NEW YORK - A SHOPPING boost on the day after Thanksgiving as consumers turned their thoughts to the holiday season couldn't save a weak November for most retailers, fueling more concerns about a bleak December and beyond amid what could be a deep and long recession.

BRUSSELS - THE European Central Bank expects the eurozone economy to shrink by 0.5 per cent next year, with the contraction possibly reaching 1.0 percent, ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said on Thursday.

'On the basis of our current analysis and assessment we see global economic weakness and very sluggish domestic demand persisting in the next few quarters,' he told a press conference.

LONDON - EUROPEAN stock markets fell on Thursday, despite interest rate reductions across the continent, as investors eyed an expected drop on Wall Street at the opening bell.