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Some European leaders have expressed optimism that the next round of rescue financing for debt-scarred Greece will be approved by Eurozone finance ministers at a crucial meeting in Brussels on Monday.

In a curt five-minute statement at the Bellevue presidential palace, Wulff said he had lost the trust of the German people, making it impossible to continue in a role that is meant to serve as a moral compass for the nation.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development released a report Tuesday calling on Germany to raise its property taxes dramatically. The group has also called on Denmark, Norway, and the U.K. to do the same.

Greece’s finance minister Evangelos Venizelos has suggested some countries in the bloc want Greece to leave the eurozone.

The eurozone finance ministers have demanded greater supervision and control of Greece's economy in return for the approval of bailout package.

European Union finance ministers will meet in Brussels to finalise Greece's second bail out deal.

Unemployment in Britain stayed relatively flat at the end of 2011, rising its smallest amount in nearly a year between the months of November and December. Compared to the rest of Europe, the UK is right in the middle.

President Obama is expected to appoint a replacement soon for out-going World Bank President Robert Zoellick, who is leaving after the administration decided not to reappoint him to a second five-year term.

Cynicism towards Greece abounds across Europe.

The euro zone economy's shrunk at the end of 2011 as the sovereign debt crisis crushed a recovery and looked set to push the bloc into mild recession, but a north-south divide was evident as France grew while Italy slumped.

Germany, Europe’s largest economy, saw that its gross domestic product fall 0.2 percent from the third quarter even as France grew 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter.

Greek conservative leader Antonis Samaras will send a letter of commitment to the terms of an EU/IMF bailout deal within the day, a party source said on Wednesday, with the country's bankruptcy rescue hanging in the balance.

Gold dropped on Tuesday as the dollar rallied versus the euro onrenewed fears of credit downgrades in major European economies and uncertainty over Greece's bailout.

Euro zone finance ministers dropped plans on Tuesday for a special face-to-face meeting on Greece's new international bailout, as the cabinet in Athens argued up to the last minute on plugging a 325 million euro ($427 million)gap in its austerity plan.

A European finance minister, in Washington for a panel on global business and economics, sent up a flare to U.S. officials Monday afternoon, saying he hoped the U.S. would be more involved in playing a key role to solving the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe.

The European Union is likely to take action against Spain's newly installed government by May for delaying austerity measures ahead of a regional election next month, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.

The summit comes a day right after Moody's downgraded its ratings for Italy, Spain and Portugal, with a negative outlook for France, Britain and Austria.

Greek political leaders say the nation must accept yet more punishing austerity or face a social explosion, but after a night of violence and destruction in Athens, some people fear this explosion may already be about to begin.

Given that gold, U.S. bonds and the U.S. dollar remain safe havens during times of uncertainty, they cannot be ignored.

Qatar is perhaps the wealthiest nation on earth.

Oil prices rose to nearly $100 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday, after Greece's parliament approved painful austerity measures to secure a second bailout and avoid bankruptcy.

Japan’s economy contracted more than economists forecast in the fourth quarter as exports slid on weakness in global demand and strength in the yen.

Gold strengthened Monday in line with gains in shares and the euro after Greece's parliament finally approved a deeply unpopular austerity bill to secure a second bailout from the European Union and the IMF to avoid bankruptcy.

Greece's parliament approved a deeply unpopular austerity bill Monday to secure a second EU/IMF bailout and avoid national bankruptcy, as buildings burned across central Athens and violence spread around the country.

The austerity bill calls for, among other things, 15,000 cuts in public sector jobs; and a 20 percent reduction in the minimum wage.

Greek lawmakers late Sunday accepted terms of a deeply unpopular austerity plan that Eurozone leaders demanded as the price for financially rescuing the debt-choked nation.

Just after midnight Monday, the Greek parliament approved a deeply unpopular austerity bill to secure a second EU/IMF bailout and avoid national bankruptcy, as buildings burned across central Athens and violence spread around the country.

Black-masked protesters throwing petrol bombs created a wall of fire on Sunday outside Greece's parliament as lawmakers inside looked set defy public rage by endorsing a new austerity deal to secure an EU/IMF bailout and avoid national bankruptcy.

Historic cinemas, cafes, shops and banks were set ablaze in central Athens Sunday as black-masked protesters fought Greek police outside parliament, while inside lawmakers looked set to defy the rage by endorsing a new EU/IMF austerity deal.