Iran is refusing to refuel some European and Arab airlines at its main international airport in a tit-for-tat move over major oil companies denying fuel to Iranian planes abroad, the airport's chief said Saturday.

"Government directives" ordered the ban, Morteza Dehqan, head of Tehran's Imam Khomeini international airport, told the ISNA news agency.

China's central bank governor hinted in comments published Saturday that authorities would loosen their grip on the Asian powerhouse's tightly controlled currency by widening its trading band.

Beijing's trading partners have long criticized its Yuan exchange rate, saying it is kept artificially low, fuelling a flow of cheap exports that have helped trigger massive trade deficits between some countries and China.

The euro remained under pressure Friday, falling to its lowest level against the yen in more than a decade, prodded by a weak Italian debt auction and Spain's deficit warning.

The euro sank to 99.62 yen around 2200 GMT, down from 100.61 yen at the same time Thursday.

The Pentagon awarded U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin Corp. with a $1.96 billion contract Friday to supply the United Arab Emirates with a missile defense system.

Under the contract, Lockheed will deliver two Terminal High Altitude Area Defense or Thaad systems that include radar, interceptors and launchers, according to a Pentagon statement.

Just three years ago, the euro was being praised as the can-do currency that had delivered unprecedented prosperity in Europe.

Now, it's widely derided as a hugely flawed experiment in the wake of a debt crisis that's threatening its very existence — an uncomfortable backdrop as the currency's notes and coins hit their first decade in circulation on Jan. 1.

Oil prices edged higher Thursday in volatile trading in New York, boosted by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and better-than-expected U.S. economic news.

New York's main contract West Texas Intermediate light sweet crude for February delivery, finished at $99.65 a barrel, an increase of 29 cents from Wednesday's close.

In a first, two German manufacturers -- Mercedes-Benz and BMW -- are dueling for the honor of being the top luxury brand sold in the United States.

With the champion of the past 11 years, Toyota's Lexus, hobbled by the fallout from Japan's March 11 earthquake-tsunami-nuclear meltdown disaster, the two Teutonic giants are going at it head-on to snatch the crown, a highly visible symbol of automotive supremacy.

Libya on Thursday said it will review its contracts with Italy's ENI and insisted the oil major participate in reconstructing cities destroyed by Moammar Gadhafi's forces in the conflict.

The decision to review the contracts was communicated to the Italian firm's Chief Executive Officer Paolo Scaroni on Wednesday by Prime Minister Abdel Rahim al-Kib during a meeting, the statement from Kib's office said.

Japan's headline Nikkei-225 index Friday finished 2011 at its lowest year-end level for almost three decades, with analysts warning the outlook for the New Year remains poor.

The Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange shut up shop at 8,455.35, down 17.34 percent, or 1,773.57 points, from the 2010 close of 10,228.92, with the March 11 earthquake and tsunami taking its toll on share prices.

Truck drivers and traders in China's border city of Dandong said Thursday trade with North Korea had slowed to a trickle following the death of leader Kim Jong-Il earlier this month.

Kim died on December 17 from a heart attack at the age of 69, and North Korea has imposed an official mourning period that culminated Thursday with a massive memorial service.