SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Friday and the euro edged higher as traders placed modest bets that central banks will unleash further monetary stimulus measures, but volumes were razor-thin amid fears that Sunday's Greek election could trigger market turmoil.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Through phone logs, trading records and a parade of witnesses, U.S. prosecutors repeatedly worked to connect the dots between Rajat Gupta, the former head of top consulting firm McKinsey & Co, and his hedge fund manager friend Raj Rajaratnam.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Chinese government is more likely to implement further reforms or cuts in interest rates and reserve ratios, rather than launching an expensive new stimulus plan, current and former officials told a conference on Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Credit ratings agency Moody's Investors Service cut its rating on Spanish government debt on Wednesday by three notches to Baa3 from A3, saying the newly approved euro zone plan to help Spain's banks will increase the country's debt burden.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Foreclosure starts rose year-over-year in May for the first time in more than two years - though they fell on a month-to-month basis - as banks resumed dealing with distressed properties after a mortgage abuse settlement earlier this year, data firm RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's benchmark inflation rose in May to 7.55 percent, keeping price pressures elevated and making it harder for the central bank to revive economic growth with a widely expected interest rate cut next week.

PARIS (Reuters) - Loss-making Finnish cellphone maker Nokia plans to cut another 10,000 jobs globally in its biggest revamp in recent history, while it warned the second-quarter loss from its cellphone business would be larger than expected.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank's finance chief said there were no plans for more cost-cutting measures at the investment banking business of Germany's biggest lender in Asia.

OSLO (Reuters) - Norwegian oil firm Statoil and ExxonMobil have discovered a large natural gas deposit off the coast of Tanzania and added further resources to another nearby find, Statoil said in a statement on Thursday.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares slipped on Thursday as weak U.S. retail sales data raised fresh concerns about sluggish economic growth, while an Italian debt auction later in the day will test market confidence in whether Rome can avoid becoming the next victim of the euro zone crisis.

ROME/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Technocrat Prime Minister Mario Monti appealed to Italy's politicians on Wednesday to back his tough economic medicine to avoid Rome becoming the next victim of the euro debt crisis, after a bailout for Spain's banks failed to calm markets.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy Corp's board of directors is close to a decision on who the U.S. oil and gas company's new independent chairman will be, a board member said on Tuesday.