Shares in Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest lender, fell sharply on Friday, dragging down major European banks as fears about weaknesses in the global financial system send fresh shudders through the markets.

Deutsche Bank shares were off 14% in early afternoon trading on the German stock exchange. The drop follows a steep rise in the cost of financial derivatives, known as credit default swaps, that insure bondholders against the bank defaulting on its debts.

Scandal-embattled Japanese electronics and technology manufacturer Toshiba has accepted a 2 trillion yen ($15 billion) tender offer from Japan Industrial Partners, a buyout fund made up of major banks and companies.

If the proposal succeeds, it will be a major step in Toshiba's yearslong turnaround effort, allowing it to go private and delist from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. But overseas activist investors own a significant part of Toshiba's shares, and it's unclear if they will be happy with the latest bid.

European Union leaders gathered Friday to gauge the risk of a banking crisis developing from recent global financial turbulence and hitting the economy even harder than the energy crunch tied to Russia's war in Ukraine.

The deliberations by EU government heads in Brussels follow U.S. regulators shutting down two U.S. banks, including Silicon Valley Bank, and a Swiss-orchestrated takeover of troubled lender Credit Suisse by rival UBS.

The Swiss central bank hiked its key interest rate Thursday and declared that a government-orchestrated takeover of troubled Credit Suisse by rival bank UBS ended the financial turmoil.

In a statement, the Swiss National Bank said it is providing large amounts of support for the deal to merge Switzerland's biggest banks and that the late Sunday announcement by the federal government, financial regulators and the central bank "put a halt to the crisis."

German unions are calling on thousands of workers across the country's transport system to stage a one-day strike on Monday that is expected to bring widespread disruption to planes, trains and local transit.

The ver.di service workers' union and the EVG union, which represents many railway workers, announced the 24-hour walkout in a joint appearance Thursday that come as employees in many sectors have been seeking hefty raises to reflect persistently high inflation.

Crisis-hit Lebanon is "at a very dangerous moment", a visiting delegation of the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday, criticizing slow progress on reforms needed to unlock billions in loans.

Lebanon and the IMF reached a conditional agreement in April 2022 on a $3-billion-dollar loan needed to save its economy, which has been in free fall since 2019.

Only 10% of U.S. adults say they have high confidence in the nation's banks and other financial institutions, a new poll finds. That's down from the 22% who said they had high confidence in 2020.

Following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank this month, the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research also finds that a majority say the government is not doing enough to regulate the industry.

Lebanon's economic meltdown, described by the World Bank as one of the worst in recent global history, has plunged most of the population into poverty according to the United Nations.

In the past two days, Lebanese rallied and blocked roads to protest deteriorating living conditions.

Fury at top Credit Suisse managers. Lament over damage to Switzerland's image as a stable, reliable banking center. Relief that authorities stepped in to help protect deposits, but worry about keeping cash invested in a bank that failed to manage its own money adequately.

On Swiss streets, emotions were running the gamut among Credit Suisse customers after the government this weekend orchestrated a takeover of the country's second-largest bank by rival UBS — a bid to prevent further upheaval in the global financial system that began with the collapse of two U.S. banks.

When two tech-linked U.S. banks failed this month, among the investors who lost millions were public-sector pension funds responsible for ensuring the retirements of teachers, firefighters and other government workers.

The pension funds, like others, have reaped the benefits of bull markets and, like many investors, have suffered when investments soured.