* Shares ease off 16-month highs but U.S. earnings shine
* European shares rise but air travel chaos cap gains
* Greek worries renewed, euro snaps five-day winning streak
By Sebastian Tong
LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) - Global shares edged off
16-month highs on Friday as an unexpected jump in U.S. jobless
claims and persistent uncertainty over a solution to Greece's
debt crisis tempered optimism over the global economic recovery.
The euro remained pressured and Greek bond yields rose after
Athens said it was preparing to activate an IMF/EU financial aid
package. []
Forecast-beating earnings from conglomerate General Electric
<GE.N> and Bank of America <BAC.N>, the largest U.S. bank by
assets, helped dispel disappointment felt by some investors over
results posted by internet giant Google <GOOG.O>.
[]
"Clearly both are bellwethers covering a large section of
the waterfront in their sectors so if they are seeing better
trends, then this should read through to other parts of the
economy," said John Haynes, head of research at Rensburg
Sheppards.
General Electric, the largest U.S. conglomerate, said it saw
"potential for upside" to its earlier forecast of flat 2010
results. []
Doubts over the strength of the economic recovery linger
after data showing growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector was
offset by an unexpected upwards spike in the weekly number of
U.S. workers filing new jobless claims. []
MSCI's global equity index <.MIWD00000PUS> dipped 0.3
percent by 1150 GMT though they remained set for their seventh
straight weekly gain.
"There's a bit of wait and see ahead of the bulk of U.S.
results next week, but the broad outline is that earnings are
looking good, with growth stronger than expected in the U.S.,"
said Steven Bell, director at hedge fund GLC.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> shrugged off
earlier weakness to hit its highest in nearly 19 months before
gains were capped by weakness in airlines stocks, weighed down
by travel paralysis due to the huge ash cloud thrown up by an
Icelandic volcano. []
Oil languished below $85 a barrel <CLc1>.
GREECE MOVES
The euro retreated against the dollar <EUR=>, snapping a
five-day winning streak due to renewed worries over Greece's
ability to service its sovereign debt.
Greece lurched closer towards asking for international aid,
after it requested official talks with European authorities and
the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet told
euro zone finance ministers that the situation for Greek banks
remains difficult and could deteriorate further. []
The cost of insuring Greek sovereign debt rose some 10 basis
points from Thursday's close to 428.5 bps, according to CMA
DataVision.
Greek 10-year bond yields <GR10YT=TWEB> rose to 7.4 percent,
pushing the 10-year Greek/German government bond yield spread
wider.
Against a basket of major currencies, the dollar firmed
<.DXY>, recovering from the four-week lows it slipped to
mid-week.
But comments from top Federal Reserve officials showing
little urgency about softening the central bank's commitment to
hold interest rates low is set curb the greenback's gains.
[]
(Additional reporting by Simon Falush; Editing by Ruth
Pitchford)
