The United Arab Emirates government has told some of its biggest business families that it plans to remove their monopolies on the sale of imported goods, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Gold held steady on Monday above the key level of $1,800 per ounce, as its enhanced appeal due to slightly weaker US Treasury yields was countered by an uptick in the dollar, making bullion more expensive for holders of other currencies.

World stocks steadied and oil prices eased in quiet trade on Monday as flight cancellations over Christmas revived concerns that the Omicron virus variant could slow down the economy heading into the new year.

Iran’s main focus in nuclear talks that resume in Austria on Monday will be the lifting of all US sanctions in a verifiable process that guarantees Tehran’s unhindered ability to export its oil, the foreign minister said.

Embattled Chinese firm Evergrande will deliver almost four times the number of housing units to buyers in December than in the previous three months, its chairman said, as the real estate behemoth grapples with massive debts.

US consumers were in the mood to spend this holiday season, with retail sales soaring 8.5 per cent over last year, a study released Sunday showed.

China will stabilise corn production and expand soybean output in the new year to ensure grain security, the Communist Party’s People’s Daily quoted the agriculture minister as saying on Monday.

Sales of US military equipment to foreign governments fell 21 per cent to $138 billion in the latest fiscal year, the US State Department said on Wednesday, as the Biden administration shifts away from some of the more aggressive arms sales practices under former President Donald Trump.

Three years of democracy protests followed by a pandemic have devastated Hong Kong retailers who had grown used to relying on cash from mainland Chinese tourists.

Afghan businessman Shoaib Barak is struggling to pay his workers and suppliers, unable to access funds from a banking system crippled by the freezing of the nation’s overseas assets.

Investors are closely watching the latest news on the rapidly spreading Omicron variant for signs of how much the virus could impact the U.S. economy and earnings as the market heads into what has historically been a strong time of year for equities.

China’s central bank said on Saturday it will safeguard the legal rights of home buyers and better satisfy their reasonable living needs, vowing to promote healthy development of the country’s real estate market.

The UK government on Friday announced it is extending a temporary visa scheme for foreign seasonal workers until the end of 2024, while it will gradually reduce the quota from 2023.

Most stock markets in the Gulf were subdued on Sunday, with coronavirus infections across the region rising again after months of low or falling figures.

The climate crisis has put the end of oil onto the agenda, but achieving that is a colossal task given the world economy’s deep dependence on petroleum.

The world's economic output will exceed $100 trillion for the first time next year and it will take China a little longer than previously thought to overtake the United States as the No.1 economy, a report showed on Sunday.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits held below pre-pandemic levels last week as the labor market tightens, while consumer spending increased solidly, putting the economy on track for a strong finish to 2021.

Profit growth for US corporations is expected to slow next year after a gangbuster 2021, with rising inflation and a rapidly spreading Covid-19 variant adding to uncertainty as investors try to justify stock prices trading near record highs.

China’s top real estate regulator vowed to resolutely tackle risks stemming from overdue delivery of residential properties by some top developers in a bid to maintain social stability, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.

Turkey’s lira closed out its strongest week on record on Friday, spiking more than 50 per cent with the support of billions of dollars of state-backed market interventions and a promise that the government would cover FX losses on certain deposits.