A Look At Economic Developments Around The Globe

The Associated Press

A look at economic developments and stock market activity around the world Wednesday:

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LONDON — European stock markets trimmed earlier gains and Wall Street slipped after U.S. government data showed the country's exports fell to a near three-year low in April. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed up 0.7 percent at 4,436.75 with heavyweight mining and oil companies leading the march higher amid higher commodity prices. Germany's DAX rose 1.1 percent to 5,051.18 with sportswear group Adidas AG up over 7 percent following a recommendation upgrade from analysts at HSBC. France's CAC-40 was up 0.6 percent at 3,315.27. Europe's main markets had been up around 2 percent earlier in the day but a subdued opening on Wall Street prompted some investors to book profits.

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MILAN — With markets up but still hesitant, finance officials from the Group of Eight countries will try to encourage nascent confidence at their summit in southern Italy as they take stock of measures taken so far to counter the world economic crisis. There is more reason for optimism than when they last met in Rome in February. Among the signs that conditions are improving is the ruling that 10 of the largest U.S. banks are strong enough to repay $68 billion in government bailout money. The meeting of G-8 finance ministers Friday and Saturday in the southern Italian city of Lecce will include officials from the U.S., Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia, and will set the agenda for a meeting of G-8 national leaders in July in L'Aquila outside Rome.