Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse is expected to announce 1,000 job cuts when it publishes its third-quarter earnings results on Tuesday, newspaper Tages Anzeiger reported on Monday.

When contacted by Agence France Presse, a spokesman from the bank declined to comment on the report. He said however that the chief executive of the bank Brady Dougan would hold a press conference on Tuesday.

Leaders of the world's biggest economies meet in Cannes this week as Europe tries to convince markets and U.S. critics that its debt bail-out package is serious and urges China to fund it.

Much is at stake in the G20 summit on the French seafront. The world stands on the brink of a new global recession, and the leaders of the 20 most powerful developed and emerging economies need to agree measures to boost growth.

The head of the Saudi-Lebanese Business Council Abdul Mohsen al-Hukair has unveiled that Saudi investments in Lebanon reached 5.33 billion dollars mostly in the real estate sector.

The Saudi al-Riyadh daily quoted al-Hukair as saying that the investments are likely to increase.

Lebanon's economy is feeling the strain of a seven-month uprising against Syria's Bashar al-Assad, as the increasingly violent revolt takes its toll on tourism, trade and capital inflows.

"The Arab Spring has not been remotely beneficial to the Lebanese economy. In fact, it's deprived us of two crucial markets -- Syria and Egypt -- at a time when all our drivers of growth over the past five years are on the decline," said Beirut-based economist Sami Nader.

Ecuador's leftist president stormed out of a summit of leaders of Latin America, Spain and Portugal on Saturday, demanding apologies from a World Bank representative.

Leaders from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking nations were wrapping up a two-day event here on how to weather the effects of the global economic slowdown.

Activists and supporters angered over the spiraling cost of living in Israel are to take to the streets of several cities on Saturday following an eight-week break.

The largest protest is expected to take place in Tel Aviv from 9:00 pm (19:00 GMT) under the rallying call of "Return to the Streets", organizers said.

While more U.S. cities are resorting to force to break up the Wall Street protests, many others — Philadelphia, New York, Minneapolis and Portland, Oregon, among them — are content to let the demonstrations go on for now.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, for example, said Friday that the several hundred protesters sleeping in Zuccotti Park, the unofficial headquarters of the movement that began in mid-September, can stay as long as they obey the law.

Americans are making a little more money and spending a lot more.

Under normal circumstances, that would be a troubling sign for the economy. But a closer look at some new government figures suggests another possibility: People are saving less money because they're earning next to nothing in interest.

Qantas Airways grounded its global fleet indefinitely Saturday in a lockout of workers whose strikes have disrupted airline operations for weeks, and the government said it would seek arbitration.

Flights in the air were continuing to their destinations. Booked passengers were being rescheduled at Qantas' expense, chief executive Alan Joyce said.

Italy saw its borrowing costs rise to a euro-era high on Friday in a sale of euro7.9 billion ($11.09 billion) in government debt, a sign that investors remain nervous about the country's prospects despite a grand European plan to fight the debt crisis.

The interest rate demanded by investors to lend the Italian government 10-year money topped 6 percent in Friday's auction, the highest level since the launch of the euro, and surpassing the 5.86 percent paid in a similar debt auction a month ago. Demand exceeded the amount on offer 1.27 times, a relatively weak outcome.