Spain's prime minister on Saturday joined its king in asking former Latin American colonies to help the EU nation overcome a deep financial crisis by channeling investments its way.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Spain had invested heavily in Latin America when it suffered a crisis 10 years ago, and now that the roles were reversed, he called upon those nations to increase their participation in his country's economy.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Saturday rejected as "unacceptable" a proposal from EU President Herman Van Rompuy to cut the bloc's 2014-2020 budget by 75 billion euros ($95 billion).

"The government does not like this budget and we have made that known to the (European) institutions and we hope that there will be another proposal that will be more reasonable," Rajoy said.

Jordan's prime minister is defending his decision to raise prices for household fuel, four days after the move sparked unrest that left one person killed and scores wounded.

Abdullah Ensour says shaky state finances forced him to take the "painful decision" to hike heating and cooking gas by 54 percent and some oil derivatives by up to 28 percent.

Billionaire Saudi Prince Walid bin Talal's Kingdom Holding investment group said Saturday it has purchased the luxury hotel Four Seasons Toronto, Canada for $200 million.

"The transaction was funded by a $130 million mortgage loan while $70 million came from (the company's) own resources," Hazem al-Dosari, a Kingdom Holding Company spokesman, told AFP.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti Saturday defended the biting austerity measures imposed during his first year in power, saying without them the eurozone might have broken up or collapsed altogether.

"Perhaps today, without the austerity measures brought in by the government, the eurozone would be no more," the premier's office said in a 17-page round-up marking one year since Monti took over leading a debt-laden Italy.

Rating firm Moody's said Friday it would review Cyprus for a possible downgrade, citing dragging bailout talks with international lenders on an aid package.

Just five weeks after its last ratings cut, Moody's said the review on Cyprus's B3 government bond rating was due to rising liquidity risks for the eurozone country, closely linked to debt-crippled Greece.

Moving to encourage reform in Myanmar ahead of a landmark trip by President Barack Obama, the United States has scrapped a nearly decade-old ban on most imports from the long-isolated nation.

The world's largest economy will open up to products from the country formerly known as Burma with the exception of gems, a sector seen as a major driver of corruption and violence.

Tough economic reforms biting hard in Jordan, which have pushed up fuel prices and triggered protests, are "a necessary pain" to meet the nation's challenges, a top U.S. official said Friday.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is traveling in Asia, spoke this week with Jordan's King Abdullah and "commended the Jordanian government's efforts to address their economic challenges, and the king's commitment to reform," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

House Democrats and Republicans joined forces Friday in voting overwhelmingly to end Soviet-era trade restrictions while approving a measure that punishes Russian officials involved in human rights violations.

The vote to establish permanent normal trade relations with Russia has been a top priority of American businesses and farmers concerned that they are being left behind as Europe and China move into Russia's market of 140 million consumers.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will hold an investment trip to Qatar later this month and similar trips to China and Russia are planned at a later date, the state agency said on Friday.

"Samaras will travel to Qatar on November 27 and (his office) is planning journeys to China and Russia with the aim of attracting investors," the ANA agency said.