A 14-day strike by Air France pilots had a devastating effect on the results of Europe's second-largest airline, the group said Thursday, as it published its annual figures.

Air France-KLM booked a net loss of 198 million euros ($226 million) in 2014, the Franco-Dutch group said in a statement.

Inflation in France, the eurozone's second-biggest economy, was negative in January for the first time in more than five years, the national statistics agency said on Thursday.

Prices declined by 0.4 percent in January compared to the same month last year, INSEE said, noting that France has not seen negative inflation since October 2009.

Oil prices fell Thursday ahead of the release of a closely watched report that is forecast to show a surge in US stockpiles to 33-year high, adding to a global supply glut.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell $1.46 to $50.68 while Brent eased 98 cents to $69.55.

Investigators launched a search Wednesday of British banking giant HSBC's Geneva offices as part of a money laundering probe following allegations the bank helped clients evade millions of dollars in taxes, Swiss prosecutors said.

"Following the recent revelations related to the HSBC Private Bank (Switzerland), the public prosecutor announces the opening of a criminal procedure against the bank... for aggravated money laundering," Geneva prosecutors said in a statement.

Greece was expected Wednesday to bid for extra debt crisis aid from the EU without strings attached, ahead of a closely-watched ECB meeting on the country's emergency funds.

Athens will send a letter to Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the Eurogroup, requesting a six-month extension on its European loan agreement while sidestepping the duties of a full-blown bailout, Greek public television said.

The chief of Qatar Airways, Akbar al-Baker, has furiously denied claims that its flight attendants are sacked if they get married.

Baker told CNN that the claims were untrue and his company's employment practices were "very progressive".

The euro held steady on Wednesday as investors hoped that last-ditch talks on Greece's debt would see a breakthrough deal that keeps it in the eurozone.

In Tokyo trading, the common currency bought $1.1405 and 135.84 yen, down from $1.1413 and 136.13 yen in New York but well above $1.1357 and 134.70 yen in Tokyo earlier Tuesday.

An article published on the website of Turkmenistan's oil and gas ministry Monday attacked Russia's energy giant Gazprom, calling the company an unreliable partner for the reclusive Central Asian state. 

The article by the state-run Turkmen Institute of Oil and Gas comes shortly after Gazprom's announcement it would be cutting gas imports from the secretive republic by nearly two-thirds, and Turkmenistan's 19 percent devaluation at the New Year of its national currency, the manat.

Japanese household spending in 2014 declined at its fastest pace in eight years, official data showed Tuesday, underscoring the impact of the country's first sales tax hike in nearly two decades.

The figures come a day after the government said Japan's economy limped out of recession in the last quarter of 2014, with a weaker-than-expected 0.6 percent expansion between October and December.

The euro weakened Tuesday after the showdown debt talks between Greece and its creditors collapsed, raising the prospect the country will be dumped out of the eurozone.

However, many equity markets were unfazed by the trouble in Europe as trade begins to wind down in several Asian bourses before the Lunar New Year holiday at the end of the week.