German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday urged Portugal to stick to its commitments on economic reforms, as concerns grow that the new Socialist-led government was easing off on budget discipline.

"The predecessor of Prime Minister Antonio Costa led Portugal through difficult times," she noted, urging Lisbon to "do everything to stay on this path" of reforms.

The China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), viewed by some as a rival to the World Bank, on Friday announced executive appointments including a treasury minister from Britain's former coalition government.

The bank, which started business in January, is already led by its president Jin Liqun, formerly a Chinese finance official who has also worked at the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Swiss private bank Julius Baer said Friday it had finalized an agreement with U.S. authorities, paying $547 million to end a criminal investigation into claims that it helped rich Americans dodge taxes.

"Being able to close this regrettable legacy issue is an important milestone for Julius Baer," chief executive Boris Collardi said in a statement.

The dollar struggled on Friday as market turmoil and weak global growth boost the chances that the Federal Reserve will delay further rate hikes this year.

Currency traders are keeping close tabs on US jobs data later Friday, with a poor reading sure to reinforce fears about weakness in the world's top economy -- after the Fed raised rates for the first time in years in December.

Iraq's Kurdish region has announced it will pay only partial salaries to all government employees except security personnel as it struggles with an economic crisis due to low oil prices.

The autonomous region in northern Iraq, like the rest of the country, has been suffering from the huge drop in oil prices since mid-2014.

Thousands marched as a crippling general strike against pension reforms swept Greece on Thursday, with hooded youths lobbing firebombs at riot police in scattered skirmishes in the capital.

Some 40,000 people from all walks of life joined protests in Athens and another 14,000 demonstrated in Thessaloniki for the 24-hour industrial action, police said, as riot officers in the capital fired tear gas in response to the Molotov cocktails.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged Portugal on Thursday to do more to spur economic recovery, voicing concern over a "loosening" of budget discipline by the new Socialist-led government.

"Portugal needs to build on the progress made in recent years in stabilizing the level of public debt through its successful fiscal adjustment," an IMF delegation said following a week-long mission to Lisbon. 

Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse on Thursday posted a net loss of nearly $3.0 billion for 2015, hit by hefty litigation provisions and restructuring charges, sending its share price down more than 12 percent.

Switzerland's second largest bank posted a net loss of 2.9 billion Swiss francs ($2.9 billion, 2.6 billion euros) for the year, compared to a net profit of 1.8 billion francs in 2014. 

The biggest trade deal in history was signed Thursday, yoking 12 Pacific rim countries in a U.S.-led initiative aimed at wresting influence from booming China.

The ambitious Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) aims to slash tariffs and trade barriers for an enormous 40 percent of the global economy -- but pointedly does not include Beijing.

Oil prices extended their rebound in Asia Thursday, buoyed by a weaker dollar, bargain buying and fresh speculation of a possible output cut by the OPEC producers' group.

Traders brushed aside bearish data showing another increase in U.S. commercial crude inventories, but analysts said any rally in a market awash with barrels of oil is bound to be short-lived.