A tumultuous year for stock markets ended today with the FTSE 100 Index down nearly 6% in 2011 - but investors may be thankful the decline was not worse.

Asian stock markets fell today as criticism by ratings agencies sparked scepticism about a historic European Union plan to fix a massive debt crisis by binding member economies closer together.

Setbacks in Europe's efforts to isolate a debt crisis before it blows up into an all-out recession sent Asian stock markets tumbling today.

Samsonite International, the world's biggest luggage maker, fell 7.7 per cent in its debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange yesterday, underscoring tepid investor appetite for initial public offerings as global markets struggle.

Japanese stocks rebounded today, recovering some of the massive losses sustained the last two days following a devastating earthquake and tsunami.

The Hong Kong stock exchange said it would consider international alliances yesterday after rivals Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext, and the London and Toronto exchanges, announced tie-up plans.

So he's back! Think Prudential boss Tidjane Thiam is worried?

If he's not worried, he's in for some trouble. AIA – the business Mr Thiam tried and failed to buy – yesterday made its debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with Mr Tucker as its chairman and chief executive. Hong Kong's biggest float, it couldn't have gone much better with the shares rising sharply in value. Mr Tucker, in other words, has started with a bang.

Makes 24

Oil fell below $64 a barrel today, to new 16-month lows, as gloom about a global economic downturn took the steam out of an Opec agreement to cut output by 1.5 million barrels a day.

THE Hong Kong government has revealed that it intervened to an unprecedented extent in the local futures market last August as part of its bid to thwart what it believed were speculative attacks on the Hong Kong stock market and dollar.

Leonie Lee-Whittle, owner of Snap Dragon

The economic ructions in Asia produced their most violent incident yet when an armed man took a hostage in the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) because he was upset with the government's management of the economy and the penetration into Japan of foreign companies.

Despite their bad press, investment trusts still have plenty to offer, says Philip Middleton

The Hong Kong stock market hit a record high on the last day of trading under British rule as the volume of business soared to the third- highest level in the exchange's history.