When Angela Merkel was re-elected as Germany's leader in March, the way looked open for European nations to finally patch the remaining cracks in the euro — the structural flaws that threatened to break apart the shared currency in 2010-12.
Asian shares rose and oil prices touched fresh multi-year highs on Thursday as improving optimism about the global economy helped investors shake off worries about geopolitical risks for the moment.
Unilever, the consumer goods multinational whose brands include Dove, Knorr and Ben & Jerry's, says it is planning a share buyback worth up to 6 billion euros ($7.4 billion) later this year.