Payments company Square has informed U.S. regulators privately that it is exploring going public with a stock market debut, according to reports Friday.

The mobile payments and financial services startup launched by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is stealthily looking into an initial public offering of stock.

After a strong opening for the second-quarter reporting season, U.S. stocks reversed course on a raft of earnings disappointments as Wall Street succumbed to lack of confidence this week.

Traders also bared their doubts about the U.S. economy's breakaway from the rest of the globe on Friday, when shares sank more than one percent after poor data on China drove down especially oil and other commodity-tied companies.

Debt-crippled Greece on Friday took a step closer to a huge third international bailout by formally requesting IMF help, but sources said "logistical problems" were delaying the start of talks in Athens.

The Greek government, which is seeking a three-year bailout worth up to 86 billion euros ($94 billion) to avert financial meltdown and a chaotic exit from the eurozone, had initially planned to go without fresh help from the IMF as it considers the agency too wedded to draconian austerity measures.

Air France-KLM said Friday it would add a further 300 million euros ($328.4 million) to a previously announced 1.5-billion-euro cost-cutting program as it revealed first-half losses of 619 million euros.

Despite a five-percent increase in passenger revenue for the first half of 2015, income from cargo plummeted 81 percent, the company said.

Ukraine on Friday made a crucial Eurobond interest payment that kept the war-torn country from slipping into technical default and potential isolation from global credit markets.

Two sources close to the situation told Agence France Presse that money to cover the $120 million (110 million euro) payment was transferred as soon as business hours opened in Kiev. The $2.6 billion note matures in July 2017.

Queen Elizabeth II is due to get an 18 percent increase in income from her vast Duchy of Lancaster estate this year, accounts released on Thursday showed.

The private empire of property, land and investments began as an inheritance in 1265, and is one of several sources of funding for the monarchy.

Oil prices rose in Asia on Friday following recent losses but analysts said the rebound is unlikely to be sustained because of a global crude glut.

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate for September delivery edged up 26 cents to $48.71 a barrel in afternoon Asian trade. The contract finished below $49 on Thursday for the first time since March 31.

The euro firmed in Asian trade Friday on easing concerns about the Greek debt crisis, while the dollar ticked higher against the yen as another batch of upbeat data reinforced expectations for a U.S. interest rate hike.

In Tokyo, the single currency fetched $1.0990 and 136.26 yen, up from $1.0985 and 136.10 yen in New York late Thursday.

The following information is provided by Bnooki.com that is a FREE online platform that gathers data related to financial products and services offered by banks and financial institutions in Lebanon.

Personal loans, that is, loans that are granted for some kind of personal, family or household use, usually come in 2 types – secured & unsecured. The first type are secured against assets such as property, whereas unsecured loans are granted on the basis of credit history and personal income. These loans are available at practically every Lebanese bank and can be repaid in installments over a fixed period of time. 

Greece's parliament on Thursday approved a second batch of reforms needed to help unlock a huge international bailout for the stricken economy.

The bill passed by a resounding 230 votes out of the 298 members of parliament present, after a marathon debate stretching into the early hours that nonetheless exposed deep divisions in the governing Syriza party.