Euro zone manufacturing slipped into contraction in February, as an industrial slump in Germany continued to weigh down on the European economy, a closely watched survey showed Thursday.

Oil prices hovered around 2019 highs on Thursday, bolstered by Opec-led supply cuts and US sanctions on Venezuela and Iran, but were capped by slowing growth in the global economy.

In three cavernous former Royal Air Force hangars at an old airbase in Wales, luxury carmaker Aston Martin is forging ahead with construction of a new vehicle assembly plant.

The Federal Reserve believes US growth will "step down" this year from last year's rapid pace amid rising global risks, including from tense trade relations, according to minutes released Wednesday.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has wowed the smartphone industry with the first foldable screen, burnishing its innovation credentials, banishing “fast follower” criticism and, at nearly $2,000, setting a new standard in premium pricing.

Alphabet Inc's Google said on Wednesday it had made an “error” in not disclosing that its Nest Secure home security system had a built-in microphone in its devices.

Japan's government kept its assessment of the economy unchanged in February, but a series of weak data on corporate sentiment, capital expenditure and exports shows the US-China trade war is hurting the outlook for the world's third-largest economy.

The United States and China have started to outline commitments in principle on the stickiest issues in their trade dispute, marking the most significant progress yet toward ending a seven-month trade war, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

Barclays rebounded sharply into profit in 2018, as a vast hit from the previous year on the sale of its African business was not repeated, the British bank announced Thursday. The lender's performance came despite vast litigation costs and a new charge on the impact of mounting economic uncertainty over Brexit.

India's consumer prices rose at a milder pace than anticipated in January and remained below the Reserve Bank of India's target for a sixth straight month, strengthening views it could again cut the key interest rate at its next policy review in April.

Japan's government plans to set up a new watchdog to scrutinize big tech companies like Facebook and Google amid growing concerns about monopoly practices and the handling of personal data.

The global oil market will struggle this year to absorb fast-growing crude supply from outside OPEC, even with the group's production cuts and US sanctions on Venezuela and Iran, the International Energy Agency said in a report on Wednesday.

Britain's economy will barely grow in the run-up to Brexit amid concern the UK will leave the European Union without an agreement, but if there is a deal there will be a modest post-divorce upturn, according to economists polled by Reuters.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday he hopes for “productive” trade meetings in China this week, as the two countries seek to hammer out an agreement amid a festering dispute that has seen both level tariffs at each other.

The European Commission added Saudi Arabia, Panama and other jurisdictions to a blacklist of nations that pose a threat to the bloc because of lax controls against terrorism financing and money laundering, the EU executive said on Wednesday.

Decades of bank industry consolidation have weighed on the economies of rural areas as branches and local community banks disappeared and access to financial services declined, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Tuesday, citing meetings of Fed staff held last year in communities where banks had closed.

Amazon.com Inc and General Motors Co are in talks to invest in Rivian Automotive LLC in a deal that would value the US electric pickup truck manufacturer at between $1 billion and $2 billion, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

New Zealand's central bank said Wednesday its interest rate freeze was likely to continue for another two years amid persistent low inflation and a healthy growth outlook.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expected to announce investments in energy and infrastructure during a visit to India and Pakistan in coming days as part of his efforts to wean the Saudi economy off oil exports.

In America's corporate boardrooms, diversity is making uneven progress: Women increasingly are pulling up a chair while racial and ethnic minorities still rarely get seats at the table.