A look at economic developments around the globe (AP)

A look at economic developments and activity in major stock markets around the world Friday:

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FRANKFURT, Germany ? The European Central Bank is facing mounting pressure to cut interest rates soon amid growing signs the eurozone economy could slide into recession.

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BERLIN ? Leading industry groups are appealing to German lawmakers to support beefing up the eurozone's rescue fund in a parliamentary vote next week or the euro could face huge pressures.

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LONDON ? Stock markets in Europe recouped some of their previous day's hefty losses but investors remained skeptical about whether the world's leading economies will come up with a coordinated plan to shore up the global economy.

France's CAC-40 closed up 1 percent while the DAX in Germany rose 0.6 percent. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares ended 0.5 percent higher.

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TOKYO ? In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.4 percent after losing nearly 5 percent the day before. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index fell 1.6 percent.

South Korean shares took a large hit, with the Kospi tumbling 5.7 percent. Mainland China's Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4 percent. Japan's market was closed for a holiday.

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ATHENS, Greece ? Moody's downgraded eight Greek banks, citing their exposure to their government's bonds and the deteriorating economic situation in the country as it struggles to convince creditors it's doing enough to get more bailout cash.

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WARSAW, Poland ? Poland's central bank on intervened to support the country's currency, the zloty, pushing it up against the euro and dollar after weeks of depreciation caused by fears of economic turmoil in Europe.

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MOSCOW ? Russia's benchmark stock indexes were down nearly 5 percent in a second day of steep falls as investors fret over slowing demand in the global economy.

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NICOSIA, Cyprus ? Cyprus' president says his government is "very close" to clinching a deal with Russia for a $3.7 billion loan to help the island service its debt and meet its financial needs.

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MADRID ? Spain has given the green light to sell off a third of the state-owned company that runs the country's lotteries and raise a reported $9.4 billion as the country grapples with debt woes and anemic growth.

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ATHENS, Greece ? Hundreds of workers in mental health services staged a protest outside Greece's finance ministry, warning that staff and budget cuts will leave them unable to cope with an emerging mental health crisis caused by the threat of Greece's financial collapse.

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LISBON, Portugal ? Moody's ratings agency has downgraded Portugal's Madeira Islands after its regional government failed to report more than $1.35 billion in debts.

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BRUSSELS ? The European Union has agreed on an investment ban in the Syrian oil sector to put more pressure on the regime of President Bashar Assad to end his deadly crackdown on protesters.

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110923/ap_on_bi_ge/us_economy_countries_glance

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