New Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is in a similar position to Phaeton, the Greek mythological figure given the reins of the sun only to lose control and nearly destroy the earth, Chinese media said Thursday.

The comments came after the newly-elected authorities in Athens said they would halt the privatization of Greece's biggest port, which China's COSCO group has bid for.

The Iraqi government and Royal Dutch Shell signed Wednesday an agreement in principle potentially worth $11 billion (9.6 billion euros) to build a large petrochemicals plant in the country's south.

"The deal is huge and the plant should be operational in five years," oil ministry spokesman Assem Jihad told AFP.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it would remain "patient" on raising ultra-low interest rates as the economy posts "solid" growth.

Wrapping up a two-day monetary policy meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee left unchanged the key federal funds rate near zero, where it has been pegged since late 2008, as widely expected.

American Express said Wednesday that it plans to launch services for its credit card users in Cuba, after Washington and Havana agreed to establish relations following a half-century feeze.

Moving in the steps of rival MasterCard, an American Express spokeswoman said the company had plans to begin business activities in Cuba, "consistent with the president's announced policy change," though no specific date for a launch is set.

Russia on Wednesday unveiled an anti-crisis plan for an economy battered by low oil prices and sanctions, promising some spending cuts but also boosts for retirees and billions of dollars worth of support for top banks.

The plan, published on the government's website on Wednesday morning, foresees 10 percent reduction in "most categories of budget spending" but, increases on welfare, which was the cornerstone of Putin's election campaign in 2012.

Qatar looked to have won a drawn-out bid to buy London's Canary Wharf on Wednesday after the owner of the landmark office quarter said its main shareholders favored a sale.

The board of Songbird, which controls 69 percent of Canary Wharf Group, appeared to concede defeat despite stressing that the offer worth £2.6 billion ($4.0 billion, 3.5 billion euros) remained undervalued.

China's yuan has become the world's fifth most widely used payments currency, with the value of cross-border deals settled in it more than doubling in 2014, data from transactions organisation SWIFT showed Wednesday.

The data comes as China looks to make the yuan used more internationally in line with its standing as the world's second-largest economy, while at the same time keeping its value tightly controlled. 

Britain's whisky trade is worth over £5 billion ($7.6 billion, 6.7 billion euros) to the economy each year and provides over 40,000 jobs, according to a study released on Wednesday.

The report by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) found that despite a slowdown in exports, billions of bottles of whisky were sold globally each year.

Greece's new radical left-led government prepared to meet Wednesday for the first time to hammer out a strategy for renegotiating the country's giant bailout, after storming to power on a promise to reject years of harsh austerity policies.

The coalition cabinet, made up of poll winners Syriza and the nationalist Independent Greeks (ANEL), was set to convene at 10:30 am (0830 GMT), three days after Sunday's electoral upset that saw the architects of Greece's sweeping budget cutbacks thrown out of office.

Oil prices fell in Asia Wednesday as dealers await the outcome of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting and the release of a U.S. supply report expected to show a surge in crude stockpiles, analysts said.

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate for March delivery fell 70 cents to $45.53 while Brent for March eased 60 cents to $49.00 in afternoon trade.