Japan said Friday it is moving to speed up the impact of a $50 billion stimulus package aimed at countering any slowdown from a looming sales tax hike.

The rare move -- which sets out a timeline for spending a big chunk of the special budget -- comes days before the release of fourth-quarter growth figures.

China plans to build the world's longest underwater tunnel, an expert involved in the project told Agence France Presse Friday, a $36 billion shortcut between two northern port cities in an earthquake-prone region.

The scheme will see cars loaded onto railway carriages before travelling at 220 kilometers per hour (136 miles per hour) along the 123-kilometer tunnel connecting Dalian in Liaoning province and Yantai in Shandong province.

A $160 million investment vehicle sold by China's second-largest bank has missed four scheduled payments, state media reported, as fears grow that potential financial sector defaults could roil markets in the world's second-biggest economy.

The "Songhuajiang River No.77" product, which raised a total of 972.7 million yuan ($160 million) in six tranches, had failed to repay investors' capital and interest four times by early February, the 21st Century Business Herald reported late Thursday.

Turkey, hit recently by a currency crisis, reported on Thursday that its current account deficit -- a key weak spot -- took a sharp turn for the worse in 2013.

The deficit showed an increase of $16.507 billion compared to the outcome at the same time last year, soaring to $65 billion (47 billion euros), central bank figures showed.

The chairman of Chinese computer giant Lenovo pledged Thursday to make the company the world's third-biggest smartphone seller following an acquisition binge as the firm announced a 30 percent profit surge.

Lenovo, already the world's largest personal computer vendor, snapped up US telecom firm Motorola Mobility for $2.91 billion and IBM's low-end server business for $2.3 billion within days of each other last month.

The rate of inflation in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, inched lower in January, final official data showed on Thursday.

The cost of living rose by 1.3 percent on a 12-month basis this month, compared with 1.4 percent in December, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement.

The U.S. avoided a devastating debt default as the Senate passed legislation to allow the government to borrow money to pay its bills — a major win for President Barack Obama after years of fiscal battles with Republicans.

The relatively smooth passage Wednesday comes as most members of Congress face elections in November. Republicans have been less confrontational after a 16-day partial government shutdown last year sent their poll numbers sliding and chastened the party's conservative tea party faction.

The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday that Iran's economy faces deep structural weaknesses as intensified nuclear sanctions have added to other domestic challenges to the government.

But it also said that prospects for the country to return to growth over the coming year have improved with the interim agreement in nuclear talks with global powers -- though those prospects "remain highly uncertain".

French bank Societe Generale on Wednesday said it tripled net profit last year thanks to an improved balance sheet and would more than double the dividend payout to shareholders.

Shares in the bank, France's third biggest by assets, soared nearly six percent on the news, leading gains on the Paris CAC 40 index which was up just 0.41 percent in midday trading.

Canada's Conservative government plans on entering an election next year with a surplus.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty unveiled a federal budget on Tuesday that projects a $6.9 billion surplus in 2015. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, first elected in 2006, is expected to offer tax cuts during the election.