Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday said Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti's policies were "too German-centric" and bonds spreads were "an invention" to bring down his government, as he begins his sixth election campaign in two decades.

"Monti followed policies that were too German-centric. All the economic statistics have worsened," Berlusconi said in an interview with Canale 5 television, part of his media empire.

The world's biggest investors have their "heads in the sand" over climate risk, according to a survey released Tuesday which warned of risks to pension funds.

The Asset Owners Disclosure Project (AODP) looked at the world's 1,000 largest retirement funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth pools on their management of the risks associated with rising global temperatures.

Banking giant HSBC said Tuesday it would pay U.S. authorities a record $1.92 billion to settle allegations of money laundering that were said to have helped Mexican drug cartels, "terrorists" and Iran.

"HSBC has reached agreement with United States authorities in relation to investigations regarding inadequate compliance with anti-money laundering and sanctions laws," the Hong Kong-listed lender said in a statement.

The Syrian economy has crumbled into a disjointed patchwork as civil war rages in the country, forcing some people to subsist through looting while others collect ransoms and civil servants continue to pay taxes and receive state salaries.

"Twenty-one months into the revolt -- with large swathes of territory slipping from government control -- we can no longer speak of just one Syrian economy," said Jihad Yazigi, director of the Syria Report economic website. "Now we have a mosaic of economies."

Prime Minister Mario Monti on Monday promised that Italy's next government would be pro-European as financial markets plunged and EU leaders called for stability after the caretaker leader announced he will step down ahead of a general election.

"I am very confident that. . . whatever coalition or government there will be, will be a highly responsible, Europe-oriented government," Monti said on the sidelines of a ceremony in Norway awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union.

The European Union, winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, said at the award ceremony Monday that the conflict in Syria was "a stain" on the world's conscience.

"Let me say it from here today," said European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso. "The current situation in Syria is a stain on the world's conscience and the international community has a moral duty to address it."

Chinese telecom firm Huawei announced on Monday plans to invest 70 million euros ($90 million) to open up a research and development center for smartphone and tablet software in Finland, home to rival Nokia.

"The Finnish R&D center will be a key driver in Huawei’s research and development of new technologies for mobile devices," the company said in a statement.

Greece announced it had extended until Tuesday a debt buyback offer on which IMF-EU bailout funds to avert impending bankruptcy depend, and Greek media reported a shortfall in acceptances.

"We have decided to extend the invitation to offer designated securities for exchange to 11 December 2012," the head of Greece's PDMA debt management agency, Stelios Papadopoulos, said in a statement on Monday.

The French owner of the Gucci label, PPR, announced late Sunday that it had acquired a "majority" stake for an undisclosed amount in rising Chinese luxury jewellery brand Qeelin.

PPR said the transaction should be completed next month and that Qeelin has "tremendous intrinsic growth potential".

Stubborn high unemployment and the looming fiscal cliff challenge give the Federal Reserve all the reason it needs to expand its stimulus efforts when it meets next week, analysts say.

Gathering just before its "Twist" asset-swap operation expires at year-end, signs are that the Federal Open Market Committee will replace it with more outright bond purchases, more "quantitative easing" aimed at lowering interest rates to encourage businesses to invest and hire.