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

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BRUSSELS _ European Union leaders called for a global financial transaction levy and more responsible banking pay in the hopes it could help buffer against future market crises.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said there was "growing support" across the world for such a levy and that other EU nations were supportive of Britain's plans for a tax of 50 percent for all bonuses of more than more than 25,000 pounds ($40,800.)

France says it will follow suit _ and called on others to join them. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said, "We want and expect others to do the same because we are in a globalized world."

But the EU's 27 leaders stopped short of saying they would also introduce taxes on bankers' bonuses. German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave a lukewarm response Thursday.

She also told reporters that a bonus tax might raise constitutional problems in Germany.

In a joint statement, the EU's 27 leaders broadly backed limits on bankers' pay, saying that the financial sector should "immediately implement sound compensation practices" and that governments could consider "short-term options" _ such as a bonus tax _ if they want to.

They also said a global tax on financial transactions should be one of several options that the International Monetary Fund should investigate.

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BERLIN _ Eleven leading German banks and insurers have agreed to implement new principles on bank pay and bonuses approved by the Group of 20 rich and developing countries, the Finance Ministry said.

Deutsche Bank AG, Commerzbank AG, HypoVereinsbank AG and DZ Bank AG signed up, along with four public-sector wholesale banks: Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg, BayernLB, WestLB and HSH Nordbank. Also joining the agreement were insurers Allianz SE and Talanx AG, along with reinsurer Munich Re AG.

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SHANGHAI _ China's exports are making a comeback after a jarring slump threw millions out of work, a sign of improving global demand that along with a torrent of stimulus money is accelerating recovery in the world's No. 3 economy.

The trade figures for November were the best in a year with exports falling just 1.2 percent from the same month of 2008. Retail sales, factory output and investment also saw robust growth last month. The figures did show a return to inflation, though only at the modest level of 0.6 percent, after nine months of falling prices.

The 1.2 percent fall in exports was the smallest decline since they collapsed in November 2008 _ an upheaval that forced thousands of factories in China's southern manufacturing heartland to close and cost millions of jobs.