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Greek civil servants blocked the doors of government ministries on Thursday in protest against austerity ahead of the start of talks with the EU and IMF on the delivery of an aid tranche Athens needs to avoid running out of cash next month.

International auditors return to Athens on Thursday to deliver a verdict on whether Greece's tougher austerity measures qualify for aid to avert a default that would plunge the country into bankruptcy.

Stock indices have shown three consecutive days of gains. Indeed, the Dow had jumped 4.3 percent over the past three sessions, following deep losses incurred last week.

EU and IMF inspectors will return to Greece on Thursday to decide whether Athens has done enough to secure a new batch of aid vital to avoid bankruptcy, while Germany suggested a new bailout may have to be renegotiated.

A decision of providing the Greek government with more badly needed bailout cash hinges on a review of Athens’ debt-reduction progress by officials from the European Commission (EC), European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Sales of gold by European central banks and the International Monetary Fund fell to their lowest annual level since an agreement governing such transactions was ratified in September 1999, the World Gold Council said Tuesday.

World stocks rose for a third straight session on Tuesday, with European shares up 2 percent, as investors took comfort from reports that officials were working to add to measures to calm the euro zone debt crisis.

The Greek government began a race for parliamentary approval of a stepped-up austerity package vital to keep the debt-laden euro zone state afloat and buy time for Europe to approve new rescue measures.

Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, expects to raise its output this year to the point that it could account for half of the world's production, President Alassane Ouattara said on Saturday.

A group of five leading emerging economies that has banded together to increase their global clout is again struggling to find common ground.

Bankers are bracing for a Greek default, and their best hope is that Europe can erect firewalls around the banking system strong enough and soon enough to prevent it from spreading to other euro-zone countries.

Finance chiefs from the Group of 20 nations and the 187-country International Monetary Fund met from Thursday to Sunday.

The global economy was supposed to be better by now.

The following are highlights of comments by finance ministers and central bankers in Washington this weekend for meetings of the Group of 20, the semiannual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, and the annual meeting of the Institute of International Finance.

European policymakers, stung by criticism for failing to stem the euro zone debt crisis, face the tough task of quickly stopping fallout from Greece's near-bankruptcy from spreading into the world economy.

The following are highlights of comments by finance ministers and central bankers in Washington this week for meetings of the Group of 20, the semiannual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, and the annual meeting of the Institute of International Finance.

China's economic outlook is positive, but it must keep battling inflation and be ready to counteract any external shocks, the country's top central banker said on Saturday.

The following are highlights of comments by finance ministers and central bankers in Washington this week for meetings of the Group of 20 and the semiannual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Berlin, under pressure to beef up its response to Europe's debt crisis, wants the region's permanent rescue fund to come into force a year early in 2012, media reported, a move a senior lawmaker in Chancellor Angela Merkel's party said he backed.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in a magazine interview published on Saturday that Greece would not be able to return to capital markets next year and would need a decade to make its economy competitive.

The following are highlights of comments by finance ministers and central bankers in Washington this week for meetings of the Group of 20 and the semiannual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is on track to record a weekly decline of more than 800 points -- its worst weekly swoon in two years. But the important question for the typical investor is, 'Where's the Dow likely to head in the next six months?'

The following are highlights of comments by finance ministers and central bankers in Washington this week for a meeting of the Group of 20 and the semiannual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

The world's major economies pledged on Thursday to prevent the euro zone's debt crisis from undermining banks and markets but announced no new specific measures to shore up confidence in the global economy.

A global banking crisis will erupt unless Europe properly deals with Greece's debt problems, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Wednesday, notably hardening his criticism of European authorities.

Europe's debt crisis is the biggest threat to the global economy, the Treasury said on Wednesday, and it called on European policymakers to provide unequivocal support to banks and governments under stress.

Global Economic Crisis: Are we Better or Worse off than 2008? The Greek economic crisis is at the heart of the problems of the world economic crisis and for as long as France and Germany continue to ignore the realities that Greece must be allowed default on its debts, the European and world economies will suffer the consequences.

Greece adopted yet more austerity measures on Wednesday to secure a bailout installment crucial to avoid running out of money next month, as the IMF warned that Europe's sovereign debt crisis risks tearing a giant hole in banks' capital.

Europe's debt crisis is the biggest threat to the global economy, the Treasury said on Wednesday, and it called on European policymakers to provide unequivocal support to banks and governments under stress.