Some of the world's rarest and most expensive whiskies went on sale on Friday in an online auction of a private collection amassed by a late U.S. soft drink bottling tycoon.

An al-Akhbar newspaper article titled "the French are withdrawing from Société Générale" contains "totally inaccurate and misleading information thus exposing the newspaper, the author of the article and the editor-in-chief to criminal legal actions," SGBL said in a press release.

"The accounting procedure applied by 'Société Générale (France)' towards constituting a provision regarding its equity participation in the share capital of 'Société Générale de Banque au Liban S.A.L.' consists of a standard procedure which is undertaken in case of a credit rating downgrade of the country where the local bank conducts its business, in accordance with the IFRS international accounting standards. Therefore, and contrary to the false information contained in this article, the aforesaid accounting procedure does not in any way mean that 'Société Générale (France)' is divesting its interest in 'Société Générale de Banque au Liban S.A.L.' and is absolutely not related to the latter’s financial situation," the press release said.

The head of Credit Suisse, Tidjane Thiam, said Friday he would step down next week, as a ballooning spying scandal rocks Switzerland's second largest bank.

Fiat Chrysler could halt production at a European factory because of supply problems from China due to the coronavirus outbreak there, its boss told Thursday's Financial Times.

Finnish telecom equipment provider Nokia beat expectations in a "challenging" 2019 as a strong fourth quarter enabled it to post its first full-year net profit since 2015, of 7.0  million euros.

U.S.-Italian automaker Fiat Chrysler said Thursday its net earnings fell by nearly a fifth last year as sales slowed, although both rose in the final quarter.

China on Thursday said it would halve tariffs on $75 billion-worth of US imports as part of its trade truce with Washington and as officials look to calm markets unnerved by the deadly virus outbreak.

Asian markets rallied again Thursday despite the China virus claiming hundreds of lives and infecting tens of thousands, with investors welcoming strong US jobs data and Beijing's decision to slash levies on US imports.

Pope Francis insisted Wednesday poverty could be beaten if the world's rich play a full part in ending inequality as he attended a conference on financial inclusion.

The British government on Wednesday announced plans to stop prosecuting people who do not pay the BBC's compulsory subscription fee, sparking concerns about the broadcaster's future funding.