A Spanish court has charged league champions Barcelona with tax fraud of €9.1m over the transfer of Brazil forward Neymar.

Portugal’s government bonds advanced, with 10-year yields dropping below 5% for the first time since August 2010, as a recovery in the region’s most indebted economies attracted investors.

SPAIN and Italy spread cheer through eurozone markets yesterday with successful debt auctions at sharply lower borrowing costs, in 2012’s first real test of appetite for debt from the eurozone’s periphery.