Brussels - The European Commission on Thursday cleared a French plan for re-financing troubled lenders, describing it as an "appropriate" system for injecting confidence in the country's financial

Paris - When French historian Pap Ndiaye was asked recently what Barack Obama's election as US president would mean to him personally, his voice grew soft: "I will be very moved. The most powerful man in the world will be a black man. This is incredible."

But Ndiaye - the author most recently of The Black Condition: An Essay on a French Minority - was quick to add that he also expected Obama's election to bring about certain changes in French society.

Paris  - Roger Federer is keeping focus as he heads into the business end of the ATP season, with solid performances laying the groundwork for what he hopes in a return to world-class wins in 2009.

The Swiss claimed his home Swiss Indoors in Basle for the third time at the weekend before making a late confirmation of his entry into the Paris Masters.

He then leaves early next week for Shanghai to defend his title in the season-ending Masters Cup.

Paris - Inspired by a strong surge on Wall Street overnight and driven by bargain hunters looking for undervalued stocks, stocks on the Paris Bourse soared on Wednesday.

The CAC 40 blue-chip index finished the session up by a healthy 9.23 per cent, closing at 3,402.57 points. Thirty-nine of its 40 listed stocks gained ground.

Building materials producer Saint Gobain was the day's biggest winner, rising by 18.57 per cent, to 28.63 euros, despite substantial drops in building permits and housing construction starts in the third quarter.

Paris - A trader believed to have been responsible for a loss of 751 million euros (954 million dollars) to the French bank Caisse d'Epargne has been taken into police custody, France Info radio reported on Wednesday.

No details were available regarding the trader's identity or the charges he may face.

The loss was reported by in mid-October and incurred the wrath of President Nicolas Sarkozy, who demanded that the bank's senior managers "take responsibility." As a result, Caisse d'Epargne head Charles Milhaud and two other highly placed executives resigned.