Standing beside the piles of dark red palm fruits ready for crushing for their essence, Nigerian farmer Micah Ojo hopes to cash in on the government’s drive to revive the country’s once thriving palm oil business.

US President Joe Biden said on Saturday he was going to “work like hell” to get both an infrastructure bill and a multi-trillion-dollar social spending bill passed through Congress and plans to travel more to bolster support with Americans.

Gas stations in London and southeast England continue to suffer a lack of fuel although the situation has improved in northern England and Scotland, the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) said on Saturday.

Japan will compile a large extra budget immediately after a looming general election to ease the economic blow of the pandemic and boost long-term growth in key areas, a ruling party heavyweight said on Sunday.

OPEC and its allies meet on Monday to debate how much oil to release into the red hot market, where supply disruptions and recovering demand from the coronavirus pandemic have pushed oil above $80 per barrel.

Nigeria received approval for $400 million in funding from the World Bank on Friday to purchase and deploy Covid-19 vaccines, the bank said in a statement.

The International Monetary Fund’s executive board will intensify its probe of Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva this week by separately interviewing her and investigators who said she pressured World Bank staff to alter data to favor China, people with knowledge of the meetings said.

Oil settled above $78 a barrel on Friday, just shy of a three-year high reached earlier this week, on expectations that OPEC ministers will maintain a steady pace in raising supply.

The White House is pressing major US airlines to mandate coronavirus vaccines for employees by December 8 and showing no signs of extending the deadline, four sources told Reuters on Friday.

US consumer spending surged in August, but outlays adjusted for inflation were weaker than initially thought in the prior month, reinforcing expectations that economic growth slowed in the third quarter as Covid-19 infections flared up.

Indian utilities are scrambling to secure coal supplies as inventories hit critical lows after a surge in power demand from industries and sluggish imports due to record global prices push power plants to the brink.

Global stock markets seesawed on Friday at the end of a tumultuous week marked by concerns about soaring inflation and a possible US debt default.

Fully vaccinated travellers from any country can now book holidays to tourism haven Phuket, the Thai government has announced, under tweaks to a struggling quarantine-free travel scheme.

Global manufacturing activity took a big hit from supply chain bottlenecks and escalating costs, exacerbated by pandemic-induced factory shutdowns in Asia and signs of slowing Chinese growth, surveys showed on Friday.

Ho Chi Minh City on Friday lifted a stay-at-home order that had kept its nine million residents indoors for three months and devastated business in Vietnam’s economic hub.

Supply constraints thwarting global economic growth could still get worse, keeping inflation elevated longer, even if the current spike in prices is still likely to remain temporary, the world’s top central bankers warned on Wednesday.

Myanmar’s ongoing economic problems were caused by  “outside factors” and two waves of Covid-19 infections, but the military government takes full responsibility and is working hard to address them, a spokesman said on Thursday.

China’s factory activity unexpectedly shrank in September due to wider curbs on electricity use and elevated input prices, while services returned to expansion as Covid-19 outbreaks receded, offering some relief to the world’s second-biggest economy.

Britain’s economy performed better than previously thought in the second quarter, as households spent more and saved less as a result of easing lockdown restrictions, official data showed Thursday.

US and EU officials on Wednesday pledged to join forces to deal with a host of technology and trade issues to secure semiconductor supplies and counter China’s dominance.