HSBC on Friday said it will incur a hefty charge of 1.9 billion euros with the sale of its French retail banking operations to French lender My Money Group.

Market participants are girding for probably the biggest trading event of the year next Friday, as FTSE Russell stages the final reconstitution of its indexes, and trillions of dollars in investments could be influenced by the event that will reflect a wild trading year marked by the pandemic and the “meme” stock craze.

The first storm to hit oil-producing regions of the US Gulf of Mexico this year sent workers fleeing offshore oil platforms and cut some production.

Gold purchases in India ticked up in the later part of the week after a decline in local rates, although dealers cautioned that demand is unlikely to return to normal levels soon.

US-based EIG Global Energy Partners said on Friday a consortium it led has closed a deal to buy 49 per cent of Saudi oil producer Aramco’s pipelines business for $12.4 billion.

AirAsia Group Bhd’s chief executive officer said the aviation industry could return to normal next year as international borders gradually reopened, state news agency Bernama reported on Saturday.

Tesco’s sales growth has slowed sharply since the easing of the latest coronavirus lockdown as people start to visit pubs and restaurants again, Britain’s biggest retailer said on Friday.

French President Emmanuel Macron called out on Wednesday what he described as excesses of liquidity in the US and Chinese financial markets, some of which he said could instead foster the growth of tech companies in Europe.

The EU’s proposed new rules to rein in tech giants risk undermining the security of the iPhone, Apple chief Tim Cook warned Wednesday.

India has put on hold a proposal to reduce import duties on edible oils as cooking oil prices started to fall in the world market after hitting record highs, two government and one industry officials told Reuters.

Emirates got an additional $1.1 billion in state support from Dubai after a collapse in long-haul travel due to the coronavirus pandemic triggered the airline’s first annual loss in more than three decades.

Growth in China’s factory output slowed for a third straight month in May, likely weighed down by disruptions caused by Covid-19 outbreaks in the country’s southern export powerhouse of Guangdong.

Britain’s finance ministry called on the European Union to open talks on financial services, after the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday urged the bloc to avoid protectionism.

British inflation has soared to the highest level since before the coronavirus pandemic, with clothing, fuel and oil prices rebounding as the economy reopens, official data showed Wednesday.

Germany’s powerful BDI industry association criticised China on Tuesday for passing a law to counter foreign sanctions, which it said sent a worrying signal to investors and companies abroad.

The number of employees on British company payrolls surged by a record amount in May as Covid restrictions eased and pubs and restaurants resumed indoor service, though it still remains more than half a million below its pre-pandemic peak.

Britain and Australia announced a trade deal on Tuesday that will eliminate tariffs and red tape, hailed by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as “a new dawn” in the two countries’ relations.

A series of Covid-19 outbreaks in Thai factories is raising concerns that the export sector could be hit hard, threatening to further undermine an economy as it struggles to recover from the pandemic’s crippling blow to the crucial tourism industry.

Chinese automaker Geely will keep working on vehicles powered by methanol even though the effort may fail, chairman Li Shufu said on Sunday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday said she hoped that a new Group of Seven task force can present first infrastructure projects in developing countries in 2022.