China's new finance minister on Sunday vowed to push ahead fiscal reforms, including changes in tax on manufacturing and transportation, to support the government's goal of “high-quality” growth.

Britain is failing to live up to its promise to lead the world in ending modern slavery as nearly half of the government's biggest suppliers are flouting a landmark anti-slavery law, analysts said on Thursday.

China gingerly raised a key short-term interest rate on Thursday following the US Federal Reserve Bank's move overnight, in a symbolic reminder that Beijing is keeping an eye on global market trends even as it cracks down on financial risks at home.

Rice export prices slipped this week across most Asian hubs, with easing demand weighing on rates in India, and a peaking harvest hurting Vietnamese rates, although inquiries from Bangladesh could trigger fresh activity.

BMW has held back the mass rollout of electric cars until 2020 because current fourth generation electric car technology is not profitable enough for volume production, Chief Executive Harald Krueger said.

Luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover will use BlackBerry Ltd's infotainment and security software in its vehicles, the companies said on Thursday.

Growth in eurozone business activity grew at its slowest rate for over a year in March, a key survey showed on Thursday, signalling that the economic recovery in the single currency area's was losing momentum.

British retail sales rebounded in February from the previous month, boosted by growth in food and online purchases, official data showed on Thursday.

Confidence among German businesses fell back in March, a regular survey showed Thursday, with managers' mood clouding over as the threat of a transatlantic trade war draws nearer.

Shares of Facebook Inc fell 1.5 percent in premarket trading on Thursday as an apology from Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg failed to quell Wall Street nerves about the company's handling of a row over user privacy.

First-time claims for US jobless benefits rose modestly last week but were still at historically low levels, pointing to the continued health of labor markets, government data showed Thursday.

China blamed US export restrictions for its record trade surplus with the United States, but expressed hope that a solution can be found to settle trade issues between the world's two biggest economies as US tariffs loom.

Britain's unemployment rate dipped in January, reverting to the lowest level since 1975 after a brief rise the previous months, official data showed on Wednesday.

The EU unveiled Wednesday proposals for a digital tax that targets US tech giants, heaping more problems on Facebook after revelations over misused data of 50 million users shocked the world.

Google on Tuesday launched a new initiative, committing $300 million to help news publishers get more paid subscribers while stemming the flow of misinformation.

A digital revolution is reshaping India's $34 billion gold market, with smartphones, e-wallets and flexible investment schemes drawing new buyers into a business dominated by traditional, face-to-face transactions.

US President Donald Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminium risk escalating into a threat to the international trading system, a highly-regarded group of German economists said Wednesday.

British inflation was weaker than expected in February as the impact of the 2016 Brexit vote faded, easing some of the squeeze on households' spending power but doing little to change bets on a Bank of England rate rise in May.

World financial leaders pleaded for an endorsement of free trade on Monday amid worries about US metals tariffs and looming trade sanctions on China, but Trump administration officials said they would not sacrifice US national interests.

The Indian government yesterday withdrew the 20 percent export duty on sugar in a bid to boost sales abroad and lift domestic prices amid surplus production in the world's second largest producer of the sweetener.