Saudi economic growth will slow to 4.4 percent in 2013 from 6.8 percent last year due to an expected fall in oil production, and cuts in government spending, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday.

"Overall GDP growth is expected at 4.4 percent... because oil output is likely to be lower than its average level in 2012 and the growth rate of government spending looks set to slow," said the IMF.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will help ink a major estimated $2.1 billion proposed deal with Oman to supply a U.S.-made air-defense system to the Gulf nation, officials said Tuesday.

One of the main focuses of Kerry's trip to Muscat was to applaud the signing of a letter of intent between Oman and U.S. manufacturer Raytheon ahead of talks on the final contract, they told reporters traveling with him to Oman.

Manufacturers of business jets can look forward to climbing sales in the years to come thanks to emerging markets as they gather in Switzerland for an annual air show, having survived the turbulence of the global financial crisis.

But "we're still waiting for the real recovery," noted Eric Trappier, chief executive of Dassault Aviation, which will have three versions of its luxurious Falcon jet on display on the tarmac at Geneva at the three-day EBACE show that opens Tuesday.

Foreign buyers are swooping on deserted villages in Sicily to snap up homes for as little as 10,000 euros ($13,000), propping up a property market in freefall as Italy suffers its longest-ever recession.

"When you go to the pizzeria now, you often meet more foreigners than Sicilians," said Salvatore Sansemi, mayor of Cianciana, near the southern city of Agrigento.

Visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged on Tuesday to open up domestic markets to Indian businesses and narrow a gaping trade deficit between the two countries.

"As for Indian concerns over the trade deficit, the Chinese side is willing to provide facilitations for more Indian products to access the Chinese market," Li said during a speech to Indian business leaders in New Delhi.

Kuwait's vital oil sector has undergone a major reshuffle, with new executives appointed for the subsidiaries of Kuwait Petroleum Corp, after a new KPC chief was named, the national oil firm said Monday.

The decisions were taken at a meeting late Sunday by KPC board of directors headed by Oil Minister Hani Hussein, replacing all the top executives of the eight subsidiaries and other departments in the KPC.

Swedish fashion giant H&M is considering starting production in South America and Africa, chief executive Karl-Johan Persson told the Financial Times in an interview published on Monday.

"When that part of the world is growing, which it is, it becomes even more interesting to look at production in South America or Central America. So, we are exploring that opportunity ... We're looking at (Africa) as well," he said.

Asia's mobile revolution is set to transform the region's financial services industry, offering a cheap way for millions of migrant workers to send money home to their families, a report said on Monday.

Nearly 60 million migrant workers from the Asia-Pacific region sent almost $260 billion home to their families in 2012, according to the study, co-authored by the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

U.S. investment banking giant Goldman Sachs said Monday it will start investing in Japanese renewable energy projects, with a reported $2.9 billion outlay over the next five years.

The injection comes after Japan's government stepped into the green power market to set minimum prices in a bid to encourage the sector as the country seeks to rebalance its post-Fukushima energy mix.

Data released last week showed Greece entered its sixth straight year of recession, but there is now cautious optimism about the economy's prospects although unemployment is still hitting record highs and consumers are squeezed by pay cuts and tax hikes.

On Tuesday, Greece's battered debt ratings received a rare upgrade from Fitch which noted "clear progress" on eliminating deficits.