Bangladesh's pioneering microlender faces an uncertain future after a commission proposed the government take over or break up the Nobel-award-winning bank, analysts said Tuesday. The government commission has released a working paper on restructuring Grameen Bank, founded by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus and which has lent more than $11 billion to millions of people -- mainly women -- to help them gain financial independence.

Iceland's new Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson said Monday he would ignore the International Monetary Fund's criticism of his government's plans to reduce household debt following the country's economic collapse. "We will not let an international institution tell us that it is not possible to do more for Icelandic households at the same time as it reminds us of the importance of settling the final account following the economic crash," Gunnlaugsson said in a speech celebrating Iceland's independence day on Monday.

Japanese clothing chain Uniqlo will open stores in Bangladesh in a joint venture to tap into the nation's growing middle class, the joint business said Wednesday. Fast Retailing, which owns Uniqlo, has teamed with Grameen Healthcare, run by Bangladesh's Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus, to initially open two stores in Dhaka. The stores, to be operated by the tie-up Grameen Uniqlo, will be the first in Bangladesh from a leading global retailer.

MONTREAL - The World Bank is aiming to end extreme global poverty by 2030 by leveraging contributions of the private sector, the agency's president said Tuesday. "In order to get there, we're going to be extremely realistic about the sources of growth and job creation that will lead to our ability as a world to end poverty," Jim Yong Kim told reporters at an economic conference. Currently, the $125 billion a year in official development assistance "pales in comparison to the need," Kim said.