Iceland set March 6 as the date for a referendum on passing a law seen key to restoring its financial health after the Dutch government squashed hopes of a new deal to repay the island's creditors, Reuters reported. Iceland owes Britain and the Netherlands more than $5 billion for losses related to the collapse of the North Atlantic island's banks in late 2008. But earlier this month, its president refused to sign a law setting out repayment terms, forcing a referendum on the issue and putting on hold continued international aid for Iceland's stricken economy.

The euro fell to the lowest level in five months against the dollar on concern Greece’s deteriorating finances will weigh on the region’s economic recovery, Bloomberg reported. The 16-nation currency also approached the lowest level in more than nine years against the Australian dollar on speculation European Central Bank Executive Board member Juergen Stark will reiterate his bearish outlook for the region’s economy and the budget deficit in Greece when he speaks today.

Credit Suisse Group AG said Tuesday it would slash the awards of top bankers in London, the first bank to publicly do so in response to the U.K. government's controversial tax on bonuses, The Wall Street Journal reported. The bank said its global bonus pool will be cut by 5%, and the awards for 2009 performance of some 400 managing directors in the London office will be reduced by an additional 30%, as a way to offset the new, one-time bonus tax. The move comes as international will to add taxes on banks, such as the U.K. bonus tax, gathers steam.

Ukraine's presidential election yesterday—which appears headed to a second round run-off on Feb. 7 between the two leading candidates, Viktor Yanukovych and Yulia Tymoshenko—unfolds against the background of financial ruin, The Wall Street Journal reported in an opinion piece. It has long been obvious that the defeat of the incumbent, Viktor Yushchenko, who has painted himself into the anti-Russian nationalist corner, would produce a political rapprochement between Ukraine and Russia. Mr. Yanukovych is committed to non-alignment (meaning no application for NATO membership) while Ms.

Worries over Greece's swelling debt will dominate two days of talks between European Union finance ministers that started Monday, as the euro fell to a ten-day low against the dollar, The Canadian Press reported. Greece is trying to assure financial markets - and other EU governments - that it will reduce debt with a program of deep spending cuts and higher taxes. It is aiming to bring its massive deficit down to the EU limits intended to underpin the stability of the euro.

The state’s main banks have pressed developers to take advantage of an uplift in the UK property market to sell land and investment assets to recoup loans before they are sold to the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) over the coming months, The Irish Times reported. A number of developers have been encouraged to put land in the UK, including some prime sites in London, on the market as the banks believe they will receive a better deal than if they were to sell the loans at a discount to Nama.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the ECB isn't willing to grant Greece special treatment to alleviate the country's economic turmoil even as Athens's latest plan to deal with the crisis was met with skepticism by investors, The Wall Street Journal reported. "No government or state can expect from us any special treatment," Mr. Trichet said following the European Central Bank's monthly meeting. The comments, which came as the ECB kept its key lending rate unchanged at 1%, helped push the cost of insuring Greek sovereign debt against default to a record.

Icelandic pleas for further aid met with a cool response on Thursday as the IMF suggested its hands may be tied by an Anglo-Dutch debt impasse and Sweden signalled no immediate funds were on the way, Reuters reported. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said a solution for the so-called Icesave issue was not a condition for aid but the Fund still had to listen if members raised issues. "If a lot of members think we have to hold on, we have to hold on," Strauss-Kahn told journalists in Washington.

Germany's Blue Wings is looking for funds following a dispute with shareholder Alexander Lebedev, as financial problems led regulators to ban the Duesseldorf-based airline from flying, Reuters reported. The carrier halted flights earlier on Wednesday, mere hours before German aviation authorities revoked its operating license for the time being, according to a spokesman for the company. Blue Wings' financial woes, which have left its staff without pay since mid-November, stem from a lack of financing from shareholders, the spokesman said.

Auto makers are bracing for a brutal 2010 in Europe, as economic troubles and the end of government scrappage programs threaten to drag down sales, The Wall Street Journal reported. High unemployment and the inability of many consumers to access credit are keeping customers out of showrooms. At the same time, sales are likely to be further depressed in the absence of government incentive programs that last year encouraged consumers to trade in old vehicles for new ones.