U.S. President Barack Obama called on members of Congress Saturday to pass several initiatives designed to stimulate the U.S. economy and create much-needed jobs.

"There are things we can do - right now - to help create jobs and restore some of the financial security that so many families have lost," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address.

U.S. banking giant JPMorgan Chase said Thursday it had lost $2 billion on derivatives since March in what chief executive Jamie Dimon called a "flawed" and "poorly executed" hedging operation.

In a unscheduled conference call, Dimon also said the bank could face another $1 billion in losses through the end of June due to market volatility.

Nissan on Friday posted a $4.28 billion full-year net profit and record sales as the Japanese automaker shrugged off the devastating impact of last year's quake-tsunami disaster on production.

Japan's second-biggest automaker said it earned 341.43 billion yen in the fiscal year to March, up 7.0 percent year-on-year, surpassing its forecast of 290 billion yen and bucking a national trend of falling auto profits.

Sony and Panasonic shares plunged to their lowest levels in more than three decades on Friday as investors fretted about the future prospects for two of Japan's most iconic firms amid massive losses.

Sony, which reported a record $5.7 billion annual loss Thursday, dived 5.11 percent to 1,151 yen by noon, while Panasonic was off 1.55 percent at 570 yen its earnings later Friday, which it has warned may show a record yearly loss.

The United States is urging Lebanese banks to take "extra" caution in handling financial transactions with Syria, to prevent the Assad regime and its supporters from stashing money abroad, a senior Treasury official said Thursday.

"We want to be as careful as possible that the regime, its cronies, its allies that may be trying to shield their assets might not be able to do so," said David Cohen, the Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

Athens-based Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling (CCHBC) reported on Thursday a net loss of 28.4 million euros ($37 million) in the first quarter of 2012, up from 8.9 million a year earlier.

CCHBC, Coca-Cola's regional subsidiary and one of the largest bottlers of non-alcoholic beverages in Europe, operates in 28 countries in Europe and Africa and employs a workforce of more than 41,000.

Olympus on Thursday posted a $620 million loss in the year to March, a shortfall largely tied to a loss cover-up at the camera and medical equipment maker that hammered Japan's corporate-governance image.

The firm said it lost 48.99 billion yen ($620 million) in the fiscal year, after a scandal that sparked lawsuits and the arrest of former executives accused of hiding about $1.7 billion in investment losses.

HSBC said Thursday it is in talks to sell assets in several South American countries, as part of the banking giant's plans to streamline its global operations to cut costs.

Europe's biggest bank said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange, where it is listed, that "it is in discussions regarding the possible sale of its operations in Colombia, Peru, Uruguay and Paraguay".

Sony on Thursday said it would swing to a $376.5 million profit in its current fiscal year ending March 2013, promising a turnaround after years of losses at the Japanese electronics giant.

The company said it expected to book earnings of 30.0 billion yen ($376.5 million) for the year, as it embarks on a massive corporate overhaul to revive its struggling business.

Greece could be forced to leave the eurozone if it fails to abide by EU and IMF loan commitments, a government economic advisor warned Wednesday as Athens raised prospects of renegotiating a bailout deal.

"If we say no to everything, we leave the eurozone," said Gikas Hardouvelis, economic advisor to outgoing Prime Minister Lucas Papademos.