Arab bankers painted a sobering picture of the economic results of political upheaval in their region at a conference in Rome, saying tourism has plunged and capital flight is on the rise.

Capital flight is running into the hundreds of millions of dollars (euros) per week and budget stability is under pressure as governments are forced to increase subsidies and salaries to keep social stability, they said.

Egypt has withdrawn its loan request to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, an adviser to Finance Minister Samir Radwan told Agence France Presse on Saturday.

"We have decided not to have recourse to loans from the international financial institutions," Abdelfattah al-Gebali said.

World oil prices steadied on Friday after plunging one day earlier when the International Energy Agency decided to tap emergency crude reserves to make up for lost Libyan supplies.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in August, edged up 30 cents to $91.32 a barrel after plummeting $4.39, or 4.6 percent on Thursday.

The United Nations Country Team in Lebanon has announced a code of conduct for U.N. staff if they employ domestic workers, just one week after international standards were adopted by the International Labor Organization to protect their rights.

The code of conduct, the first initiative of its kind by a UNCT in the Middle East, requires the staff to abide by 21 specific standards regarding the employment of domestic workers.

Upheaval across the Arab world is causing capital flight of up to $500 million (349 million Euros) a week, Jordanian Finance Minister Mohammed Abu Hammour said on Thursday at an Arab banking conference in Rome.

"There is capital flight. Five hundred million dollars a week are leaving the Arab world. Tourism is falling, foreign direct investment is falling," Hammour said, pointing to volatility in oil prices as another negative.

Syria's flailing economy could prove the tipping point for the autocratic regime of Bashar al-Assad as he seeks to quell a pro-democracy revolt posing a major threat to his rule, analysts say.

"There are some wild cards left in Syria, and the economy is one of them," said one Western diplomat, speaking from Damascus.

Japan's Nissan Motor said its annual net profit will fall 15 percent year-on-year after the March earthquake hit output, while it also struggles with high raw material costs and a strong yen.

The nation's number two carmaker said despite lower profits, it saw global sales rising 9.9 percent in the year to a record 4.6 million units, with full production returning in October after parts shortages caused by the quake.

General Labor Confederation Chief Ghassan Ghosn urged the cabinet to raise minimum salaries from LL500,000 to LL1,200,000 so that the new wages would fit the citizens’ purchasing power.

Ghosn told Voice of Lebanon radio on Thursday that “the policy statement will unveil the cabinet’s approach in dealing with the economic issues.”

The Syrian Central Bank has opened an account at the Lebanese Central Bank, drawing questions on the timing of such a move, an informed source told al-Liwaa daily published Thursday.

The source said that the account was opened around ten days ago.

Drinkers worldwide are spending half a trillion dollars a year on wine and spirits, boosting exports from France, Italy, Argentina and even small producers like Brazil, executives at a major industry fair said this week.

Experts at the Vinexpo trade fair in Bordeaux, the heart of the French wine trade, said Italy had overtaken France in the volume of wine exports and flagged Argentina as a future top contender in the global market.