Swiss chocolate makers sold more than 176,400 tons of chocolate last year as consumer appetites picked up with the economic recovery, the top industry body said on Tuesday.

Overall sales rose 1.3 percent in volume and 2.4 percent in value to 1.7 billion Swiss francs (649 million Euros), said Chocosuisse.

The dollar held firm against the Euro in Asia on Tuesday in the absence of fresh trading pegs after inching up in New York on weaker-than-expected German data.

The Euro bought $1.3577 dollars in Tokyo morning trade, a shade lower than $1.3581 in New York late Monday. Against the Japanese unit, the common currency was flat at 111.78.

Crude oil prices rose back above $100 on Monday on lingering concerns over the impact of political uncertainty in Egypt.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March gained 75 cents to $100.58 per barrel in late morning London trade.

Germany's Volkswagen, Europe's biggest automaker, plans to boost its workforce from 250,000 to 290,000 by 2018, with most of the new jobs to be created in China, the German auto weekly Woche reported Sunday.

Citing internal and confidential documents, the weekly said that "the number of VW employees will rise from 250,000 to 290,000 by 2018," including 35,000 new posts in China.

U.S. Internet provider AOL will buy The Huffington Post, a rapidly growing news website with nearly 25 million monthly visitors, for $315 million, the company announced Monday.

Approximately $300 million will be paid in cash, it said.

Wall Street probably will keep a close eye next week on developments in the Egypt crisis, though it did not prevent stocks from hitting their highest levels in more than two years.

Facing a thin economic calendar, investors were expected to remain glued to the massive anti-government protests seeking the immediate resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.

World oil prices remained high in Asian trade Friday, with the market under pressure from the ongoing political crisis in Egypt.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for March, was up 40 cents at $90.94 in afternoon trade.

Brent crude rallied to a 28-month high above $103 on Thursday as the political crisis in Egypt erupted into violence, sparking fresh concern over energy supplies in the crude-rich Middle East.

"The continued unrest in Egypt has prompted Brent oil prices to climb overnight to $103 a barrel, the highest level since September 2008," said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.

Lebanon's economy should be able to survive the political turmoil that has seen the appointment of a Hizbullah-backed premier due to the strength of the country's banking system and replete foreign currency reserves, analysts say.

"The financial defense lines are currently the strongest in Lebanon's history," said Marwan Barakat, chief economist at Bank Audi, one of the leading banks in the country.

Dubai's Emirates Airlines said on Wednesday it launched service to Basra in southern Iraq, its first destination in the war-torn country.

"Emirates has marked its 110th international destination today with its inaugural flight to Basra, the airline's first service into Iraq," a statement said.