The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Friday it had approved a $1 billion loan for energy-rich Kazakhstan after the Central Asian country's currency lost a quarter of its value against the dollar Thursday, spreading panic throughout the region.

Consumer confidence in Germany is being dampened slightly by the enduring wrangle over Greece's debt crisis, a poll found on Friday.

Swatch plans to add to its new smartwatch range, the Swiss watchmaker's chief executive told a newspaper in an interview published on Saturday.

GLOBAL stocks have been hit hard over concerns for the Chinese economy, with a gauge of the country's manufacturing activity on Friday providing the latest sign of a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.

BUSLOADS of visitors from China flocked to Bangkok's glittering Grand Palace on Friday but, days after a bomb at another of the city's popular attractions killed five Chinese tourists, Thailand's biggest spending holidaymakers are rattled.

The European Commission will publish detailed reports on its negotiations with the United States to forge the world's biggest trade pact, EU trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom said on Friday, responding to criticism that the talks have been shrouded in secrecy.

China's economic woes trigger European and Wall Street equity sell-offs and stir up fears for global growth.

Latest data suggests factory activity in China shrank at its fastest pace in more than six years in August.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Thursday that Malaysia's economy was on a sound footing, seeking to assuage growing public and investor fears over the nation's plummeting currency and slowing growth.

China's devaluation of the yuan exposes an undefended flank in the Bank of Japan's efforts to jolt its flagging economy out of decades of deflation, which rely heavily on a solid pick-up in overseas demand.

India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is stepping up pressure on the RBI to cut rates as the economy struggles and price rises slow, with some bureaucrats working behind the scenes to argue for an immediate cut of as much as 50 basis points.

Adani Group is in talks with Japan's Softbank and Foxconn, maker of Apple's iPhone, to secure investment in a $3 billion project to make solar cells and panels in the country, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest lender, is considering selling its stake in Chinese group Hua Xia Bank and divesting its retail banking activities in India, the business daily Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday.

Greece made a crucial 3.2 billion euro debt repayment on Thursday using newly released bailout funds, a government source said, as a senior minister argued for rapid elections following a rebellion in the ruling party.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has reshuffled his cabinet, appointing a new finance minister and a new deputy premier to oversee the economy as the military government seeks to spur growth.

Poor infrastructure makes stable pricing difficult at the best of times in Indonesia, but the rural poor are increasingly pinning the blame for wild fluctuations in the price of staples on the policies and unmet promises of President Joko Widodo.

British retail sales rose by less than expected in July, hit by a fall in the sales of auto fuels, official data showed on Thursday.

Malaysia-based budget carrier AirAsia has seen its second-quarter net profit fall mainly due to the weakening ringgit and higher costs.

China's currency devaluation should give a shot in the arm to global foreign exchange volumes as traders take advantage of and protect themselves against the surprise surge in volatility, but its longer-term impact on market activity may not be so benign.

Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific said Wednesday first-half profit rose almost sixfold from a year earlier, helped by lower fuel prices, but shares fell to a nine-month low as the result missed expectations.