Spain's job-destroying recession is set to ease in the second quarter of 2013 as activity improves, the Bank of Spain said Wednesday, adding its voice to an optimistic chorus emerging from the government.

The central bank saw light ahead for Spain, wallowing since 2011 in a double-dip recession, which has pushed the unemployment rate to towering record of more than 27 percent.

Plans by the U.S. Federal Reserve to wind down its monetary stimulus and slower growth prospects in emerging markets will lead to a reduction in the inflow of private capital to these countries, the Institute of International Finance said Wednesday.

"Investors have become increasingly concerned about the market impact of the Fed's exit from accommodative monetary conditions, particularly against the backdrop of slower growth in key emerging economies," IIF Executive Managing Director Hung Tran said in a statement.

South Korea has decided to split the assets of Woori Finance Holdings into three groups in its fourth bid to sell its majority stake in the nation's largest banking group, regulators said Wednesday.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said the sell off would begin with two regional banks, followed by the group's brokerage unit and related affiliates, and finally the flagship Woori Bank.

Scandinavian airline SAS says it plans to order 12 new planes from Airbus in a deal valued at $3.3 billion at list prices.

SAS said Tuesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding — short of a firm order — for eight A350 and four A330 planes as part of a renewal of its long-haul fleet.

The "feral hogs" of the financial markets will not sway the U.S. Federal Reserve from scaling back its bond-buying program when it deems the time to be right, a leading central banker told Tuesday's Financial Times.

Richard Fisher, president of the Dallas Federal Reserve and a member of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, said that recent market volatility following central bank chief Ben Bernanke's suggestion that he may wind down the $85 billion-a-month bond purchases reminded him of Britain's 1992 currency crisis.

EU leaders meet this week knowing they have to deliver growth and jobs, especially for the young, as years of debt crisis austerity and soaring dole queues test faith in the European project.

The debt crisis may have eased, allowing governments some leeway on austerity in favor of growth, but the question is how far they can go without compromising hard won gains.

Britain's Vodafone PLC has launched a takeover bid for Germany's biggest cable operator, Kabel Deutschland, which values the German company at 7.7 billion euros ($10.2 billion).

Kabel Deutschland Holding AG, which has more than 8 million customers, said Monday that its management and supervisory boards "welcome this announcement."

Citigroup Inc. is set to become the first American bank to open an office of its own in Baghdad, highlighting financial firms' growing interest in Iraq a decade after the U.S.-led 2003 invasion.

Executives say the representative office Citi has received preliminary approval for will help support its corporate customers in Iraq and act as a liaison for companies looking to do business there.

Germany's Ifo index of business sentiment rose slightly in June, suggesting the eurozone's largest economy remains on track for a return to stronger growth after a weak stretch.

The closely-watched index came in Monday at 105.9 points, up from 105.7 the month before and in line with analysts' expectations.

Mining giant Rio Tinto said Monday it had decided to retain its diamond interests, which include operations in Canada, Australia and Zimbabwe, after a strategic review which considered a range of options, including divestment.

Rio, one of the world's major diamond producers, raised the prospect of selling the businesses in March last year, to see if more value could be created through a different ownership structure.