The number of nights spent in Paris hotels hit a record in 2011, the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau said Monday, with a big jump in visits from China.

In total, visitors spent 36.9 million nights in the City of Light last year, a 3.1 percent increase from 2010.

Eurozone finance ministers sealed a deal for a massive new bailout of Greece in the early hours of Tuesday, several sources said.

"We have the essentials of the deal," a European Union official said, indicating it covered both a write-down of Greek sovereign debt held by private creditors and a package of guarantees and loans also being put up by Eurozone governments.

Iraq's oil ministry says oil exports have declined slightly in January compared to the previous month.

Monday's statement says last month oil exports averaged 2.107 million barrels per day, down from 2.145 million barrels per day in December.

European stock markets rose on Monday on growing signs that a new bailout for Greece will be finalized at last, and sentiment was also soothed by Chinese moves to loosen bank lending.

In morning deals, London's FTSE 100 gained 0.70 percent to 5,946.13 points, the Paris CAC 40 added 0.80 percent to 3,467.28 points and Frankfurt's DAX 30 rose 0.93 percent to 6,911.45 points.

Japan posted a record trade deficit in January, latest data showed, as fuel imports rose following last year's nuclear disaster while exports were hit by a strong yen and slumping demand in Europe.

The January deficit came in at 1.475 trillion yen ($18.5 billion), the highest since records began in 1979, the finance ministry said.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has thrown Washington's support behind the new austerity measures agreed by Greece and said the U.S. backed the idea of a new IMF loan for Athens.

"We welcome the program of economic reforms agreed to by the prime minister of Greece and the coalition parties, and the public statement of support from the major economies of Europe," Geithner said in a statement Sunday.

OPEC member Kuwait was forecast Sunday to post its largest revenues and budget surplus ever this current fiscal year on the back of high oil prices and production, a local economic report said.

Revenues of the oil-rich Gulf state in the 2011/2012 fiscal year, which ends March 31, are expected to top $100 billion for the first time, ending between $101 billion and $104 billion, the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) said.

The World Bank said Friday it would select a new president to succeed Robert Zoellick by April 20, the start of the World Bank and IMF's spring meetings in Washington.

But even as the huge development lender set out what it said would be "a merit-based and transparent process" to choose its 12th head from among candidates from around the world, it appeared all but certain to be filled by an American.

U.S. President Barack Obama said Saturday his administration was headed toward fulfilling its commitment of doubling U.S. exports over five years and promised to reward businesses that created jobs at home with tax breaks.

"Two years ago, I set a goal of doubling U.S. exports over five years," the president said in his weekly radio and Internet address. "And we're on track to meet that goal - ahead of schedule."

The trial in a $2.6 billion dollar banking fraud case that the Iranian media describe as the country's biggest ever opened on Saturday with some of the 32 accused facing possible death sentences.

The accused were charged with involvement in taking bribes and financial corruption, Iranian media reported.