Norway’s Telenor and Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group) are exploring a merger of their telecom units in Thailand that could form a new market leader in the Southeast Asian country.

The White House on Friday pressed the Opec producer group again to maintain adequate global supply, days after US discussions with some of the world’s biggest economies over potentially releasing oil from strategic reserves to quell high energy prices.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Saturday his government is considering releasing oil from its reserves in response to rising crude oil prices, Kyodo news agency reported.

The United Nations warned Thursday that a surge in container freight rates could mean higher prices for consumers next year unless pandemic-fuelled problems are untangled.

Remittances to low- and middle-income countries from citizens working abroad will rise by more than expected in 2021 thanks to a strong economic recovery in the United States and Europe as well as rising oil revenue in Russia and the gulf, the World Bank said.

Russia’s economy rebounded in the third quarter as the country continues to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, official figures showed Wednesday.

Indian mobile payments giant Paytm lost a quarter of its value on its market debut Thursday, after raising $2.5 billion in the country’s biggest-ever IPO, as traders questioned whether the loss-making firm would ever turn a profit.

The Biden administration has asked some of the world’s largest oil consuming nations - including China, India and Japan - to consider releasing crude stockpiles in a coordinated effort to lower global energy prices, according to several people familiar with the matter.

Amazon.com Inc will stop accepting Visa credit cards issued in the United Kingdom from next year because of high transaction fees, the e-commerce giant said on Wednesday, escalating its fight with the credit card company.

In a major shift for a country long closed to immigrants, Japan is looking to allow foreigners in certain blue-collar jobs to stay indefinitely starting as early as the 2022 fiscal year, a justice ministry official said on Thursday.

The EU plans to bar food and wood imports from deforested areas, according to a proposal unveiled Wednesday aimed at using its trade power to drive sustainability.

Huge spending by governments kept the world economy afloat during the pandemic as officials mobilized a fiscal response not seen since World War Two to bolster household incomes and give businesses a fighting chance to survive the health crisis.

US retail sales surged in October as Americans eagerly started their holiday shopping early to avoid empty shelves amid shortages of some goods because of the ongoing pandemic, giving the economy a lift at the start of the fourth quarter.

Bitcoin and ether, the world’s two largest cryptocurrencies, stayed weak on Wednesday and near critical levels that analysts believe could spell further weakness if breached.

Low vaccination rates in some parts of the world are a future risk to financial stability, the European Central Bank said in a report on Wednesday, while the recovery from the pandemic has eased pressure on the economy.

The US government may run out of money by December 15, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Tuesday in a letter encouraging lawmakers to raise the country’s debt limit to avoid a default.

The United States and Japan announced on Wednesday a new trade partnership to boost cooperation on labor, environment and digital trade issues, with an emphasis on  “third country concerns,” a reference to China’s state-driven economic policies.

Ride-hailing giant Uber has resumed its ride-sharing service in the United States, a top executive announced Tuesday, offering customers in Miami a feature that was stopped last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The top international banking supervisory authority on Tuesday said lenders should account for climate risks when managing their business, suggesting a list of 18  “principles” to guide banks and national supervisors.

British inflation surged to a 10-year high last month as household energy bills rocketed, according to data on Wednesday that will bolster expectations that the Bank of England will raise interest rates next month.