Iconic American carmaker Chrysler officially came under the Italian flag Friday when Fiat announced it had obtained a majority share after buying out the U.S. government's stake.

The takeover comes two years after Fiat took a 20 percent stake in exchange for sharing its technology and providing trusted leadership as Chrysler emerged from a government-backed bankruptcy.

Japan has frozen $4.4 billion in assets belonging to Libyan leader Moammer Gadhafi and his entourage under the terms of a U.N. Security Council resolution, a report said Saturday.

The assets included bank savings, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported citing data of the finance ministry, without giving fuller details. A spokesperson was not immediately available to comment on the report.

Trade union protesters on Friday occupied the Greek finance ministry, calling for a general strike as Athens finalized a crucial new loan deal with the EU and the IMF.

Members of the Communist-affiliated PAME union unfurled a giant banner from the roof of the ministry on central Syntagma Square, calling for a general strike against a coming wave of additional austerity measures.

Global air travel is now above its peaks before the global downturn in 2008 but high jet fuel and other crises could hold back the rebound, International Air Transport Association said on Thursday.

"Profits are being squeezed by the succession of crises and shocks that have marked the first four months of this year," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's director-general and chief executive officer.

Dubai's DP World, the world's fourth biggest port operator, made its debut on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday, one week after Swiss commodities giant Glencore joined the market.

The stock began trade at 830 pence per share and about 157,500 shares have changed hands so far, according to the LSE website.

China will phase out battery-powered electric bikes that exceed national speed and weight restrictions -- even as Beijing seeks to reduce pollution and ease chronic traffic jams in major cities.

Electric bikes must not weigh more than 40 kilos (88 pounds) or travel faster than 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) per hour, four government agencies said Tuesday.

French wine and spirits group Remy Cointreau said Tuesday it had sold its Piper-Heidsieck and Charles Heidsieck champagne business to EPI for 412.2 million Euros ($590 million).

Remy Cointreau said the sale also includes the Piper-Heidsieck and Piper Sonoma brands in the United States as well as debt of some 240 million Euros.

EU capitals now consider the appointment of French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde as the next head of the IMF is a done deal, after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hailed her candidacy, a European official told Agence France Presse at the G8 summit.

"Lagarde? It's done," the senior source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity as the decision depends on the IMF and not on EU or G8 leaders.

The British embassy has raised funds totaling $18,000 for two Lebanese non-governmental organizations during its ‘Royal Wedding Gala charity Lunch’ hosted on April 29, the embassy said in a statement Monday.

To present these funds, British Ambassador Frances Guy hosted a reception at her residence, in the presence of representatives of the two charities, and the event sponsors, the statement said.

Banking giant HSBC said Monday it was thinking of introducing Islamic financial services in Australia where the government is keen to use such offerings to grow as a regional finance hub.

"We are a major player in Islamic finance globally and that's an area that we are keeping an eye on," HSBC Bank Australia chief executive officer Paulo Maia told Dow Jones Newswires. "It could be the next one."