Global creditors announced Wednesday the return of auditors to Greece in a bid to break an impasse over billions of euros in blocked bailout loans Athens needs to avoid default.

Nearly four weeks after abruptly leaving the city, EU and IMF negotiators will restart tough number crunching from Thursday amid mounting social tension and what the European Union describes as the biggest challenge of its history.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed on Tuesday that the cabinet is keen on protecting the Lebanese banking sector from any harm.

He said at a press conference in New York that “we’re following all the required measures… The Lebanese banks can’t carry out any action that might provoke the international community.”

Europe's failure to tackle crippling Greek debt is "scaring the world," U.S. President Barack Obama warned as Germany rejected plans to boost funding for the EU's debt rescue facility.

Asian stocks rallied sharply Tuesday, following a see-sawing recovery on U.S. and European markets as investors absorbed mixed messages over how the Eurozone intends to chart its way out of the debt crisis.

Goldman Sachs is mulling drastic spending cuts as it braces for what could be one of its worst quarterly reports since it went public more than a decade ago, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

After Goldman set out this summer to cut costs by $1.2 billion by mid-2012, including slashing some 1,000 jobs, or three percent of its workforce, the Times said the firm is now considering cutting up to $1.45 billion.

World oil prices soared on Tuesday, mirroring the performance of global equities, as markets followed Eurozone debt developments closely.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November jumped $1.59 to $105.53 a barrel in London midday deals.

Greece and the euro are facing a tough week as European Union and IMF experts resume an audit of progress on cutting the public deficit and reforming the economy, with default threatening.

The EU and IMF will decide on the basis of the audit whether to release the next slice of rescue funds of 8.0 billion euros ($11.0 billion) from a first bailout in May last year.

Italian oil giant ENI has resumed oil production in Libya more than six months after civil unrest brought oil and gas output in the country to a near standstill, the company said Monday.

A statement said that ENI had restarted production at the Abu Attifel oil field. Before the conflict that ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi, ENI was the top foreign oil producer in Libya, a former Italian colony.

Kuwaiti telecoms giant Zain said Monday it will challenge a court ruling that annulled the election of its board of directors, adding that the verdict will have no impact on its operations.

"The company will appeal against the ruling immediately after receiving the reasons" given by the court, Zain said in a statement posted on the Kuwait Stock Exchange website.

Asian markets tumbled on Monday and the euro was further pressured by nagging uncertainty over the Eurozone as leaders of the debt-troubled region struggle to find a plan to solve the crisis.

The week got off to a poor start as investors were left unimpressed by a commitment at the weekend from G20 finance chiefs that they would take strong, co-ordinated action to avoid another global financial crisis.

Apple threw open the doors to its first store in Hong Kong Saturday, its latest push to tap the booming China market, as protesters accused the technology giant of supporting sweatshop labor.

The minimalist store spread over two floors in one of Hong Kong's most upmarket shopping malls is Apple's sixth outlet in China, launching just a day after the doors opened on another new branch in Shanghai.