Iraq's cabinet threatened on Tuesday to cut the autonomous Kurdish region's budget by $3 billion over a suspension of oil exports in a wide-ranging dispute between the two sides.

Kurdish authorities in Arbil suspended exports of oil via central government pipelines in April as a result of a payment dispute, restarting them last month as part of a goodwill gesture that is due to expire on September 15.

Starbucks is betting on big returns as it seeks to lure an expanding legion of coffee lovers in India -- primarily a tea-drinking nation where lifestyle changes have spawned a booming market for cafes.

After eyeing the Indian market for years, the world's largest coffee chain is planning its foray into the country later this year, with an initial $78 million investment to tap the country's fast-growing appetite for the drink.

Moody's on Monday lowered the European Union's long-term issuer rating outlook from stable to negative, saying the move reflected credit risks of the bloc's key budget contributors.

"It is reasonable to assume that the EU's creditworthiness should move in line with the creditworthiness of its strongest key member states," it said, citing negative outlooks for Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

The Beirut Digital District (BDD) was launched Monday in the neighborhood of Bashoura, in the heart of Beirut, with the aim of creating a hub for technology, attracting foreign investment and helping retain young and talented Lebanese.

BDD fosters accelerators to boost startups and allows closing deals, sharing ideas, developing projects, and expanding businesses, said Minister of Telecommunications Nicolas Sehnaoui in a tweet.

The euro strengthened in Asian trade on Tuesday ahead of a European Central Bank meeting in which dealers are hoping officials announce fresh measures to battle the Eurozone debt crisis.

The common currency bought $1.2610 and 98.83 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, compared with $1.2598 and 98.68 yen in London late Monday. The U.S. market was closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

An extraordinary summit of EU leaders will be held on November 22-23 to try and settle a battle over an estimated trillion euros of the bloc's spending, EU President Herman Van Rompuy's spokesman said.

"President Van Rompuy has convened a summit on November 22-23 on the Multi-annual Financial Framework," Dirk De Backer told Agence France Presse.

British mobile phone giant Vodafone has signed an agreement with Kuwaiti telecom company Zain to expand its footprint in the Middle East region, the pair announced on Monday.

"Vodafone Group and Zain Group today jointly announce a partner market agreement that will significantly expand Vodafone's partner market presence in the Middle East and provide Zain customers with greater support in Vodafone's global footprint," they said in a statement.

Reducing Spain's budget deficit, which has soared past EU limits due to the deep recession, is the government's top priority, Finance Minister Luis de Guindos said on Monday.

Deficit reduction "is the number one priority from the point of view of economic policy," he said.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned Monday against expecting too much from the European Central Bank at its meeting this week, as markets hope for a raft of new anti-crisis measures.

"We must be very careful not to nurture too many false expectations," Schaeuble told Deutschlandfunk public radio in an interview.

Oil-rich Abu Dhabi began commercial operations on Saturday at its new Khalifa Port in a multi-billion-dollar project to transfer its main container terminal from the 40-year-old port of Mina Zayed.

The new facility, built on reclaimed land five kilometers off the coast of the Gulf emirate, received its first ship from a commercial customer, the 366-meter MSC Bari.