Janet Yellen will enter the lion's den this week.

For the first time since becoming head of the U.S. central bank last February, Yellen will confront a Congress that's controlled by Republicans in both the House and the Senate.

It's not exactly Yellen's first rodeo -- the 68-year-old Fed chair has had plenty of practice being in the hot seat, having endured numerous hours-long congressional hearings and nationally televised Fed press conferences in her first year on the job.

But her Hill appearances this week comes at a critical juncture for the economic recovery, and her answers to lawmakers' questions -- particularly those that address the issue of when the Fed plans to hike interest rates -- will come under heightened scrutiny.

Her back-to-back testimonies also come as congressional criticism of the Fed -- particularly from Republican lawmakers -- has noticeably intensified in recent years. With Republicans now setting the agenda in both chambers of Congress, Fed watchers are anticipating plenty of sparks to fly.

"Recent criticisms of the Fed have come mainly from Republicans," said Alan Blinder, former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve board. "With a Republican majority on the Senate Banking Committee, and an even bigger majority in the House, it seems a reasonable guess that Chair Yellen might face some tough questioning."

On Tuesday, Yellen will face members of the Senate Banking Committee led by the panel's new chairman, Republican Sen. Richard Shelby. The veteran Alabama senator has long been a vocal critic of the Fed's policies and voted against Yellen's nomination for Fed chair, citing concerns that the central bank had become the an out-of-control enabler of U.S. debt.

"He is deeply skeptical of the Fed's performance, particularly on regulation and supervision of big financial institutions," said Sarah Binder, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies the Fed's relationship with Congress.

Things won't get any easier for Yellen later in the week, when she faces a much larger -- and typically more combative -- group of lawmakers in the House Financial Services Committee.

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Greece formally requested a six-month extension to its euro zone loan agreement on Thursday as it races to avoid running out of cash within weeks and overcome resistance from skeptical partners led by Germany.

With its EU/IMF bailout program due to expire in little more than a week, the government of leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urgently needs to secure a financial lifeline to keep the country afloat beyond late March.

Specifically, Athens asked for an extension to its so-called "Master Financial Assistance Facility Agreement" with the euro zone, the official told Reuters. However, Greece is proposing that the terms are different from its current bailout obligations, the official said.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, chairman of the Eurogroup of finance ministers of the currency area, confirmed the news, tweeting: "Received Greek request for six-month extension." He gave no further details.

The request boosted hopes for a last minute compromise to avert a Greek bankruptcy and exit from the euro zone however it was not clear if the proposal would be acceptable to euro zone partners who insist Athens comply with all bailout terms.

Senior euro zone officials were due to hold a teleconference later on Thursday to discuss the Greek application. If they are satisfied, then Eurogroup finance ministers will hold a conference call on Friday to conclude an agreement, euro zone sources said.

The wording chosen could help satisfy at least some of the concerns that have held up agreement over the past two weeks, allowing Athens to avoid saying it is extending the current program that it opposes while creditors can avoid accepting a "loan agreement" without strings attached.

However, crucial details remain to be clarified on fiscal targets, labor market reforms, privatizations and other measures due to be implemented under the existing program.

Government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis dismissed a German newspaper report that Athens was under pressure to impose capital controls, telling Reuters that such a scenario "had no bearing on reality".

An ECB spokeswoman also denied the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung report, saying there had been no discussion of capital controls at a meeting of the central bank's governing council on Wednesday, which slightly raised the limit on emergency lending to Greek banks.

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GERMAN-owned luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce on Wednesday unveiled plans to launch its own sports utility vehicle, mirroring recent moves by fellow upmarket rivals Bentley and Jaguar.

The British brand, which is owned by Germany's BMW, revealed in an open letter from Rolls-Royce chairman Peter Schwarzenbauer and chief executive Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes that it was in the process of developing its first-ever 4x4 car.

"Today we confirm that we are developing an all-new Rolls-Royce with exceptional presence, elegance and purpose ... A car that offers the luxury of a Rolls-Royce in a vehicle that can cross any terrain," the letter read.

The automaker added that the new model would be "a high-bodied car, with an all-new aluminium architecture", but gave no indication of price or when production would begin.

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Mobile game maker King Digital Entertainment's quarterly revenue and profit handily beat market estimates as newer games such as Candy Crush Soda Saga more than made up for the declining popularity of older titles.

King Digital, whose shares jumped 18% in extended trading yesterday, also said it would buy Seattle-based game developer Z2Live.

Total gross bookings, an indicator of future revenue, increased 8% to $586 million in the fourth quarter ended 31 December from the third quarter 2014.

Analysts on average had expected bookings of $541.4 million, according to market research firm StreetAccount.

Candy Crush Saga, a free game that makes money by selling virtual items to gamers who move candies to line up at least three of the same color, accounted for about 45% of the bookings.

Bookings from the game, however, declined from a quarter ago.

Candy Crush Soda Saga, a sister title of the original, also follows a similar match-three format.

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