Italian industrial production rose more than expected in August, signalling that the recovery in the euro region’s third-biggest economy is gaining pace.

Beijing’s increasingly frantic attempts to stem a stock market rout were finally rewarded as Chinese shares bounced around 6% yesterday, but the costs of heavy-handed state intervention are likely to weigh on the market for a long time.

A EUROPEAN Union agreement to ban Iranian oil imports boosted crude oil prices yesterday, but persistent worries about a eurozone debt crisis hobbled the single currency and European stocks.

EUROZONE finance ministers held crisis talks yesterday in a desperate bid to come up with a solution to the Greek debt problem and avoid the euro debacle escalating to include Italy.