The value of bitcoin on a Tokyo exchange was less than half that on other platforms Wednesday, two weeks after it suspended withdrawals claiming a bug in the software that underpins the virtual currency.

MtGox, one of the world's oldest Bitcoin exchanges, this month stopped processing client requests to withdraw money held at its "wallet", citing a problem with the technology.

Australian state governments that sell assets such as airports and utilities as part of a national policy to rekindle economic growth will get new tax arrangements to offset lost revenue, the federal treasurer said Wednesday.

Treasurer Joe Hockey wants to reinvest the money from asset sales into new national infrastructure that he hopes will fill the investment void left by the slowing mining industry. The government hopes sales of state companies will raise as much as 130 billion Australian dollars ($117 billion), but the policy would also result in some lost revenue for states by putting the businesses in private hands.

Turkey's central bank held its key interest rates steady on Tuesday after pressure on the embattled lira relented in response to aggressive monetary tightening last month.

In a statement posted on its website, the bank said the overnight lending rate was kept at 12.0 percent, while the the borrowing and one-week repo rate were left at 8.0 percent and 10.0 percent.

Spanish banks reported Tuesday record-high bad loans in December as lenders continued to pay for the country's real estate bust even as the financial sector prepared to exit a 41-billion-euro ($56 billion) bailout.

Doubtful loans -- those at risk of not being repaid -- rose in December to 13.6 percent of all credit extended by Spanish banks, up from 13.07 percent the previous month, a Bank of Spain report showed.

The eurozone's current account surplus contracted to 21.3 billion euros ($29.2 billion) in December from 23.3 billion euros in November, European Central Bank data showed on Tuesday.

The current account on the balance of payments, which includes payments for imports and exports in both goods and services plus all other current transfers, is a closely tracked indicator of the ability of a country or area to pay its way in the world.

The South African economy, the biggest in Africa and a top emerging market, is being held back badly by a crisis at the sclerotic state-owned electricity provider Eskom, experts say.

They blame a range of problems linked to management weaknesses at national and company level, warn that there is little prospect of improvement soon, and suggest that nuclear and shale energy may be needed.

With billions of dollars at stake, Israel and Western energy majors are closely watching renewed Cyprus peace talks that could clear the way for major gas projects with a role for Turkey.

Export plans for the eastern Mediterranean have been taking shape over the past five years since U.S. firm Noble discovered the Leviathan field in Israeli waters and the Aphrodite field off divided Cyprus.

Italy's borrowing costs dropped to an eight-year low on Monday, after rating agency's Moody's raised outlook and as the country awaited a new, reform-driven government.

On Friday, Moody's raised the outlook for the Italian economy from negative to stable, while holding its notation at "Baa2".

Irked by high bank fees on international money transfers, two Estonian IT whizzes who helped engineer Skype and Paypal have hatched Transferwise, a global Internet platform coordinating currency swaps between individuals.

"Hey, hidden fees. Your secret's out," taunts the site founded by Taavet Hinrikus, 32, and partner Kristo Kaarmann, 33.

Japan economy grows in 2013, but concerns loom Japan's economy has logged its best performance in three years, driven by Premier Shinzo Abe's growth blitz, but weak second-half growth and an April sales tax rise are denting hopes for a sizzling 2014.

The 1.6 percent expansion last year marked the first annual figures under Abe and his program, dubbed Abenomics, after the conservative swept national elections on a ticket to restore Japan's fading status as an economic superpower.