German business confidence rose to the highest level for 10 months in February, data showed on Friday, amid growing optimism that Europe's top economy has put the worst of the eurozone debt crisis behind it.

The Ifo institute's closely watched business climate index for Europe's top economy rose to 107.4 points in February -- the highest reading since April 2012 -- from 104.3 points a month earlier.

United Airlines said Thursday it expected to keep its six Boeing 787s out of service until at least May 12, as the cutting-edge airplane remained grounded worldwide due to battery problems.

United, the only U.S. airline with the 787 Dreamliner, just two days ago announced it would keep them on the ground through March 30.

Israel has authorized drilling for oil on the occupied Golan Heights in a move likely to draw international protest, local media reported on Thursday.

Yediot Aharonot daily said that a licence to prospect had been issued to U.S.-Israeli energy company Genie, headed by Effie Eitam, a Golan settler and former hardline rightwing cabinet minister.

World stock markets tumbled Thursday after U.S. Federal Reserve minutes gave investors an unwelcome reminder that super-easy monetary policy has an expiration date.

Transcripts from the Fed's latest meeting, released Wednesday, showed some policymakers are worried that the bank's $85 billion in bond purchases each month, which are designed to boost the sluggish U.S. economic recovery, could eventually unsettle financial markets or cause the central bank to take losses.

Austrian oil and gas giant OMV reported on Thursday "record" 2012 results, with net profit soaring 26 percent as production in Libya recovered after the 2011 uprising that toppled Moamer Khadafi.

"In 2012, we managed to deliver a record financial performance while successfully progressing our strategy," chief executive Gerhard Roiss said in a statement.

French-Belgian bank Dexia, on state life-support while being unwound, reported on Thursday a net loss of 2.86 billion euros for 2012 owing to losses on divestments and the cost of rescue financing.

The bank said that the cost of emergency funding from the European Central Bank, and of a temporary guarantee from the French, Belgian and Luxemburg states, amounted to nearly 1.0 billion euros ($1.32 billion).

Secretary of State John Kerry warned Wednesday against "senseless" spending cuts to diplomacy, saying the United States needed robust engagement to remain an "exceptional" nation.

In his first speech since taking over as the top U.S. diplomat, the former longtime senator focused on the latest fiscal showdown between the White House and Congress and the threat of massive automatic spending cuts on March 1.

Qatar has rejoined a public competition to develop the former Athens airport, one of the prized sites of Greece's privatization drive, a Greek spokesman said on Wednesday.

The emirate "has signed the confidentiality agreement and is returning to the Hellinikon tender," government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou told To Vima radio.

Britain's government has raised £2.3 billion from its 4G mobile auction that will result in five telecoms companies providing the country with super-fast mobile Internet services, a watchdog said on Wednesday.

"After more than 50 rounds of bidding, Everything Everywhere Ltd, Hutchison 3G UK Ltd, Niche Spectrum Ventures Ltd (a subsidiary of BT Group plc), Telefonica UK Ltd and Vodafone Ltd have all won spectrum," telecoms watchdog Ofcom said.

Inflation in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, slowed to 1.7 percent in January from 2.0 percent in December, official data showed on Wednesday.

On a monthly basis, the German consumer price index (CPI) fell by 0.5 percent last month, according to final data compiled by the national statistics office Destatis.