French auto group PSA Peugeot Citroen said Thursday it would cut 8,000 jobs to cope with a very sharp downturn in the European market, sparking a fierce union response.

Union reaction was uncompromising, describing the announcement as a "declaration of war" and an "earthquake," with the hardline stance certain to add to the problems facing the new Socialist government.

Eurozone nations must act now to prevent creating a further 4.5 million unemployed workers in the next four years, the head of the U.N.'s labor agency warned on Wednesday.

"The Eurozone is facing its worst crisis since the creation of the single currency," International Labor Organization Director-General Juan Somavia told reporters at the launch of a report on the Eurozone crisis.

Asian markets were mixed Wednesday, recovering from earlier losses sparked by a fall on Wall Street and concerns about Italy's finances which stoked fresh fears about the Eurozone.

Stocks had also been pushed lower by the prospect that Germany may delay the launch of a permanent bailout fund for the Eurozone. The euro held steady in Asian trade.

Former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond will give up bonuses worth £20 million after resigning over a rate-rigging scandal, the bank's chairman said Tuesday.

But chairman Marcus Agius told a British lawmakers investigating the scandal that Diamond, whose pay packages during the financial crisis were fiercely controversial, would still receive a final pay-off of around £2 million ($3 million, 2.5 million euros).

The resource-rich Australian city of Brisbane was Wednesday selected to host the G20 summit in 2014, drawing stinging criticism from officials in Sydney.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who announced last year the country had been picked as host nation, said the Queensland capital would hold the summit of the leaders of the world's 20 largest economies.

Hillary Clinton met with Vietnam's top communist leaders Tuesday for talks aimed at boosting trade as the U.S. seeks to shore up its stuttering economy with an Asia-focused export drive.

But the Secretary of State, who arrived from a trip to Mongolia, also made a strong push for improved human rights, arguing: "Democracy and prosperity go hand-in-hand. Political reform and economic growth are linked."

Global drinks and snacks giant PepsiCo said Monday it will enter the fast-growing U.S. yogurt market this month, teaming up with a German dairy company to introduce premium European products.

PepsiCo, the U.S. maker of Pepsi-Cola, Frito-Lay chips and Quaker Oaks granola bars, announced a joint venture with Theo Mueller Group, the largest privately held dairy business in Germany.

Two years after eclipsing Japan as the world's second-largest economy, China on Monday stole the number-two spot on the Fortune 500 list of the biggest global companies from its Asian rival.

In its annual revenue rankings, Fortune magazine said that China overtook Japan for the first time, landing 73 companies on the list compared with Japan's 68 companies.

Eurozone finance ministers agreed Tuesday to offer Spain 30 billion euros this month to help its distressed banks as they raced to stay ahead of market skepticism.

After nine hours of talks, Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourg premier who also heads the Euro group , said a memorandum of understanding for Spain would be formally signed "in the second half of July," with 30 billion euros ($37 billion) available by the end of the month.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde said Tuesday that signs of increased protectionism amid deteriorating global economic conditions were "alarming", and warned such measures affect everyone.

"The latest report by the WTO (World Trade Organization) is quite alarming because there is a rise of protectionism," she said at a business forum in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.