Chinese banks cut back lending in February from January, official data showed, due to a tightening of liquidity and fewer working days last month because of the Lunar New Year holiday.

Domestic banks extended 620 billion yuan ($99.3 billion) worth of new loans in February, down from 1.07 trillion yuan in January, the central bank said in a statement on Sunday.

Greece's finance minister was lined up for talks Sunday with the country's international creditors, hours after the Greek reform team was hit by the resignation of two top officials.

The meeting -- mainly focused on job cuts -- will determine whether Athens will claim a loan slice of 2.8 billion euros ($3.6 billion) due at the end of March.

President Barack Obama's pledge to raise the minimum wage by 24 percent has divided economists and businesses who warn it could threaten recent improvements in jobless numbers.

Obama has stated that his administration plans to increase the existing minimum hourly rate from $7.25 to $9, vowing to press ahead with the initiative despite the sequester budget crisis.

Angry workers staged mass demonstrations in Spanish cities on Sunday, protesting the country's high unemployment rate and demanding political reform.

Thousands of demonstrators including health, transport and administrative workers marched in central Madrid and Barcelona, to the din of horns, drums and yells of "Government resign!"

The upcoming conclave to elect a new pope is proving a boon for business in Rome in a harsh economy -- from a new iPad application to booked-out hotels and balconies rented out for stellar prices.

Thousands of pilgrims have descended on the Italian capital in what would normally be low season to bid a final farewell to Benedict XVI and watch the rare and centuries-old tradition of a papal conclave to vote in his successor.

Chinese inflation hit a 10-month high in February while growth in industrial production and retail sales slowed, official data showed Saturday, complicating policymakers' efforts to boost recovery.

Growth in the world's second-largest economy slowed to a 13-year low of 7.8 percent in 2012, though a pick-up in the final three months had raised hopes for a rebound this year.

The U.S. jobs market brightened in February as the unemployment rate tumbled and jobs growth picked up, official data released Friday showed.

The jobless rate fell to 7.7 percent, from 7.9 percent in January, and the U.S. gained a net 236,000 jobs, the Labor Department said.

Switzerland's government on Friday rejected calls to axe special rules allowing rich foreigners resident in the country to pay less tax, saying the current system still raised crucial revenue.

In a statement, the government said it had rejected demands by leftwing parties and trade unions on the grounds that existing system generates 668 million Swiss francs (539 million euros, $705 million) in taxes.

The international ratings agency Fitch said Friday it had downgraded Italy's sovereign debt rating by one notch to "BBB+" from "A-" and added that the outlook was negative.

Fitch pointed in particular to "the inconclusive results of the Italian parliamentary elections on 24-25 February" which "make it unlikely that a stable new government can be formed in the next few weeks."

The International Monetary Fund is open to changing the terms of Ireland’s bailout program to help the bailed-out eurozone nation return to long-term bond markets, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said here on Friday.

"We have an open mind about many issues, many of the terms and conditions of the exit strategy and as far as the adjustment to the loans," the managing director of the IMF told reporters at a press conference in the Irish capital.