The European Central Bank on Wednesday took the unprecedented step of buying corporate bonds, its latest weapon in a desperate battle to kick-start sluggish growth and inflation in the eurozone.

South Africa's economy contracted by 1.2 percent at the start of the year in a surprise sharp downturn for Africa's most industrialised nation, official statistics showed Wednesday.

Oil prices held above $50 in Asia on Wednesday thanks to a weak dollar as traders await the release of US inventory data later in the day. Traders are expecting US Department of Energy weekly stockpile numbers to show another drop after recent losses, helping to build on a 90 percent rebound in the commodity since the start of the year.

China's imports decreased at their slowest pace in more than a year-and-a-half in May, official data showed Wednesday, in a possible sign domestic demand in the world's second-largest economy may be recovering.

Brazil's annual inflation rate crept up last month to 9.32 percent, officials said Wednesday, sounding new alarm bells for Latin America's largest economy as it struggles through a deep recession.

Russian oil giant Rosneft said Wednesday that low oil prices in the first quarter of the year had haemorrhaged its profits, with tumbled by 80 percent.

A worried World Bank slashed its growth forecast for the global economy Tuesday, saying advanced economies are rebounding more slowly than expected and low commodity prices continue to hurt other countries.

Qatar has reassured India that labour reforms will improve the conditions of more than half a million Indian migrants, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised concerns of abuses during a weekend visit to the Gulf state, a statement said on Monday.

Ratings firm S&P Global Ratings said on Monday it does not see South Africa's economy slipping into a recession soon but warned that economic reforms had to be implemented to avoid a downgrade in December.

Saudi officials have finalised a detailed plan to diversify the kingdom's economy away from oil and have sent it for cabinet approval, official media said on Monday.

India is committed to protecting state banks suffering from mounting bad loans after they reported almost $2.7 billion in losses in the last two quarters, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Monday.

More than 25 European and Asian-owned supertankers are shipping Iranian oil, data seen by Reuters shows, allowing Tehran to ramp up exports much faster than analysts had expected following the lifting of sanctions in January.

China's indigenous automotive brands lack pricing power and lag established global brands in major market segments such as sedans, challenges that are slowing their otherwise rapid ascent in the world's biggest auto market, an industry executive said.

HSBC is to restructure its global banking division to cut costs and make the business more "agile", according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Monday.

Van Biak had only been away from her family in Leilet in north west Myanmar for two weeks, but her mother was in tears as they embraced on the veranda.

Saudi Arabia promised on Thursday not to flood the oil market with extra barrels as Opec entered a heated debate about production policy, with Iran insisting on the right to raise output steeply.

Global manufacturing activity remained stuck in a rut last month with factory output from Asia to Europe barely improving as producers struggled to bring in new orders, surveys released on Wednesday showed.

Australia's economy grew at a better-than-expected 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2016, compared to the previous quarter, boosted by exports and a rise in household spending.

Japan has delayed plans to raise the country's sales tax to 10 percent from the current 8 percent.

Indian oil refiners will clear around 6 billion euros ($6.7 billion) of outstanding debt to Iran through Turkey's Halkbank soon, a senior Iranian economy official said on Wednesday.