Greece could be rewarded with another cut in its debt by its international creditors if it continues to apply the terms of its economic recovery, eurozone chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Thursday. "Eurozone countries are prepared to do more if necessary to help Greece, on the condition that the programme is fully implemented," Dijsselbloem told the Kathimerini daily in English, pointing to a Eurogroup decision on the issue in December. Eurozone members will take stock of Greece's recovery progress before the summer of 2014, he added.

FRANKFURT - European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said it was "imperative" that Europe's leaders create a new agency with powers to restructure busted banks in order to help the region leave its economic and financial crisis behind it once and for all. In the text of a speech to be delivered in London Thursday, Draghi said the new agency would keep troubled banks from burdening governments through bailout costs — thereby cutting the vicious link that has helped drive Europe's three-year crisis over too much debt.

LONDON - Financial markets around the world were roiled Thursday after Japanese stocks suffered their biggest slide since the country was hit by a devastating tsunami more than two years ago. Several reasons have been blamed for the 7.3 per cent fall in the Nikkei index to 14,483.98, including a spike in Japanese government bond yields and unexpectedly weak Chinese manufacturing figures. Mixed messages from the U.S. Federal Reserve about when it may start withdrawing some of its monetary stimulus have also contributed to Thursday's retreat.

By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union is nearing a deal on long-delayed insurance rules that the bloc has touted as a regulatory benchmark for the world to follow, regulatory and policy officials said. The rules, known as "Solvency II", will seek to improve the method for deciding how much capital an insurer must hold as a safety buffer by better assessing risks and liabilities from customer policies.