Fraud charges against a former chief executive of British banking giant Barclays have been dropped, but three co-defendants will face a retrial following an appeal, a court heard Friday.

Oil prices ticked lower Friday following the previous day's surge fuelled by tensions between the United States and Iran, while Asian equities turned negative as investors took their foot off the pedal following a recent rally.

Gold prices broke $1,400 an ounce to hit a near-six-year high on Friday as the weaker dollar, economic concerns and geopolitical tensions saw investors pile into the safe-haven commodity.

Renault announced Thursday that it had reached an agreement with its partner Nissan on the Japanese carmaker's governance overhaul, paving the way for the French company to back changes decided in the wake of the Carlos Ghosn scandal.

Software company Slack Technologies climbed on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday after entering in a direct listing in the latest sign of Wall Street's appetite for new technology entrants.

Oil prices jumped Thursday on rising U.S.-Iran tensions, with gains accelerating on a cryptic tweet by U.S. President Donald Trump after Iranian forces shot down a U.S. spy drone.

Turkey is set to send a new ship on Thursday to search for oil and gas off Cyprus, in a move expected to escalate tensions after the EU called on Ankara to stop its "illegal drilling activities".

German sportswear giant Adidas on Wednesday lost a legal battle to trademark its "three stripe" motif in the EU, as a court ruled the design was not distinctive enough to deserve protection.

Outside the Syrian capital, Radwan Hazaa is preparing to plant hundreds of pomegranate seeds on his land in Eastern Ghouta, hoping to replace some 3,000 trees lost in years of war.

In many Chinese cities, government restrictions have cooled formerly feverish property markets, but in the southwestern city of Chongqing, construction is booming and sales soaring as investors rush in.