opposition to austerity measures in the crisis-hit country.
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BRUSSELS — The European Investment Bank said it needs more money to support a transition to democracy in Tunisia, Egypt and other countries in the Arab region. However, the increase it requested from the EU would only allow it to keep investments at their current level.
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JERUSALEM — A senior Israeli official says Tehran's decision to send two naval vessels through the Suez Canal is part of an Iranian campaign to gain "hegemony and control" over the Middle East.
The warships sailed through the canal en route to Syria, the first time Iranian military vessels have sailed into the Mediterranean since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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SYDNEY — Dream holiday destination Queensland has a new nightmare. The flood waters have receded, the cyclone's fury is long spent and the welcome mat is out again. But tourists are staying away in droves.
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CAIRO — Egypt asked Britain for its support in seeking debt forgiveness from Europe in the latest push to boost an economy bruised by weeks of protests that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.
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DUBLIN — Frustrated with the way Ireland's politicians have handled their nation's crippled economy, some economists here say it's time they had a role in the country's politics.
Experts from across the field of finance are competing in this week's Irish general election, marketing themselves as the economically literate alternative to politics as usual.
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BELGRADE, Serbia — An IMF delegation approved the release of the last installment of a 2.9 billion euro ($3.96 billion) standby loan for Serbia, which has already asked for a new deal once the current one expires in April.
Serbia is trying to cope with job losses and threats of widespread strikes over low public sector salaries.
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