ING, the Dutch banking and insurance group, reported its third consecutive quarterly loss on Wednesday, hit by unexpected insurance losses and rising loan loss provisions in banking.
Trading in KBC shares has been suspended after the Belgian bank asked the countryâ??s market regulator to protect it from â??wild rumoursâ?� of a third government rescue plan in seven months.
Hedge funds and other investors stand to make huge profits on credit default swaps (CDS) if GM deÂclares bankruptcy, a prospect that is complicating efforts to persuade creditors to agree to a restructuring plan for the automaker.