Switzerland's central bank on Friday said it expected record profits of 38 billion Swiss francs (31.6 billion euros) in 2014 on the back of gains from its foreign currency holding.

The bank said it would make a profit of 34 billion Swiss francs ($33 billion) from its foreign currency holdings and four billion Swiss francs from its gold holdings, according to provisional estimates.

Oil prices rose in Asia on Friday after recent heavy falls, but analysts said any gains are likely to be limited by plentiful global supplies.

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate for February delivery was up 43 cents at $49.22 a barrel in afternoon trade and Brent crude for February gained 34 cents to $51.30.

Turkey is planning to buy four more F-35 Joint Strike Fighters from the US, in addition to the two it had already ordered, the country's defense industry agency said.

"It has been agreed that four more F-35 planes will be procured in addition to the two previously ordered as part of a plan to buy a total of 100 new generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighters," the defense industry executive committee (SSM) said in a statement posted on its website.

Standard Chartered said Thursday it would close a swathe of its global equities business and axe 2,000 jobs around the world this year as it tries to make savings of $400 million as part of a structural overhaul.

The Asia-focused British bank said it had already announced or completed 2,000 job cuts in its retail clients business in the past three months, but 2,000 more were "expected during 2015" in the same segment.

Samsung Electronics, the world's largest smartphone maker, flagged a lighter than expected profit decline in the fourth quarter Thursday, with memory chip sales cushioning a continued slump in mobile revenue.

Operating profit for the October-December period was estimated at 5.2 trillion won ($4.7 billion), down 37.4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2013, the company said.

The euro slid in Asia Thursday as falling prices in the eurozone boosted the prospect of European Central Bank (ECB) stimulus, while the Fed appears on track to hike interest rates by mid-year.

The single currency slipped to $1.1820 and 141.51 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, from $1.1842 and 141.70 yen in New York. The euro dropped to 1.1802 at one point on Wednesday, its lowest since January 2006.

German industrial orders, a key measure of demand for German-made goods both at home and abroad, fell sharply in November, weighed down by falling domestic orders, data showed on Thursday.

Industrial orders dropped by 2.4 percent in November compared with the previous month, the economy ministry said in a statement.

Eurozone consumer prices fell 0.2 percent in December, entering negative territory for the first time since financial crisis in October 2009 and raising fears of deflation, EU data showed Wednesday.

The drop was brought on by plummeting oil prices and will heap pressure on the European Central Bank to take bold action to stimulate price rises in the now 19-nation single currency zone.

European benchmark Brent oil sank under $50 per barrel on Wednesday for the first time since 2009, hit by OPEC's production stance, oversupply, weak demand and the strong dollar.

In morning London deals, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February dived to a 5.5-year low at $49.81 a barrel. New York crude had already slumped under $50 on Monday.

Budget airline Ryanair wants to take on Lufthansa in Germany, its chief executive said in a newspaper interview Wednesday and predicted the German airline would fail in its bid to build a low cost business.

"We currently have market share of around 4.0 percent in Germany. In the next three to four years, we're aiming to increase it to 15-20 percent," Michael O'Leary told the business daily Handelsblatt.