Ministers Sunday greenlighted a bill allowing Israel to withhold tax monies it collects for the Palestinian Authority by the same amount as stipends that the PA pays to jailed militants.

China on Saturday warned it would take necessary measures to protect its interests if the US imposes tough trade sanctions against its steel and aluminium exports.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde warned Saturday that economic stimulus from US tax cuts may lead to a rapid rise in interest rates which would weigh on countries with high debt levels.

Société Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL), one of the leading banks in Lebanon and the Levant, has partnered with Backbase to deliver “an entirely new experience to its customers,” SGBL said on Friday.

French auto giant Renault said Friday that it enjoyed a record year in 2017, with sales and net profit rising to new heights.

Italian oil and gas company Eni said Friday the recovery in global crude prices along with record production helped it swing back into profit in 2017.

The company turned a loss of 1.46 billion euros in 2016 into a net profit of 3.4 billion euros ($4.3 billion) in 2017, much higher than the average of just under 2.0 billion expected by analysts surveyed by Factset Estimates.

The heads of Sweden's largest companies, including clothing giant H&M and telecoms maker Ericsson, denounced Friday deportations of highly-skilled workers as the nation's technology sector suffers a shortage of staff. 

European stock prices pushed higher at the start of trading on Friday, buoyed by solid gains on Wall Street and a largely positive session in Asia. 

The good news keeps coming for the French economy: data published Thursday showed unemployment at its lowest level since 2009 while the head of the IMF praised recent reforms by President Emmanuel Macron.

Iran has raised bank deposit rates and frozen the accounts of hundreds of foreign exchange dealers in a bid to shore up the value of the rial, reports said Thursday.