Japan said Friday it would enter talks towards an Asia-Pacific free trade deal, a move that threatens to deepen rifts in the ruling party amid opposition from a farm industry fearing cheap imports.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said he made the decision to take part in talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), as Japan looks to boost its fragile economy and continue growing as a trading nation.

Luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover, owned by India's Tata Motors, has announced plans to create more than 1,000 jobs at a plant near Birmingham, in a boost for Britain's struggling economy.

"The company has announced plans to recruit more than 1,000 members of staff at its advanced manufacturing plant in Solihull," JLR said in a statement Thursday.

World oil prices shot higher on Thursday as traders weighed rising tensions in the Middle East and a slight easing of worries over Europe.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December, gained $2.04 to $97.78, while Brent North Sea crude for delivery in December added $1.40 cents to $113.71 a barrel in London.

London equities plunged Thursday in early morning deals on deepening fears that debt-plagued Italy could fall victim to the eurozone debt crisis and threaten the entire euro project.

The FTSE 100 index sank 1.27 percent to 5,391.01 points in opening trade.

Japanese auto giants Toyota and Mitsubishi Motor have said they will resume production in Thailand after the country's flood disaster closed factories for more than a month.

Toyota said it would resume production from November 21 at its three Thai plants, which were forced to halt operations on October 10.

Greece's bickering politicians were to resume talks Thursday on a unity government to take the crisis-hit country out of economic paralysis as global pressure for a deal mounted to avert bankruptcy.

Greek President Carolos Papoulias has called a meeting of party chiefs for 0800 GMT with reports indicating that former European Central Bank vice-president Lucas Papademos would be given the reins of government.

Air France-KLM announced Wednesday it would not be able to meet its targets and expects to post a loss this year, with the turbulent market forcing it to plan further cost-cutting measures.

The difficult economic climate is being exacerbated by volatile currency movements and high fuel prices.

Global bank HSBC said Wednesday its third-quarter net profit soared on a large accounting gain but underlying earnings sank as the group warned of "significant headwinds" for the sector.

Profits after taxation rallied 66 percent to $5.22 billion (3.79 billion euros) in the three months to September, reflecting a revaluation of its debt, compared with net profit of $3.15 billion in the same period 2010.

European stocks closed sharply lower Wednesday as any early optimism that the resignation of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi would calm the markets disappeared in a wave of near panic.

Dealers said investors first thought Berlusconi's decision would clear the decks but as it became clearer that Italy faces possibly months of political uncertainty, they decided on safety first and put their money elsewhere.

Greece's outgoing Prime Minister George Papandreou said Wednesday that an agreement had been reached with the opposition on the creation of an interim government that will secure the country's new debt deal.

Speaking in a live televised evening address before a meeting with Greece's president, where he was expected to formally resign, Papandreou wished the next prime minister well — but gave no indication of who it would be.