Australia Monday announced plans to go after large multinational firms shifting profits offshore to minimize taxes, with 30 companies in the government's sights.

It also outlined proposals to force companies selling digital products, such as streamed content and e-books, to pay a goods and services tax.

Greece will plead for leeway from an unwavering Europe on Monday, in a fresh effort to free up cash after months of deadlock in bailout talks.

The eurozone's 19 ministers meet in Brussels one day before Greece must pay a 750 million euro ($840 million) debt bill to the IMF that some fear the Mediterranean nation cannot afford.

Consumer inflation in China rose to 1.5 percent in April, authorities said Saturday, but came in below market forecasts and analysts called for more action to avoid deflation in the world's second-largest economy.

The rise in the consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was the highest since December, and a slight increase on March's 1.4 percent.

The head of one of Burkina Faso's largest banks has been arrested on suspicion of having embezzled billions CFA francs, a source close to the investigation said Friday. 

"The director general of the Banque de l'Habitat du Burkina Faso (BHBF), Pierre Zerbo, was arrested yesterday and remanded in custody today (Friday)," the security source told Agence France Presse.

Japanese automakers Toyota and Mazda are considering a comprehensive tie-up in environmentally-friendly technology amid tightening regulations to cut greenhouse gas and tough emerging market competition, a report said Saturday.

The two companies are in the final stages of talks on the planned partnership, the Nikkei business daily said, adding that the two "intend to reach an accord in principle soon".

London's stock market rallied and the pound surged on Friday as Prime Minister David Cameron's "business friendly" Conservatives looked set for a surprise victory in Britain's general election.

The benchmark FTSE 100 index jumped 1.63 percent to 6,999.01 points in early trade, lifted by soaring share price gains for banks and energy majors.

Tokyo investors will be looking to Japanese trade data and U.S. retail sales next week, while bracing for any signs of a U.S. interest rate hike following a warning from Fed boss Janet Yellen on high equity valuations.

Japan's finance ministry is scheduled to release its March trade balance on Wednesday, while U.S. retail sales in April will be announced later in the day.

Germany's industrial output and its trade surplus were both hit by surprise falls in March, according to provisional figures published Friday by the federal statistics office, Destatis.

The slight fall of 0.5 percent in production after seasonal adjustments was counter to analyst expectations, which had predicted a modest rise of 0.4 per cent, said financial data firm Factset. 

Australia's central bank Friday said lower growth and higher unemployment concerns prompted it to cut official interest rates to a historic low of 2.0 percent this week in an bid to spur the economy.

Ahead of the conservative government releasing its national budget on Tuesday 12 May, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said a long-awaited pick-up in non-mining investment, which is holding back the economy, would likely take longer than anticipated.

Dubai's Emirates Airline said Thursday annual profits surged 40 percent to $1.2 billion as revenues increased and fuel costs dropped.

The Middle East's largest carrier said revenues rose seven percent to $24.2 billion with passenger numbers up 11 percent to 49.3 million in the financial year 2014-15.