Corporate investors from outside the auto industry are placing increasing bets on electric vehicles, vying with automakers and suppliers to bankroll startup companies working on everything from advanced batteries to charging devices and all-new EVs.

Holiday shopping reports released Thursday underscored anew the challenges US retailers face in the Amazon era -- even if consumers are willing to open their wallets to spend.

Global social media and technology giants are gearing up to fight sweeping new rules proposed by the Indian government that would require them to actively regulate content in one of the world's biggest Internet markets, sources close to the matter told Reuters.

India's industrial output slumped to 0.5 percent in November amid a slowdown in auto and garment manufacturing, making Prime Minister Narendra Modi's challenge to boost investment before an election in the coming months seem tougher than ever.

China's plans for tax cuts targeting smaller companies will help to support employment and economic stability, and will expand the country's tax base over the long term, Premier Li Keqiang was quoted as saying on Saturday.

A partial shutdown of the US government could slash job growth by as much as 500,000 in January and lift the unemployment rate above 4.0 percent unless the impasse in Washington is resolved before next Friday, economists warned.

One of Huawei Canada's top executives on Friday disclosed he was leaving his post after more than seven years with the Chinese telecommunications equipment maker, which is facing heightened scrutiny over security issues from Canada and its allies.

Japan said Friday it will have to amend its upcoming budget to fund compensation for people whose benefits were underpaid for years because of a scandal involving erroneous labour data.

The board of French automaker Renault on Thursday said an ongoing audit into executive pay had found no sign of fraud in the last two years, ahead of a new court appearance in Japan for CEO Carlos Ghosn.

Dubai expects to slow the growth of state spending this year but continue spending heavily on infrastructure as it prepares to host the Expo 2020 world's fair, a statement by the emirate's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said on Tuesday.

Saudi Aramco has completed its acquisition of a 50 percent stake in Arlanxeo, its Netherlands-based joint venture with chemicals firm Lanxess, to become the full owner of the company, it said in a statement on Monday.

China's manufacturing activity in December contracted for the first time in over two years, official data showed Monday, amid a bruising trade war with the United States and a slowing domestic economy.

Oil prices ended with full-year losses for the first time since 2015, after a desultory fourth quarter that saw buyers flee the market over growing worries about a supply glut and mixed signals related to renewed US sanctions on Iran.

The US stock market concluded its worst year since the global financial crisis on Monday following a late-season collapse that also raised doubts about the prospects for 2019.

India's central bank on Monday said the proportion of commercial lenders' non-performing assets (NPAs) may fall slightly to 10.3 percent by March, thanks to measures including the creation of a bankruptcy code.

US companies have sent home over half a trillion dollars of cash they held overseas in 2018 to take advantage of tax changes, but data suggest the pace is slowing, potentially removing a key source of support for Wall Street.

The sale of new cars in France increased nearly three percent last year, but the market for diesels was markedly down, the French automakers' association (CCFA) said Tuesday. A total of 2,173,481 private cars were first registered last year, in line with automakers' expectations.

Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn will be spending the beginning of 2019 behind bars after a Tokyo court on Monday extended his detention through to January 11.

India has cut import taxes on crude and refined palm oil from Southeast Asian (Asean) countries after a request from suppliers, a government notification said.

India's finance ministry has exempted rupee payments made to the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) for crude oil imports from a steep withholding tax, according to a government order reviewed by Reuters.