BERLIN (MNI) - The Eurozone must show solidarity with members that have run into financial difficulty due to no fault of their own, Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a television interview aired Friday on Germany's N24 television station.

However, he made clear that Greece did not fall into that category.

FRANKFURT (MNI) - Germany's economy is still likely to see a growth rate of about 1.5% this year although forecasts may be revised due to weak export growth, Ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn said on Friday.

Speaking on Reuters' Insider TV, Sinn also stressed that banks must be recapitalized so that they, and not the government, can extend loans to firms.

"Banks don't have enough in equity capital to channel...liquidity to the final firms for investment," Sinn said. The best way to recapitalize banks would be through state equity injections, he added.

WASHINGTON (MNI) - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Friday issued the following statement:

PARIS (MNI) - Adding its voice to the resurgence of Greek bailout reports, France's daily Le Monde reported Friday afternoon that Eurozone states are nearing agreement on a potential rescue package worth between E20 billion and E25 billion.

Le Monde said their objective was to seal a deal at the meeting of Eurogroup finance ministers in Brussels next Monday. It said that the support for Greece would only be implemented "in the case of need."

Industrial Production January - %mom

Median* 0.9 High forecast 1.5 Low forecast -1.0 Number of responses 12

By Courtney Tower

OTTAWA (MNI) - Marking the 75th birthday of the Bank of Canada Thursday, Governor Mark Carney stressed for the future a few key operating principles that seem to be reflected in a new and wholesale remaking of his Governing Council of deputy governors.

increase; goods industries bear the losses

By Courtney Tower

Ottawa (MNI) - Canadian employment rose by 21,000 jobs in February and the annual unemployment rate declined by 0.1% to 8.2%, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

There were large gains in full-time work (+60,000), partially offset by a decline in part-time work (-39,000), continuing a trend since last summer of full-time work increasing.

BRUSSELS (MNI) - The European Commission is in line with other European leaders - including German Chancellor Angela Merkel - on the need to mitigate the impact of trading in credit default swaps (CDS) on government bonds, a spokesperson said on Friday.

Earlier this week, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the EU's executive arm would issue legislative proposals "before the summer" to increase transparency and limit risks in the derivatives market.

He also said a "new 'ad hoc' reflection is needed on Credit Default Swaps regarding sovereign debt."