Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen Monday backed Spain in its "unfair" financial crisis and said he would not pressure it to seek a full sovereign bailout.

Katainen, addressing a Madrid economic forum before meeting with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, said he did not like to speculate about a Spanish bailout.

Qatar Holding, a major shareholder of mining group Xstrata, said Tuesday it has made no decision yet on whether to accept Glencore International's latest offer to salvage a multibillion-dollar merger bid for the Anglo-Swiss company.

The brief comments suggest Qatar Holding is at least considering Glencore's latest offer. The government-run investment firm is Xstrata's second-largest shareholder. It had pushed for better terms for Xstrata, and its opposition to the original bid threatened to scuttle the entire deal.

Moody's on Tuesday held its negative outlook for the British banking sector, citing the weak economy, higher regulatory costs and exposure to the Eurozone debt crisis.

"The outlook for the UK banking system remains negative," Moody's Investors Service said in a new report on the sector.

The U.S. Treasury said Monday that the sale of $18 billion worth of stock in AIG will mean that the taxpayer funds used to bail out the insurance giant in 2008 have been "fully recovered."

The Treasury also provided additional details about the sale, first announced Sunday, specifying that it would sell some 553 million shares for $32.50 each, with AIG set to buy back some 153 million for $5 billion.

A Palestinian request for talks on amending the Paris Protocol governing economic ties with Israel in a bid to address social unrest in the West Bank is "not serious," an Israeli official said on Monday.

Palestinian civil affairs minister Hussein al-Sheikh told Agence France Presse on Sunday he had made a formal request to the Israeli government through the defence ministry for talks on changing the 1994 agreement.

Saudi oil minister Ali Naimi said on Monday the high price of crude was not justified by market fundamentals, stressing that supply and demand are balanced.

"Saudi Arabia is concerned about rising oil prices in the international oil market. The current high price of oil is simply not supported by market fundamentals," he said in a statement.

South Korea on Monday unveiled new stimulus measures worth $5.2 billion to boost domestic demand as its export-driven economy struggles with the global economic downturn.

The finance ministry said it would push for fiscal support worth 5.9-trillion-won ($5.23 billion) -- 4.6 trillion won for the remainder of this year and 1.3 trillion won for next year.

China's trade surplus widened to $26.7 billion in August as exports remained weak and imports registered a surprise fall, data showed Monday, adding to expectations of a new round of stimulus measures.

The weak trade figures highlight waning strength in the world's second-largest economy, which has struggled as a broader global slowdown and the European debt crisis drag on exports.

The Palestinian Authority has formally asked Israel for talks on changing the Paris Protocol, a key agreement governing economic ties between the two, a minister told Agence France Presse on Sunday.

"I made a request to the Israeli government through the defense ministry... that the Palestinian Authority officially requests the reopening of the Paris Protocol which is not compatible with the current economic situation," said civil affairs minister Hussein al-Sheikh.

Lufthansa services were mainly back to normal Saturday after a 24-hour staff walkout that grounded half the airline's flights in Germany ended with agreement to call in a mediator.

In a key concession in talks with unions Friday as cabin crew struck, Europe's biggest airline also agreed not to employ cheap contract workers in Berlin.