Turkey threatened Thursday to revoke a contract to purchase six billion cubic meters of natural gas, a third of its Russian imports, if the price is not reduced.

"We have asked them (Russia) for a reduction. If Russia does not sufficiently meet this demand, we will display the will to end the contract," Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told reporters in Ankara.

European stocks fell and Wall Street rose in cautious trade on Wednesday amid doubts that Eurozone leaders were any closer to resolving the debt crisis before EU-IMF auditors were due to arrive in Athens.

After see-sawing during the session European stocks closed down with London's FTSE-100 index dropping 1.44 percent to 5,217.63 points.

Oil prices slid on Wednesday after official data showed a bigger than expected increase in energy stockpiles in the United States, indicating weak demand in the world's biggest economy and oil consumer.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in November, slid $1.90 to $82.55 a barrel.

A controversial European Union bid to impose a tax on financial transactions is intended to make the finance sector pay something back after massive public sector bailouts in recent years.

Draft European Commission legislation endeavors to prevent companies from relocating outside the single market, as critics claim, or consumers from picking up the tab further down the line, as campaigners fear.

Global creditors announced Wednesday the return of auditors to Greece in a bid to break an impasse over billions of euros in blocked bailout loans Athens needs to avoid default.

Nearly four weeks after abruptly leaving the city, EU and IMF negotiators will restart tough number crunching from Thursday amid mounting social tension and what the European Union describes as the biggest challenge of its history.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed on Tuesday that the cabinet is keen on protecting the Lebanese banking sector from any harm.

He said at a press conference in New York that “we’re following all the required measures… The Lebanese banks can’t carry out any action that might provoke the international community.”

Europe's failure to tackle crippling Greek debt is "scaring the world," U.S. President Barack Obama warned as Germany rejected plans to boost funding for the EU's debt rescue facility.

Asian stocks rallied sharply Tuesday, following a see-sawing recovery on U.S. and European markets as investors absorbed mixed messages over how the Eurozone intends to chart its way out of the debt crisis.

Goldman Sachs is mulling drastic spending cuts as it braces for what could be one of its worst quarterly reports since it went public more than a decade ago, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

After Goldman set out this summer to cut costs by $1.2 billion by mid-2012, including slashing some 1,000 jobs, or three percent of its workforce, the Times said the firm is now considering cutting up to $1.45 billion.

World oil prices soared on Tuesday, mirroring the performance of global equities, as markets followed Eurozone debt developments closely.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November jumped $1.59 to $105.53 a barrel in London midday deals.

Greece and the euro are facing a tough week as European Union and IMF experts resume an audit of progress on cutting the public deficit and reforming the economy, with default threatening.

The EU and IMF will decide on the basis of the audit whether to release the next slice of rescue funds of 8.0 billion euros ($11.0 billion) from a first bailout in May last year.