Morning business round-up: Slovakia takes centre stage

What made the business news in Asia and Europe this morning? Here's our daily business round-up:

he eurozone awaits a vote by Slovakia's parliament to bolster the powers of the bloc's bailout fund.


It is the only member of the single currency zone that still needs to agree to expand the European Financial Stability Facility.

One of the coalition parties is resisting the move, putting the outcome in doubt.

A division of China,'s sovereign wealth fund has increased its stake in four of the country's biggest banks.

The action, by Central Huijin Investment, is Beijing's first official step to support share prices since the 2008-9 financial crisis.

Shares in Agricultural Bank of China's stock surged 12.8%, while Bank of China rose 7.7%.

The BBC's business editor, Robert Peston, has looked at the different approaches China and the EU are taking to support their banks. He says China's policy is only credible because it runs a massive budget surplus.

In other news from China, the country has announced it will expand a tax on domestic sales of oil and natural gas.

The 5-10% levy was trialled in the western province of Xinjiang in July 2010. It will now be imposed countrywide.

The move is seen as an attempt to reduce the fast-growing nation's dependency on resources.

Wal-Mart says it has been forced to temporarily close 13 of its stores in the Chinese city of Chongqing, after claims it falsely advertised some of its pork products as being organic.

Dubai's ruler has ordered that a rescued bank should be taken over by one of its larger rivals in the emirate.

Dubai Bank will become part of Emirates NBD under the move.

The troubled lender saw its loan losses rise after Dubai's property boom ended in 2008. It was bailed out in May after a surprise intervention by the government.Blackberry services have been restored across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Millions of the smartphone's users were without email, web browsing and messaging services for up to 20 hours.

The blackout is suspected to have been caused by problems with data servers at one of the firm's UK centres.

In the UK, manufacturing output was 0.3% lower in August than in July, according to official government figures. Statisticians say the drop was driven by weakness in the wood, paper and metal industries.

The British Chambers of Commerce was also downbeat about the UK's prospects. it said the economy deteriorated in the third quarter and is showing signs of stagnation.

The latest edition of Business Daily from the BBC World Service hears the stories of ordinary Greeks struggling to cope with their country's recession and austerity cuts.
                                                                                                                         BBC news