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.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Tuesday he was "very optimistic" about the outlook for the oil market after producers cut output to support flagging prices.

Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Co said on Tuesday they will join forces on commercial vans and pickups and also that they were exploring shared development of electric and self-driving technology, actions meant to save the automakers billions of dollars.

Official data suggested Tuesday that Germany avoided a recession at the end of 2018 but confirmed a sharp slowdown in growth last year as Europe's largest economy cooled off from boom times.

China on Tuesday signaled more stimulus measures in the near term as a tariff war with the United States took a heavy toll on its trade sector and raised the risk of a sharper economic slowdown.

A patent lawsuit filed by Qualcomm Inc against Apple Inc was thrown out by a German court on Tuesday, in a reversal for the US chipmaker after it won a recent court ban on the sale of some iPhones in the country.

Three cargoes of US crude are heading to China from the US Gulf Coast, trade sources said on Monday, the first departures since late September and a 90-day pause in the two countries' trade war that began last month.

Singer yesterday introduced air purification solutions of Blueair for home and professional use in Bangladesh.

A partial shutdown of the US government could slash job growth by as much as 500,000 in January and lift the unemployment rate above 4.0 percent unless the impasse in Washington is resolved before next Friday, economists warned.

One of Huawei Canada's top executives on Friday disclosed he was leaving his post after more than seven years with the Chinese telecommunications equipment maker, which is facing heightened scrutiny over security issues from Canada and its allies.

Japan said Friday it will have to amend its upcoming budget to fund compensation for people whose benefits were underpaid for years because of a scandal involving erroneous labour data.

The board of French automaker Renault on Thursday said an ongoing audit into executive pay had found no sign of fraud in the last two years, ahead of a new court appearance in Japan for CEO Carlos Ghosn.

Already-jittery US stock markets shot lower on Thursday following another remark from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The central bank chief has been unusually outspoken in recent weeks with comments that seemed to be geared at calming nervous investors but an offhand comment at an event Thursday had the opposite effect.

Corporate investors from outside the auto industry are placing increasing bets on electric vehicles, vying with automakers and suppliers to bankroll startup companies working on everything from advanced batteries to charging devices and all-new EVs.

Holiday shopping reports released Thursday underscored anew the challenges US retailers face in the Amazon era -- even if consumers are willing to open their wallets to spend.

Global social media and technology giants are gearing up to fight sweeping new rules proposed by the Indian government that would require them to actively regulate content in one of the world's biggest Internet markets, sources close to the matter told Reuters.

India's industrial output slumped to 0.5 percent in November amid a slowdown in auto and garment manufacturing, making Prime Minister Narendra Modi's challenge to boost investment before an election in the coming months seem tougher than ever.

China's plans for tax cuts targeting smaller companies will help to support employment and economic stability, and will expand the country's tax base over the long term, Premier Li Keqiang was quoted as saying on Saturday.

India's central bank on Monday said the proportion of commercial lenders' non-performing assets (NPAs) may fall slightly to 10.3 percent by March, thanks to measures including the creation of a bankruptcy code.

US companies have sent home over half a trillion dollars of cash they held overseas in 2018 to take advantage of tax changes, but data suggest the pace is slowing, potentially removing a key source of support for Wall Street.