With a major Chinese smartphone maker on the rocks following US sanctions, the trade spat between Washington and Beijing appears to be taking a turn for the worse for tech firms in the two global economic powerhouses.

Germany wants to help its companies continue doing business in Iran after the US decision to reimpose sanctions against Tehran, but it could be difficult to shield them from any fallout, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Sunday.

Apple is working with financial giant Goldman Sachs on a credit card that would carry the iPhone maker's digital wallet logo, according to a report Thursday in the Wall Street Journal.

Sri Lanka hiked fuel prices Thursday by up to 130 percent following pressure from the International Monetary Fund and its central bank to reduce the burden of heavy subsidies on its struggling economy.

Asia's coal miners, shippers and traders are seeing strong demand and rising prices for their fuel, and they expect this happy situation to persist for several years to come.

Apple ditched plans to build an 850 million euro ($1 billion) data centre in Ireland because of delays in the approval process that have stalled the project for more than three years, the iPhone maker said on Thursday.

Chinese telecom giant ZTE faces a grim future after ceasing major operations due to a US ban on American sales of critical technology to the company, raising the stakes in a trade spat between the world's two largest economies.

South Korean regulators turned up the heat on Samsung Group over its complex ownership structure, with the country's antitrust chief saying on Thursday the arrangement for control at the nation's top conglomerate was “not sustainable”.

Oil prices edged higher on Thursday despite swelling US crude inventories and record weekly US production, as focus shifted back to Opec supply cuts and the potential of new US sanctions against Iran.

The spectre of slower global economic growth presents another threat for Asian currencies, many of which are already under pressure from rising US yields and capital outflows.

French President Emmanuel Macron swept into office last May on a pledge to create jobs and improve the lives of workers by rebooting the country's economy.

Indian gold demand may improve through to December as positive monsoon rains and government efforts to raise farmer incomes could boost rural purchases enough to offset higher prices because of the weak rupee, the World Gold Council (WGC) said.

ADB President Takehiko Nakao yesterday appreciated the economic growth Bangladesh has achieved in the recent years, saying “the success stories of the country can be a very good example for other Asian countries”.

Euro zone economic growth will slow this year and next from a peak expansion in 2017, the European Commission forecast on Thursday, underlining the need to quickly implement euro zone reforms while the expansion is still strong.

Spain sold 4.5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) of debt on Thursday at a four-bond auction with yields mixed as investors watch monthly euro zone preliminary inflation data while the European Central Bank plans to roll back its stimulus scheme.

Turkey's inflation rate edged up to almost 11 percent in April, official statistics showed Thursday, adding to fears that the economy is overheating less than two months ahead of elections.

US and Chinese officials will hold highly anticipated trade talks in China on Thursday and Friday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin

T-Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp said on Sunday they had agreed to a $26 billion all-stock deal and believed they could win over

The dollar rose on Monday and held just below its strongest level since mid-January, with weaker-than-expected German retail sales knocking euro zone sentiment as investor appetite for the greenback improves.

China's Baidu Inc said it will sell a majority stake in its financial services business for about $1.9 billion to a consortium led by TPG Capital Management LP and Carlyle Group LP, as it seeks funding to take on established fintech firms in China.