Loans to the private sector in the euro area, a gauge of economic health, have started growing again, suggesting the European Central Bank's monetary policy is gradually working, ECB data showed Friday.

After long months of contraction, the volume of loans to private businesses and households increased by 0.5 percent May compared with the same month in 2014, the ECB said in a statement. 

Japanese inflation remained tepid while spending rose after 13 months of falls, official data showed Friday, with analysts predicting more easing ahead as the central bank tries again to build up a head of steam.

Core inflation, excluding volatile fresh food prices, was up 0.1 percent year-on-year, beating market expectations for zero growth but coming still well short of the Bank of Japan's 2.0 percent target.

Nearly $3 billion generated from China's state lotteries -- a quarter of the funds they raised in recent years -- have been "misappropriated" through embezzlement and other abuses such as buying cars, state-run media said on Friday. 

A total of 16.9 billion yuan ($2.7 billion) raised by lotteries was used illegally, the government-published China Daily said, citing official auditors.

Britain's Conservative government on Thursday said it planned to privatize its 'green' investment bank set up three years ago to financially support environmentally-friendly infrastructure.

Finance minister George Osborne said the money raised from selling shares in the bank would be used to reduce the country's national debt.

U.S. and Chinese negotiators bridged some differences over economic policy in annual bilateral talks Wednesday, even as the two countries continue to wrestle with major strategic disagreements.

Both sides suggested they closed gaps in talks on a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) following the talks. 

North Korea's showcase new airport terminal, which had to be partly demolished and rebuilt at leader Kim Jong-Un's whim, is to open on July 1, state media said Thursday.

Kim called for a grand opening of the new Terminal 2 at Pyongyang International Airport on a tour accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-Ju and sister Kim Yo-Jong as well as senior party officials, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras restarted critical talks with creditors in Brussels on Thursday in a frantic bid for a bailout deal to save Athens from defaulting next week and possibly crashing out of the euro.

Difficult talks that stretched late into the night on Wednesday failed to produce a breakthrough in the five-month standoff, as cash-strapped Greece's negotiators rejected reforms demanded by its EU-IMF lenders.

German business confidence fell to its lowest level in four months in June as uncertainty about Greece caused the outlook for Europe's biggest economy to cloud over, the Ifo economic institute said on Wednesday.

The Ifo institute's closely watched business climate index fell to 107.4 points in June from 108.5 points in May, the think tank said in a statement. That is the lowest level since February. 

Calling it a "contemporary symbol of divisiveness and racism," eBay said Tuesday that it will ban the sale of Confederate flags and similarly themed merchandise.

"This decision is consistent with our long-standing policy that prohibits items that promote or glorify hatred, violence and racial intolerance," said eBay spokeswoman Johnna Hoff.

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have begun talks to resolve a dispute that halted oil production in the neutral zone between the Gulf neighbors, the Kuwaiti oil minister said.

"A joint committee formed by the two countries... has recently held its first meeting in Riyadh," the KUNA news agency quoted Ali al-Omair as saying late Tuesday.