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Bowed down: Greece’s prime minister Papandreou has had to quell fears of a sovereign default but the FTSE 100 rallied

Cracks emerged in the fragile consensus around rescue efforts for the eurozone today amid public clashes over plans to expand bailout funds for stricken nations.

Raising the size of the European Financial Stability Fund rescue pot to 2 trillion (1.7 trillion) was fundamental to the plan which emerged from the weekend’s IMF and World Bank talks in Washington in a bid to draw a line under Europe’s sovereign debt crisis.

But Spanish economy minister Elena Salgado threw these hopes into turmoil today as she claimed that plans to extend the EFSF “is not on the table, nor has it been discussed”.

The comments were at odds with European Central Bank governing council member Ewald Nowotny who confirmed discussions over boosting the firepower of the fund.

But he added that the scale of the planned extension of the EFSF – at present 440 billion – could fall short of market hopes, warning that it “might not be a trillion euros”.

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A small business might find there are any numbers of situations that require them to find easy access to financial relief. From buying supplies to expanding to simply paying bills, the world of the small business involves many financial obligations that can become overwhelming during tough economic times. Whatever the needs of a particular business, there are lenders everywhere ready to help them get back on their feet with various business loans. From remodels to payroll, business loans can be a great help to a great many businesses.

From secured to unsecured, business loans can be tailored to meet your specific needs.

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GENEVA (AP) — UBS chief executive Oswald Gruebel has resigned over a $2.3 billion loss caused by rogue trading at its investment division, which is to be restructured now to prevent similar incidents in future, the Swiss bank said Saturday.

Gruebel, who had come under heavy pressure from shareholders over the scandal, said he hoped his resignation would allow the bank to restore its reputation in the eyes of clients and investors.

As CEO, I bear full responsibility for what occurs at UBS, he said in a memo to staff. From my first day on the job I placed the reputation of the bank above all else. That is why I want to and must act according to my convictions.

UBS Europe chief Sergio P. E

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Although Colorado avoided the worst of the housing bubble, banks in the state are failing at five times the expected pace.

Colorado has seen eight banks holding $6.7 billion in assets fail in the current downturn.

Based on the state’s share of U.S. bank assets, something closer to $1.3 billion would have been expected, according to a Denver Post analysis of 382 bank failures since 2008 began.

“The economies that were doing the best before the bubble are the ones that got hit the worst,” said Don Coker, a banking analyst based in Atlanta.

That’s the normal logic of bank failures.

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Hurricane Irene knocked out power to nearly 250,000 customers in North Carolina and Virginia Saturday and a nuclear power station in the storm’s path reduced power but remained undamaged.

Operations at the two units of the Brunswick nuclear power station in Southport, North Carolina, were ramped down to 65 percent of the total 1,875-megawatts of power to make sure they could still run if the storm interrupted the electric grid operations, said a spokesman for Progress Energy.

Progress reported 200,000 customers without power in North Carolina, while said 47,000 customers in northern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia were down.

Oil refineries in the U.S.

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