EU finance ministers met on Tuesday to find a compromise with the European Parliament on how to wind up failing banks before they can damage the wider economy.

Ministers going into the talks voiced cautious optimism that some progress on 'banking union' was being made but stressed the need to get an agreement they can put before MEPs who oppose the current plans.

The collapse of Japan's Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange is spilling into U.S. bankruptcy court as the company scrambles for legal cover after losing digital currency valued at $473 million.

Mt. Gox's bankruptcy filing in Dallas late Sunday supplements a similar petition made in Japan late last month following the exchange's abrupt closure. The U.S. case is being brought under Chapter 15 of the country's bankruptcy code, which provides a haven for foreign companies seeking to reorganize their finances.

With Portugal's 78-billion-euro IMF-EU aid program about to come to an end, its creditors are not only expecting the country to exit its massive bailout on May 17, but urging it to do so without a safety net.

Analysts however warned that it is too soon for Portugal, which only shook off a 2.5-years-long recession in the second quarter of 2013, to raise its own funds on the open markets without any recourse to credit as back-up.

China's bank lending halved in February from January, the government said Monday, amid worries over a near-default on a financial product structured by the risky trust sector.

Domestic banks extended 644.5 billion yuan ($105.0 billion) in new loans last month, up 24.5 billion yuan from the same month last year, the central bank said in a statement.

The price of oil fell below $102 on Monday after a surprise drop in China's exports and weaker economic growth in Japan suggested demand for crude could weaken.

Benchmark U.S. crude for April delivery was down $1.18 to $101.40 per barrel at 0810 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, the contract rose $1.02 to close at $102.58 after strong U.S. employment figures for February. Brent crude, used to set prices for international varieties of crude, was down 90 cents to $108.11.

The French economy is expected to grow by 0.2 percent in the first quarter, the country's central bank said Monday, confirming a preliminary forecast issued a month ago.

The bank makes its forecasts based on a monthly survey of a panel of private sector executives, who have reported that business confidence remained largely unchanged in February.

Japan's economy grew at a slower pace than initially thought in the last quarter of 2013, revised data showed Monday, underscoring concerns about the pace of recovery under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policy blitz.

The fresh figures will turn the focus on to Bank of Japan policymakers as they start a two-day meeting, with speculation they could unveil further monetary easing measures to counter a possible slowdown from a sales tax rise next month.

As world powers and international institutions cobble together aid packages for a debt-laden Ukraine on the brink of default, regular Ukrainians feeling the pinch fear they will see none of the cash.

At an outdoor market north of Kiev's city center on Friday, stallholders sold everything from colorful stuffed toys to freshly baked pastries and bouquets of flowers for International Women's Day.

Visa and MasterCard are forming a group that's intended to help the retail and banking industries come together on more-secure credit card payments.

Credit card breaches at Neiman Marcus, Target and other retailers have put a spotlight on the weak spots in the security of credit card payments.

China recorded an unexpected trade deficit of $22.98 billion in February, official figures showed Saturday, with authorities blaming the country's holiday season for the weak performance.

The figure compared with a surplus of $14.8 billion in the same month last year, and a median forecast of an $11.9 billion surplus in a poll of 13 economists by Dow Jones Newswires.