Spain's economy shrank at the fastest pace in more than three years in the final quarter of 2012, official data showed Wednesday, casting a shadow over the prospects of nearly six million unemployed.

Total economic output slumped 0.7 percent from the previous quarter, the steepest decline since the second quarter of 2009, after a 0.3-percent dip the previous quarter.

German financial aid to Egypt depends on progress on democracy in the country, Germany's foreign minister warned on Wednesday, hours before a scheduled visit by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.

Guido Westerwelle said on ARD public television that Berlin's offer of help "depends on advances in the democratic development in Egypt".

Fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB blamed higher costs developing a new brand and the effects of a stronger Swedish krona for a 1 percent fall in further-quarter profits.

The decline broke a three-quarter streak of rising earnings for H&M, which specializes in offering trendy fashion lines at low prices.

Byblos Bank showed high resilience facing the worldwide economic downturn as well as the political uncertainty in the region. By sticking to its conservative strategy, the Bank preserved its solid financial position during the year 2012, a press release said Wednesday.

The Bank successfully issued in December 2012, USD 300 million, 10-year convertible subordinated loans bearing a yearly coupon of 6.5% paid quarterly.

Iraq on Tuesday approved a deal with Kuwait regulating the use of a shared waterway through which most of Baghdad's oil exports flow, which Iraq had accused its neighbor of attempting to cut off.

Control of the Khor Abdullah waterway is one of several outstanding issues between Iraq and Kuwait remaining from now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein's August 1990 invasion of the emirate.

International tourist arrivals surpassed one billion for the first time last year, with the Asia-Pacific region posting the biggest increase in foreign visitors, and numbers will rise further in 2013, a U.N. body said Tuesday.

The number of international tourist arrivals grew by 4.0 percent to 1.035 billion in 2012, up from 996 million in 2011, the Madrid-based United Nations World Tourism Organisation said in an annual survey.

The International Monetary Fund agreed Monday to provide an $18.4 million emergency loan to Mali, a move likely to lead other donors to release more funds after having cut off aid following the March 2012 coup.

The IMF executive board approved the loan under the Rapid Credit Facility aiming to help the government bridge a huge budget hole as its fights off an Islamist insurgency with French help.

Spain's austerity programme may be eased if the economy continues to contract, the European Union's top economic official said Monday.

Economy commissioner Olli Rehn suggested that Spain could be given more slack to meet the strict budget targets set out by the block to save the eurozone's fourth economy from bankruptcy.

Moody's on Monday downgraded the long-term credit ratings of six large Canadian banks, citing concerns over record high Canadian consumer debt and soaring home prices.

Moody's Investors Service cut the long-term ratings by one notch of the Bank of Montreal, Scotiabank, Caisse centrale Desjardins, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, National Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank.

The International Monetary Fund urged Hungary on Monday to shift its economic policy, warning the government's frequent and unpredictable tax policy changes had undermined efforts cut the deficit and attain growth.

"A new policy course is needed to deliver the required medium-term fiscal adjustment in a sustainable way to support growth and confidence...," the IMF said in a statement following a review mission in Budapest.