Global Markets Update: Euro Ends Year Down Nearly 3 Percent vs. Dollar

U.S. futures are down going into the last trading day of 2011. Asian markets are mostly higher on the day, buoyed by signs of improvement in U.S. data. Shanghai shares rise for second straight day. The Nikkei drops 18 percent for the year. In Europe stocks are mostly up even though they're set to record the worst yearly performance since 2008. On the euro's 10th anniversary, it's down against the...