Eurozone finance ministers agreed Thursday how the single currency's rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism, will be able to inject funds directly into failing banks so as to minimize the risk posed to the financial system.

"The main guidelines of how the ESM will operate have been agreed," Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said.

The European Union said Friday it had started ministerial-level talks with China, were they are expected to discuss rows over solar panels and other products, as tensions between the two risk escalating into a trade war.

Gao Hucheng, China's Minister of Commerce, and EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht are in attendance at the annual meeting of the joint economic and trade commission, William Fingleton, spokesman for the EU side, said in an e-mail.

The interest rate China's banks charge to lend money to each other fell sharply Friday, easing fears of a liquidity shortage after hitting record highs.

However, analysts said the central People's Bank of China (PBoC) would likely keep a tight grip on credit owing to worries over too much bad debt.

Fast-growing budget carrier AirAsia said Thursday it had ordered 100 engines worth $8.6 billion from manufacturer CFM International to power Airbus A320 airliners ordered last year.

The deal inked Wednesday in France includes 64 new LEAP-1A engines for fuel-efficient A320neo jets, the Malaysia-based carrier said in a statement.

Britain's five biggest banks needed an extra £27.1 billion ($41.9 billion, 31.6 billion euros) at the end of 2012 to meet rules on capital backup, and must sell more assets and slash costs further, regulators said on Thursday.

The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the Bank of England's banking supervision division, said in a statement that this figure compared with the previous estimated shortfall of £25 billion given in March.

China's manufacturing activity shrank again in June, HSBC said Thursday, hitting a nine-month low and adding to concerns about the strength of the world's second biggest economy.

The British banking giant said its preliminary purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 48.3, worse than May's final reading of 49.2 and its lowest since September.

Big accountancy Deloitte was fined $10 million by New York state on Tuesday for its actions in advising Standard Chartered Bank over money laundering.

Deloitte's unit Deloitte Financial Advisory Services was fined and also banned for one year from work in New York state after state authorities said it did not carry out its duties independently in advising the bank on how to avoid money laundering.

Global stock markets were mostly lower Wednesday as investors waited for an update on the U.S. economy from the Federal Reserve.

Investors were waiting to see if the Fed, which wraps up a two-day policy meeting later in the day in Washington, will make changes to its strategy of super-low interest rates and easy money that is helping to shore up the U.S. economy. Any change is likely to ripple through stock markets.

Russia's central bank has uncovered a network of shell companies that illegally funneled staggering sums of money abroad.

Outgoing central bank chief Sergei Ignatiev told lawmakers Wednesday that 173 "one-day firms" smuggled at least 760 billion rubles ($23.5 billion). So-called one-day firms are shell companies that have been a favored money-laundering technique in Russia.

The International Monetary Fund says recession-wracked Spain is making progress but is urging policymakers both within the country and in Europe to take "urgent action" to slash the country's crippling 27 percent unemployment rate.

An IMF report released Wednesday praised Spain's reforms for stabilizing the economy, particularly its public finances, but said unemployment was "unacceptably high and the outlook difficult."