Bloomberg Changes to the capital treatment of sovereign bonds discussed in Brussels and Basel may force European banks to raise as much as 171 billion euros (US$195 billion) in new capital or sell 492 billion euros of the securities, according to research published. European banks own about 2.3 trillion euros of sovereign debt, of which about 1.5 trillion euros, ...

  AP French bank Societe Generale has been ordered to pay about 450,000 euros ($510,000) to former trader Jerome Kerviel for unfair dismissal, after he was accused of one of the biggest trading frauds in history. Kerviel has become an icon for critics of the banking world, and his supporters hailed decision in his favour by a labour arbitration court. ...

  Mainz / DPA Gardeners at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz in Germany are attempting to bring to life a 15th-century herb garden partly based on Arab medical traditions. In their botanical gardens they’ve planted more than 70 plants featured in a 1485 book — published in the German city of Mainz — called Gart der Gesundheit (Garden of ...