A senior European Central Bank official is insisting that the bank can't help Greece by agreeing to roll over the government bonds it holds or accept lower interest rates.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who wants more time to enact reforms and budget cuts, has suggested the ECB could help that way.

Hungary's government announced Friday a set of austerity measures to keep its general government deficit below 3.0 percent of gross domestic product, as it recognized for the first time that the country would be in recession this year.

"The government has decided to take the necessary measures to keep the budget deficit figure under 3.0 percent of GDP in 2012, 2013, and 2014," Economy Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy told a press conference.

Sales of Toyota cars in China plunged by 50 percent on-month in September amid an anti-Japan backlash over disputed islands, a report said Friday.

The Japanese auto giant -- the world's largest car firm by sales in the first half of this year -- shifted 75,000 units in August, but moved only half that number last month, the Yomiuri newspaper said, citing a company source.

Greece's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said his country can survive until the end of November without receiving the next planned installment of its bailout loans.

Officials from the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank are currently in Greece assessing the country's progress in fulfilling the terms for receiving the aid.

Oil prices retreated a day after posting big gains as traders turned their attention to the release later Friday of a monthly U.S. jobs report.

Benchmark oil for November delivery was down 33 cents to $91.38 a barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Samsung Electronics Co. tipped all-time high quarterly operating profit, likely driven by strong sales of high-end smartphones that offset weak semiconductor orders.

The guidance for Samsung's third quarter earnings showed it was on track to report a record-high quarterly profit for a fourth straight quarter, despite legal tussles with Apple Inc. that resulted in a $1 billion compensation judgment in August.

British house prices slid in September, falling for the third month in a row, as the property market continued to struggle, a leading survey showed on Thursday.

House prices dropped 0.4 percent in September, after falling by 0.5 percent the previous month, according to data from home-loans provider Halifax.

Global food prices rose by 1.4 percent in September after holding steady for two months as cereals, meat and dairy prices climbed, the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization said Thursday.

The FAO's Food Price Index, a monthly measure of changes in a basket of food commodities, edged up three points to 216 points in September.

Oil prices rose slightly Thursday after positive U.S. economic reports offset some of the pessimism about global growth prospects.

Benchmark oil for November delivery was up 16 cents to $88.30 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, oil fell $3.75, or 4.1 percent, to $88.14 per barrel in New York. That was the biggest decline since May 4.

Britain will donate 1 million pounds (1.25 million euros) to help 10,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey cope with the upcoming winter, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said Wednesday.

"It's clear that the scale of the challenge is huge, however, with over 93,000 registered refugees in the camps along the Syrian-Turkish border and more crossing every day," said the British deputy prime minister, according to a statement from his office.