A Samsung probe into the exploding batteries that forced the electronics giant to scrap its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones has found irregularly sized batteries caused overheating, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

JAPAN is threatening to take India to the WTO over restrictions that nearly halved its steel exports to the South Asian nation over the past year, a step that could trigger more trade spats as global tensions over steel and other commodities run high.

JAPAN'S Toshiba Corp has begun preparations to sell a minority stake in its core chip business, people with knowledge of the matter said, as it urgently seeks funding to avoid being crippled by an upcoming multibillion-dollar writedown.

The new US administration of President Donald Trump said on Friday its trade strategy to protect American jobs would start with withdrawal from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed on Saturday to seek compromises on issues like trade and military spending with US President Donald Trump, adding she would work on preserving the important relationship between Europe and the United States.

US bankers, buoyed by a resurgence in profits, are advising their counterparts in Europe to think positively about the new administration of US President-elect Donald Trump.

India's biggest lender by assets, State Bank of India, could tap capital markets next fiscal year to raise up to $1.5 billion, its chief said on Friday, though it first needs to complete a planned merger with its subsidiary banks.

Bangladeshi investors want to build five-star and three-star hotels in Kolkata, said Matlub Ahmad, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).

Apple Inc filed a $1 billion lawsuit against supplier Qualcomm Inc on Friday, days after the US government accused the chip maker of resorting to anticompetitive tactics to maintain a monopoly over key semiconductors in mobile phones.

The dollar ended down while US stock indexes rose in the last day of a choppy trading week, as investors reacted to President Donald

German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Monday warned US President-elect Donald Trump not to slap punitive tariffs on imports from carmakers like BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen.

Commercial property prices in Tokyo, a bellwether for Japan's market, look to have peaked as the capital faces a glut of new offices even as the number of office workers is set to decline.

Saudi Arabia will launch in coming weeks a renewable energy programme that is expected to involve investment of between $30 billion and $50 billion by 2023, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Monday.

Sweden's four largest banks are using a calculation of the risk to their loan portfolios that critics say is flawed and leaves them vulnerable to any correction in the booming housing market.

Companies could unlock at least $12 trillion in market opportunities by 2030 and create up to 380 million jobs by implementing a few key development goals, according to a study by a group including global business and finance leaders.

A trade war between the United States and China and a strengthening dollar are among the biggest threats to a brightening global economic outlook, according to leading economists at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

BRITAIN'S pound fell sharply on Monday as concern mounted that the country was heading for a "hard" Brexit from the European Union and its single market, a day before a speech by Prime Minister Theresa May on the government's plans.

The global economy is in better shape than it's been in years. Stock markets are booming, oil prices are on the rise again and the risks of a rapid economic slowdown in China, a major source of concern a year ago, have eased.

The International Monetary Fund on Monday boosted its estimates for US growth on expected stimulus spending by the incoming Trump administration, but kept the forecast for global growth unchanged.

India's SpiceJet is set to seal an order for at least 90 new 737 jets from Boeing, two sources said on Thursday, as the low-cost carrier targets an expansion to tap into India's booming air travel market.