North Korean visits to China have multiplied over recent years, a Chinese newspaper reported, underscoring growing political and business links between the isolated nuclear-armed state and its sole major ally.

There were a total of 180,600 visits by North Koreans to China in 2012, nearly twice as many as the 103,900 only three years previously, the investigative Southern Weekly said in its latest edition, citing official data.

Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of Seven leading economies will meet in the English countryside on Friday for talks on spurring growth, amid U.S.-Europe divisions over the scale of austerity.

The G7 -- comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- is expected to build on last month's wider Group of 20 meeting, while looking ahead to next month's G8 heads of state summit in Northern Ireland.

German exports, the driving force of Europe's top economy, are being weighed down by the eurozone debt crisis, data showed Friday, amid otherwise promising signs.

Seasonally adjusted data showed that Germany's trade surplus fell slightly in March to 17.6 billion euros ($23.0 billion) from 17.7 billion euros in February, according to figures from the federal statistics office.

Australia's central bank scaled back its forecasts Friday, warning of muted growth and a "subdued" outlook as the commodities-driven economy transitions away from mining.

The Reserve Bank of Australia said it expected growth of 2.5 percent and inflation of 2.25 percent for the year ended December 31, compared with 2.0-3.0 percent for both forecast in February.

Thousands of striking students and teachers protested across crisis-wracked Spain Thursday against spending cuts they say are destroying the country's public education system.

In Madrid the protesters, many of them wearing green T-shirts that have become a symbol of their movement against the budget cuts, marched to the education ministry where they called on Education Minister Jose Ignacio Wert to resign.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday launched yet another effort to pressure Congress to act on his plans to invest in education and innovation to create a new generation of high-paying jobs.

Obama flew to Texas to highlight school and industry programs seen as a model method of firming up sluggish growth and taking aim at unemployment, which remains at 7.5 percent more than four years into his presidency.

The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said it would likely disburse its first bailout loan to Cyprus after next week's board meeting.

The IMF executive board is expected to discuss the bailout program for Cyprus on Wednesday, Fund spokesman Gerry Rice said at a regularly scheduled news conference.

Ratings agency Standard and Poor's on Thursday downgraded Egypt's long- and short-term credit rating over the government's failure to meet the country's fiscal needs.

Egypt's long-term rating was lowered to 'CCC+' from 'B-', while its short-term rating dropped to 'C' from 'B', the agency said in a statement.

Crédit Agricole Suisse has reported consolidated net profits of CHF 130.2 million for 2012, compared with CHF 158.1 million in 2011, amid tough conditions. The year was marked yet again by a deepening economic crisis, low interest rates and a strong Swiss franc. The bank’s performance helped maintain the Crédit Agricole Group’s solid position in Switzerland while strengthening its capital base, evidenced in a Core Tier 1 ratio of 13.2%.

In 2012 Crédit Agricole Suisse showed that it was both stable and quick to respond to challenging economic conditions, regulatory changes and concerns among private banking clients about financial market uncertainty.

Kuwaiti telecom giant Zain's net profits dived 26.7 percent in the first quarter of 2013, the company said on Wednesday, blaming currency fluctuations in Sudan where it operates and massive investments.

The company posted a net profit of 52 million dinars ($182.4 million) in the first three months of 2013, compared to 71 million ($249.1 million) in the corresponding period of last year, it said in a statement.