European equities showed little change at early trade Friday as optimism began to dwindle on a US budget deal before the end-of-year deadline.

President Barack Obama returned early from his Hawaii Christmas holiday Thursday to call for a meeting with leaders to prevent the impending fiscal cliff, a term used to describe $600bn in tax hikes and spending cuts that could drive the country's economy off the ledge in the New Year.

The President will convene with Republican and Democrat lawmakers on Friday afternoon at the White House for last-ditch talks - at what looks set to spark a frenzy to reach a deal in time.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner also said his members would return to the capital on Sunday for a separate discussion.

Initial public offerings drop


Initial public offerings raised $112bn worldwide this year, the lowest level since 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The results were buoyed by signs the economy is set to slow and by Facebook's substandard debut which curtailed demand and incited companies to push back sales.

Sales in western Europe initially dropped to one-third of last year's level but by the fourth quarter had surged more than fivefold to $5.71bn from a year earlier.

Atari reports losses


Video game maker Atari fell to its lowest point in a month - 4.2% to €0.91 - after announcing it expected a "significant" fiscal-year loss.

The company said it was looking at raising cash as it sees its second-half operating losses exceeding the first half.

Euro falls against dollar


The euro fell 0.36% to the 1.3188 dollar at open Thursday.

Front month Brent crude futures fell by 0.018 to the $110.78 mark on the ICE.



RD

Related share prices