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Greek Union Calls for 2-Day Public Sector Strike

Greece's main public sector trade union, Adedy, launched a call Friday for a two-day strike next month in protest against job lay-offs included in an economic overhaul demanded by the country's creditors.

Adedy, in a statement, criticised the government's "submission" to proposals from the European Union and International Monetary Fund that would "destroy the public sector and the welfare state".

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Eurostat: Eurozone Unemployment Steady at Record 12.1% in July

The eurozone unemployment rate was steady at a record 12.1 percent in July but there was another slight fall in the total jobless numbers after an improvement in June, official data showed on Friday.

The total number of people without work in the 17-nation eurozone fell 15,000 to 19.23 million, after a drop of 35,000 in June, the Eurostat statistics agency said.

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Swiss Banks to Pay Large Fines in U.S. Taxation Deal

Swiss banks will pay significant fines to avoid U.S. penalties under a deal announced Thursday which forces them to begin disclosing the offshore accounts of American clients.

The U.S. Department of Justice said the agreement with Switzerland will advance Washington's campaign against tax avoidance by U.S. citizens hiding funds offshore.

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Oil Extends Losses as Syria Strike Fears Ease

Oil prices fell in Asian trade Friday as fears eased of an imminent Western military strike against Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons, analysts said.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in October, was down $1.16 at $107.64 a barrel in afternoon trade, and Brent North Sea crude for October shed 80 cents to $114.36.

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Both Sides Entrenched as U.S. Budget, Debt Fights Loom

President Barack Obama is facing the prospect of a fiscal fight with Congress, with both sides having three weeks to break funding impasses or risk government default.

Two crucial votes are on the horizon for the divided and gridlocked Congress, including approval of a federal budget for fiscal year 2014, which begins October 1.

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Report: ECB to Double Number of Women in Top Positions

The European Central Bank, under fire for being largely a men's club, plans to double the number of women in its top ranks, executive board member Joerg Asmussen said Thursday.

"By the end of 2019, we want 35 percent of our middle management and 28 percent of our upper management to be women," Asmussen told the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

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Turkish Lira, and Stocks, Steady

The Turkish lira steadied against the dollar and shares firmed in early trading on Thursday, as analysts took the view that U.S. monetary authorities would not tighten their policy immediately.

One factor driving this sentiment was tension over the situation in Syria.

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German Unemployment up Unexpectedly in August

German unemployment registered a surprising rise in August, due to a scaling back of job creation schemes, official data showed on Thursday.

The number of people registered as unemployed in Europe's top economy rose by 7,000 in seasonally adjusted terms this month, the Federal Labor Office said in a statement, while analysts had been expecting a drop of around 5,000.

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Spain Says Two-Year Recession Easing

Spain's two-year, job-wrecking recession eased in the second quarter of 2013, official data showed Thursday, as Madrid anticipated an imminent, export-powered end to the downturn.

Activity in the eurozone's fourth largest economy shrank by 0.1 percent in the April-June period when compared to the previous quarter, the National Statistics Institute said in a report.

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Lloyds of London Probed in U.S. over Iran Dealings

New York's financial regulator is investigating insurer Lloyds of London for suspected violations of U.S. sanctions forbidding dealings with Iran, a source told Agence France Presse Wednesday.

The state's Department of Financial Services is seeking information on Lloyds' own internal probe into whether it issued insurance contracts for companies trading commodities with Iran.

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