AP - Poland said Friday it plans to join what it said would be a $6 billion aid package for Iceland along with Britain, the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries to help the island nation salvage its collapsed financial system.

AFP - French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking just ahead of an EU summit on Friday, insisted on the need to 'coordinate economic policies' in Europe, while admitting this is 'a controversial subject'.

AP - Latvia's economy crashed in the third quarter, the national statistics office said Friday, with output shrinking 4.2 percent year-on-year as the global financial crisis accelerated the Baltic nation's woes.

AP - EU leaders on Friday considered a financial reform to-do list for next week's summit in Washington, with France pushing a deadline for a global deal by late March to prevent a repeat of the Wall Street excesses that caused havoc in markets worldwide.

AP - Individual bankruptcies in Britain jumped 9.5 percent in the third quarter from last year, while company insolvencies rose a stunning 26 percent as the financial crisis hiked the cost of loans, official figures showed Friday.

AP - The U.S. dollar was mostly lower against other major currencies in European trading Friday morning. Gold rose.

AFP - European finance ministers have reached a 'very high consensus' on a plan for reform of the global finance system, EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said Friday just hours before a European summit in Brussels.

AP - EU nations planned to call Friday on world leaders attending next week's summit to agree major reforms to the global finance system by late March.

AP - The European Union is calling for a 100-day deadline for world leaders to decide global finance reforms, French President Nicolas Sarkozy says.

AP - France is pressing for Spain to be included in next week's international finance summit in Washington.

AP - French President Nicolas Sarkozy says it would be difficult to exclude Spain from next week's global finance summit.

AP - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Friday the Labour Party's surprise victory in a hotly contested special election shows the public approves of his handling of the economic crisis.

AP - Here are excerpts from an agreed statement issued by the 27 EU leaders after their meeting on Friday in Brussels, Belgium, held ahead of a 20-country summit next week in Washington:

AP - European Union leaders backed a 100-day deadline for world's leading economies to decide urgent global finance reforms, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday.

AP - The U.S. dollar was mixed against other major currencies in late European trading Friday. Gold rose.

AFP - The European Union is willing to offer crisis-struck Iceland a loan for an unspecified amount, but it will likely take a while for loan to go through, Iceland's prime minister said Friday.

AP - Moody's Investors Service said Friday it had cut Hungary's foreign-credit rating by a one notch, from A3 from A2, as the global financial crisis challenged the country's ability to meet debt payments.

AFP - An international summit next week in Washington should mark only the beginning of a global revamp of the financial order, EU leaders agreed Friday, calling for a second meeting in early spring.

AP - Spain won an invitation to next week's global financial summit after receiving a major boost Friday with France urging the United States to include Madrid, European officials said.