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Oil Prices Sink Further, Dollar Hit by Wage Data

Oil prices tumbled again Monday, while most Asian stock markets also retreated after a sell-off in New York at the end of last week that came in reaction to data showing weak U.S. wage growth.

The news on wages, which overshadowed another forecast-beating rise in jobs creation, pushed the dollar down against the euro and yen as it complicates the Federal Reserve's plans to hike interest rates.

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Venezuela's Maduro in OPEC Kingpin Saudi for Talks

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has arrived in OPEC's leading oil producer Saudi Arabia, state media reported on Sunday, after he visited Iran to discuss the impact of plummeting crude prices.

Maduro landed on Saturday in Riyadh where Deputy Crown Prince Moqren bin Abdul Aziz received him, the Saudi Press Agency said.

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Iran, Venezuela Vow to 'Neutralize' Oil Price Problem

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, flanked by Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro, vowed Saturday to "neutralize" the threat posed to both countries by plummeting oil prices, in a barely veiled broadside at Saudi Arabia.

OPEC members Iran and Venezuela are reeling from a slide in the cost of crude to around $50 per barrel from $100 just six months ago, a precipitous fall that is straining their budgets.

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Minister: Russia May Demand Early Payment of $3bn Loan to Ukraine

Moscow may ask for early payment on its three billion dollar loan to Ukraine, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Saturday, accusing Kiev of violating loan conditions.

"Ukraine has violated the conditions of this loan, specifically that Ukraine's public debt does not surpass 60 percent of its GDP," the minister told Russian news agencies.

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Cyprus Airways Closure 'Unavoidable', Government Says

Cyprus defended on Saturday the decision to halt flights by its national carrier, calling the closure of debt-laden Cyprus Airways "unavoidable", as pilots vowed action against the government.

Government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides told state radio that authorities had tried to rescue the stricken carrier, but that its problems were "long standing" and irreversible. 

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Fitch Cuts Russia Credit Rating, Sets Negative Outlook

Fitch Ratings cut Russia's credit grade Friday to just one notch above junk level, saying plunging oil prices and Western sanctions will force a four percent economic contraction this year.

Fitch lowered its rating for Russian government debt by one step to BBB-, the lowest possible investment grade, and added a negative outlook on the rating.

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Dollar Sags as Strong U.S. Jobs Report Masks Flat Wages

The dollar fell against the euro and the yen Friday after an otherwise buoyant U.S. December jobs report showed wages sagging even as the unemployment rate fell to 5.6 percent.

The greenback reversed course from recent gains as the slowdown in wage growth in December to 1.7 percent year-on-year, barely keeping up with inflation, pointed to some frailty in consumer spending power.

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Kerry Heads to India Seeking Economic Gains

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry left late Friday for India on his first foreign trip of 2015, with a heavy focus on trade and investment with the South Asian economic giant.

His tour will also take him to Geneva for talks Wednesday with his Iranian counterpart on Iran's nuclear program, before he makes his first visit as the top U.S. diplomat to Bulgaria later in the week.

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IAG Has Fresh Aer Lingus Bid Rejected

International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, said Friday it had made a fresh attempt to bid for Irish carrier Aer Lingus which was rejected.

It said it submitted a second takeover approach last month, offering 2.40 euros per share, up from 2.30 euros which it offered earlier in the month.

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Cyprus Scraps Control on Businesses Sending Money Abroad

Cyprus scrapped Friday its last controls on businesses transferring funds abroad, another step toward abolishing draconian measures imposed in 2013 to avoid a run on banks.

The finance ministry issued a decree that transfers above two million euros ($2.4 million) no longer need approval. This comes a month after the ceiling on free transfers was raised to that level.

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