Greece's finance minister on Thursday said the debt-wracked country must return as planned to sovereign bond markets next year as new data showed the record jobless rate climbing further. "I hope that Greece will return to markets at the end of 2014, after we have achieved a primary surplus and growth," Stournaras told state television NET in an interview.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve should slow its massive asset purchase program, a senior Fed official said on Thursday, saying he wasn't sure how much the central bank's easy policy was helping the struggling labor market. "I'd like to stop but I would particularly like to see us begin to slow the pace down, gradually ease our way out of this if we possibly can," Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser said on Bloomberg television, answering a question about an exit from the Fed's easing.

By Christine Stebbins CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. grain farmers have enjoyed a rare combination of soaring prices and land values since 2009 but if incomes dip as expected they should be careful not to fall into the trap of borrowing against inflated land values, the Kansas City Federal Reserve said in a report on Friday.

Italy has taken important steps to correct its public finances but the country's new government must pursue reforms and cut its heavy debt, the OECD said Thursday as new Prime Minister Enrico Letta met with European leaders in Brussels. The assessment by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development came as Letta seeks allies across Europe for a stronger focus on growth and less pressure on fiscal discipline.