Consumer prices in Syria have jumped by up to two-thirds this year, driven by deteriorating security, increased transport costs and unfavorable exchange rates, a pro-regime daily reported Tuesday, citing a government economist.

"The (price) increase of foodstuffs and merchandise depends on the exchange rates and the cost of transportation and labor," Ziad Hazaa, director of economy and internal trade at the ministry of economy told al-Watan newspaper.

Global growth is set for a sharp slowdown next year and the eurozone debt crisis "remains the greatest threat to the world economy at present," the OECD warned on Tuesday.

The OECD said in its latest Economic Outlook, drafted before the eurozone and IMF unblocked almost 44 billion euros ($57 billion) in emergency loans for Greece, also cautioned that "the risk of a new major contraction cannot be ruled out" after a global slump in 2009.

Plans by Japan's prime ministerial front-runner to force the central bank to buy government bonds have been criticized as "reckless" by the head of a major business lobby.

Opposition leader Shinzo Abe called for "unlimited" central bank easing and told supporters earlier this month he would make the Bank of Japan participate in his bond-buying scheme -- effectively printing money to generate inflation.

Greece won breathing space Tuesday with long-frozen eurozone loans to restart from December and a first clear admission that a chunk of the country's debt burden will need to be written off down the line.

After 13 hours of talks in Brussels, the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund agreed to unlock 43.7 billion euros ($56 billion) in loans and on the need to grant significant debt relief for decades to come.

Significant welfare reform must be implemented across the Middle East and North Africa to satisfy the socio-economic demands of the Arab Spring, according to a World Bank-Gallup survey published on Tuesday.

Stronger "social safety nets" -- such as income support and temporary employment programs -- are needed in the region, where government fuel subsidies "benefit the non-poor to a much greater extent than the poor," it said.

Global credit ratings agency Moody's said on Tuesday the outlook for India's investment grade credit rating was stable, partly thanks to high investment, sparking a jump in share prices.

Moody's said that the country's Baa3 ranking was underpinned by "strong economic growth" and investment in its annual credit analysis on India.

The European Union announced Monday it was lifting its asset freeze on Egyptian and Tunisian funds, imposed as sanctions before the countries' strongmen rulers were ousted in the Arab Spring uprisings.

The EU's council of ministers said it had taken steps to "facilitate the return of misappropriated funds to the Egyptian and Tunisian authorities" now that Egypt's Hosni Mubarak and Tunisia's Zine El Abidine Ben Ali had been replaced by elected governments.

Iran is planning to build new oil storage facilities so it can store more of the fuel it is having a hard time selling due to Western sanctions over its disputed nuclear program.

State-run Press TV quoted Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh, Director of the Iranian Offshore Oil Company, as saying nearly 8.1 million barrels will be added to Iran's crude oil storage capacity by the next summer.

Central Bank Governor Riyad Salameh opened on Monday the London Stock Exchange markets as part of his trip to England to take part in the Lebanon Capital Market Day conference.

He said at the event: “This development helps highlight the special investment opportunities that Lebanon provides.”

Swiss banking giant UBS was hit twice over on Monday for allowing a rogue trader to commit massive fraud, with British regulators imposing a nearly $50-million fine and Switzerland banning its investment bank from staging takeovers.

In yet another black mark for Swiss banking, regulators in Britain and Switzerland moved fast to punish UBS for failing to stop rogue trader Kweky Adoboli, who was sentenced last week to seven years behind bars in Britain for gambling away $2.3 billion (1.8 billion euros).