French finance minister sees economy growing in 2013: report

PARIS (Reuters) - France economy has the potential to rebound in 2013 and there are no plans to lower growth forecasts for next year, Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said in an interview to be published on Sunday by weekly newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

Finland prepares for break-up of eurozone

The Nordic state is battening down the hatches for a full-blown currency crisis as tensions in the eurozone mount and has said it will not tolerate further bail-out creep or fiscal union by stealth.

Euro zone heading into another recession

(Reuters) - The euro zone will slip into recession and won't grow until 2013, according to the latest Reuters poll of economists who also don't expect any new aggressive policy response from the European Central Bank.

UK retail sales post surprise rise in July

British retailers reported an unexpected rise in sales in July, and much higher sales than previously thought in June, data showed on Thursday, boosting hopes that the UK's recession may not be as deep as feared.

Greece to ask for 2-yr extension of austerity-plan, Germany says no

ATHENS: Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will call for a two-year extension to Greece's austerity programme when he meets Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande next week, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.