Global investment giant Blackstone is reshuffling its vast real estate portfolio, shedding US assets to buy new ones in Europe and Asia.

The New York-based firm has plenty of firepower, with $64 billion in real estate assets under management, the world's largest portfolio in the sector.

Britain's economy grew faster than thought in the second quarter, official data showed on Friday, extending a broadly based recovery.

Gross domestic product (GDP) -- the total value of goods and services produced in the economy -- grew by 0.7 percent in the second quarter, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.

The Bank of Brazil said Thursday it is ready to intervene heavily on currency markets from Friday, making available $55 billion to prop up the sagging real.

The central bank said it will engage in so called swap operations: it will offer dollars in the futures market, with a pledge to buy them back in a determined time frame no matter what they are worth.

Germany's finance minister says he expects a future aid package for Greece to be much smaller than the country's existing rescue deals.

In two bailout packages so far, Greece's European partners and the International Monetary Fund have committed 240 billion euros ($320 billion) in loans. This week, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said there will have to be another aid program after the current one expires next year.

Recession-hit Spain announced Thursday record tourist arrivals in July as British, German and French holidaymakers packed its beaches at a time of unrest in Egypt and Turkey.

A total 7.9 million international tourists arrived in Spain in July, up 2.9 percent from the same month last year, government figures showed.

The Turkish currency fell further against the dollar and the borrowing rate on 10-year bonds jumped to 10.0 percent in morning trading on Thursday.

Traders were anxious about the prospects for a tightening of U.S. monetary policy after the release on Wednesday of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's last policy meeting.

Apple's grip on China's tablet market has loosened as Asian tech companies increase sales with cheaper Android tablet computers, a market report showed Thursday.

Dickie Chang, senior market analyst at research firm IDC, said Apple supplied 28 percent of tablet computers in China during the April-June quarter, down from 49 percent dominance a year earlier.

Chinese manufacturing activity expanded for the first time in four months in August, according to a closely watched indicator Thursday, pointing to renewed strength in the world's second-largest economy.

HSBC said the preliminary reading of its purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 50.1 for the month, up from July's 47.7, which was an 11-month low.

European Central Bank council member and Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann warned in a magazine interview on Wednesday against the dangers of a country leaving the eurozone.

"What vexes me is how recklessly people invoke such a scenario," Weidmann told the German monthly Capital in a pre-release of an interview to be published on Thursday.

Russia's economy minister warned on Wednesday that officials will probably have to downgrade the 2013 growth forecast for the second time in months because of a poor first-half performance.

The Federal State Statistics Service reported on August 9 that Russia's economy expanded by just 1.4 percent of gross domestic product compared to the first six months of 2012.