New Zealand will partially privatize its largest electricity generator in early November as part of the government's plan to balance the books by 2014-15, Prime Minister John Key said Tuesday.

Key said the government would float 49 percent of Meridian Energy and retain a majority 51 percent, similar to its sale of Mighty River Power, which poured NZ$1.7 billion (U.S.$1.36 billion) into Treasury coffers when it was partially listed in May.

Jordan said on Monday it plans to build parts of a project linking the Red Sea to the shrinking Dead Sea that would supply the parched country with desalinated water.

Prime Minister Abdullah Nsur said the $980-million project is designed to provide Jordan with 100 million cubic meters (3.5 billion cubic feet) of water a year.

Greece will stick to its program of privatizations, a key part of bailout conditions, despite the sacking of the head of the privatization fund, a government official assured on Monday.

Rescue conditions laid down by the International Monetary Fund and European Union require Greece to de-nationalize parts of its economy to raise funds and increase efficiency.

The Bundesbank forecast on Monday that the German economy, Europe's biggest, will return to "normal, steady growth" in the second half of 2013, but sounded cautious about investment.

"In the second half of 2013, economic growth in Germany is likely to return to normal and steady rates," the German central bank wrote in its August monthly report.

The level of bad loans weighing on Spain's banks hit a new record in June, official figures showed Monday, a sign of persistent weakness in the bailed-out sector.

Doubtful loans rose to 176.42 billion euros ($235.14 billion), or 11.61 percent of total loans, some six billion euros more than in May, the Bank of Spain said.

Austrian oil and gas giant OMV is buying North Sea oil and gas assets from Norwegian group Statoil for $2.65 billion (1.99 billion euros), the two companies announced on Monday.

The deal also covers collaboration on possible exploration off Norway and west and north of the Shetland Islands, as well new technologies for extracting hydrocarbons from mature fields.

President Barack Obama returns to Washington on Sunday after a brief summer vacation readying for what is expected to be a rocky autumn dominated by showdowns with Republicans.

Obama interrupted an eight-day break at exclusive Martha's Vineyard last week to denounce the bloody crackdown in Cairo by Egypt's military.

The world of Cath Kidston is instantly identifiable, full of bright colors, cheerful prints and nostalgia for an imagined English way of life -- and has made the homeware company one of Britain's global success stories.

A cult following for the vintage-themed bags, clothes and kitchenware, particularly in Asia, helped the company break through the £100 million ($155 million, 117 million euro) sales barrier this year for the first time.

Governments face a rise in their borrowing costs due to the winding down of monetary stimulus programmes and as investors bet on central banks hiking interest rates sooner than promised.

Moody's Analytics warned this week that "U.S. rates could rise as the Fed moves to slow its purchases of long-term debt, which in turn could push up the yields on European government bonds."

JP Morgan Chase is being investigated by U.S. authorities over claims the bank hired the children of influential Chinese officials to secure business in the country, the New York Times reported Saturday.

The Times reported on its website, citing a confidential United States government document, that a bribery investigation had been opened to study the allegations.