Wang Zhishen was thrilled when Danish shipper A.P. Moller-Maersk gave him two months' paid leave, relishing the chance to spend time with his wife and daughters in China's remote northwestern Gansu province.

The pound weakened on Friday as investors took profits after a stellar rally that set the currency up for its biggest weekly gain against the euro in more than a year on growing confidence that a no-deal Brexit can be avoided.

After four weeks, the partial shutdown of the US government has begun to rattle the world's largest economy, particularly hitting consumer sentiment, a mainstay of growth.

China's economy grew at its slowest pace in almost three decades in 2018, analysts in an AFP poll said, as the government struggles to contain ballooning debt and a bruising trade war with the United States.

US regulators have met to discuss imposing a fine against Facebook Inc for violating a legally binding agreement with the government to protect the privacy of personal data, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing three people familiar with the discussions.

If you were surprised by this month's bounce in global stock markets, next week may tell you if you should join in or stay out.

The United States is pushing for regular reviews of China's progress on pledged trade reforms as a condition for a trade deal - and could again resort to tariffs if it deems Beijing has violated the agreement, according to sources briefed on negotiations to end the trade war between the two nations.

Like most people, I am concerned about my online privacy and that of the people who use our app on a daily basis.

Vietnam's newest commercial carrier Bamboo Airways took flight Wednesday, officially entering Southeast Asia's crowded aviation sector where it will face stiff competition from established players.

Japan's core machinery orders slowed sharply in November in a sign corporate capital expenditure could lose momentum as a bruising US-China trade war spills into the global economy.

Conventional wisdom in the Amazon era holds that the lowest price wins the battle of the retailers, leading many to just about give away items to make a sale.

Oil prices steadied on Wednesday after climbing about 3 percent in the previous session on expectations that Opec-led production cuts will tighten supply and that possible Chinese stimulus might help the global economy.

Tourism operators in Australia's vast outback say wild inaccuracies in Google Maps are making remote hot spots appear out of reach, deterring people from visiting the region.

Irish fast food chain Supermac's announced Tuesday it had won a European Union battle against global giant McDonald's over the use of the Big Mac and Mc trademarks.

Etihad Airways has offered to pick up shares of debt-laden Jet Airways Ltd at a 49 percent discount and to immediately release $35 million to bail out the troubled carrier if certain conditions are met, CNBC-TV18 reported.

China's central bank injected a record $83 billion into the country's financial system on Wednesday, seeking to avoid a cash crunch that would put further pressure on the weakening economy.

Leading German business organisations warned Wednesday of a "chaotic" Brexit that would cause massive disruption to trade, after MPs in London overwhelmingly voted to reject an EU withdrawal deal.

British banks swerved heavy share price losses in early trading on Wednesday, hours after a parliamentary vote on Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal returned the most blistering defeat for a UK government in almost a century.

The British pound firmed against the dollar and euro Wednesday, and London stocks dropped, as traders awaited a confidence vote on British Prime Minister Theresa May's government after parliament voted massively against its Brexit deal.

A six-year run of marketing spending growth at British companies ended in the final quarter of 2018 as uncertainty over Britain's impending exit from the European Union led companies to clamp down on costs, a survey showed on Wednesday.