Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Sunday said the IMF was employing "stalling tactics" and "arbitrary" estimates to hold up a reforms review crucial to the country's economic recovery.

In 2009 the Nissan factory in Barcelona in northeastern Spain seemed condemned to close.

But it was saved thanks to labor rights sacrifices, becoming a symbol of "flexisecurity" -- a cooperative approach to labor relations in which employees accept a degree of flexibility in working arrangements -- which is being held up as an example to follow in France even as it remains the focus of debate in Spain.

Despite a raft of different measures by the European Central Bank to kickstart sluggish consumer prices in the eurozone, inflation in the single currency bloc turned negative in February for the first time in five months.

The ECB estimates that consumer prices need to rise at an annual rate of close to but just below 2.0 percent to foster healthy economic growth. But area-wide inflation stood at minus 0.2 percent in February, due to the combination of a number of different factors, experts say.

Iran and Turkey aim to triple their annual trade to $30 billion within two years, officials said in Tehran on Saturday, despite the two countries being at odds over fighting in Syria.

Following last year's nuclear deal with world powers Iran is being targeted by Europe as a new market but Turkey is also seeking to cash in after the end of most international sanctions on Iran.

China on Saturday cut its growth target for this year to a range of 6.5 to seven percent, as the world's second-largest economy faces a litany of challenges from overcapacity to weak trade.

The country is a key driver of global growth but expansion fell last year to 6.9 percent, its slowest in a quarter of a century, and worries over its health have sent tremors through stock markets around the world.

Moody's has lowered the credit ratings of Oman and Bahrain and placed the remaining Gulf oil exporters on review for downgrade, saying low crude prices have weakened their economies.

The cut was made to "reflect the impact of the continued large fall in oil prices," the ratings agency said in a statement late Friday.

The U.S. trade deficit grew more than expected in January as exports slumped, outpacing the fall in imports amid a slowing global economy, Commerce Department data released Friday showed. 

The trade gap increased 2.2 percent to $45.7 billion in January, the largest shortfall in five months and well above the analyst estimate of $44.0 billion.

Beleaguered German auto giant Volkswagen Friday announced new dates for its 2015 annual results and shareholder meeting after postponing them over the a massive probe into its global emissions-cheating scandal. 

The earnings news conference, which had been scheduled for March 10, will now be held on April 28 at its headquarters in the northern town of Wolfsburg, the carmaker said in a statement.

Luggage giant Samsonite said Friday it would buy U.S. luxury bag maker Tumi in a deal worth $1.8 billion that analysts said would give the firm a foothold in the lucrative Chinese high-end market.

In a statement to the Hong Kong exchange, where it listed five years ago, Samsonite said it would pay $26.75 a share for the firm -- a third more than its value on Wednesday before the likely buyout was sounded.

Britain's car industry on Thursday backed the campaign to stay in the EU, but pro-Brexit supporters warned over red tape costs as the membership referendum battle shakes up the business community.

With less than four months until the vote, car industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revealed three quarters of its members believed staying in Europe was best for business.