Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras restarted critical talks with creditors in Brussels on Thursday in a frantic bid for a bailout deal to save Athens from defaulting next week and possibly crashing out of the euro.

Difficult talks that stretched late into the night on Wednesday failed to produce a breakthrough in the five-month standoff, as cash-strapped Greece's negotiators rejected reforms demanded by its EU-IMF lenders.

German business confidence fell to its lowest level in four months in June as uncertainty about Greece caused the outlook for Europe's biggest economy to cloud over, the Ifo economic institute said on Wednesday.

The Ifo institute's closely watched business climate index fell to 107.4 points in June from 108.5 points in May, the think tank said in a statement. That is the lowest level since February. 

Calling it a "contemporary symbol of divisiveness and racism," eBay said Tuesday that it will ban the sale of Confederate flags and similarly themed merchandise.

"This decision is consistent with our long-standing policy that prohibits items that promote or glorify hatred, violence and racial intolerance," said eBay spokeswoman Johnna Hoff.

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have begun talks to resolve a dispute that halted oil production in the neutral zone between the Gulf neighbors, the Kuwaiti oil minister said.

"A joint committee formed by the two countries... has recently held its first meeting in Riyadh," the KUNA news agency quoted Ali al-Omair as saying late Tuesday.

Oil prices are expected to extend a rebound thanks to improved global growth, a drop in stockpiles and fewer drilling rigs, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Ali al-Omair said.

"We have reached a stage where a drop in oil prices is unlikely," he said, cited by the official KUNA news agency on Tuesday night.

Australia said Wednesday it will join the new Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a founding member, contributing Aus$930 million (U.S.$719 million) in paid-in capital over five years.

Australia is the latest U.S. ally to sign up to the bank, which has been shunned by Washington and Tokyo, the world's largest and third-largest economies respectively.

Oil prices extended their gains in Asia Wednesday on expectations of a decline in U.S. crude inventories and robust economic data from the eurozone, analysts said.

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate for August delivery was up three cents at $61.04 a barrel and Brent climbed five cents to $64.50 in afternoon trade.

Under-pressure Bulgaria central bank head to quitThe governor of Bulgaria's central bank BNB caved in to pressure on Tuesday to resign over the collapse of the country's fourth-largest lender Corporate Commercial Bank (CCB).

Ivan Iskrov said he would step down on July 10, three months before his mandate was due to expire, following criticism of the central bank's supervision of CCB.

China's manufacturing activity contracted for the fourth straight month in June as demand remained sluggish in the world's second-largest economy, a survey by British banking giant HSBC showed Tuesday.

The bank's preliminary Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 49.6 in June, the highest in three months but still below the breakeven point of 50, HSBC said in a statement.

The European Union's commissioner for economic affairs said on Tuesday he was "convinced" that Greece and its creditors would strike a deal on Athens' debt.

"I am convinced that we will reach an agreement," Pierre Moscovici told French radio as hopes rose that a solution to the five-month standoff between Athens and its creditors could be found.