The pound slumped more than one percent versus the dollar and euro Wednesday as Britain's government moved to extend the suspension of parliament, increasing the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit.

Iceland's central bank on Wednesday lowered its key interest rate for the third time this year as it battles with recession after a decade of solid growth.

The European Commission said Wednesday it had begun a preliminary investigation into Google's job search tool on competition grounds, having identified a conflict of interest.

Asian markets swung Wednesday, gripped by uncertainty over the China-US trade talks, with warnings that Donald Trump's unpredictability could be harming the chances of an eventual agreement.

Former Volkswagen boss Ferdinand Piech, who has died at 82, was the autocratic heir of a storied motoring dynasty who drove VW from the brink of bankruptcy to become a global empire.

Global shares were mixed Tuesday as investors seemed slightly more hopeful again about the potential for progress in the costly trade war between the U.S. and China.

Wall Street was set to open with modest gains after gains on Monday, which was prompted by President Donald Trump's claim that his negotiators had received encouraging calls from China on Sunday. China's foreign ministry denied knowledge of any such calls.

Asian markets mostly rose Tuesday, recovering from the previous day's pounding after Donald Trump said China-US trade talks would resume soon, though the president's sharp changes in tone are keeping investors on edge.

Regional equities tanked and the yuan plunged Monday in response to news at the weekend that Washington would hike tariffs on more than half-a-trillion dollars of Chinese imports after Beijing unveiled levies on tens of billions of dollars of US goods.

India's central bank has announced a $24-billion windfall for the cash-strapped government, giving a much-needed boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he seeks to kickstart growth in Asia's third-biggest economy.

There were signs of a thaw in trade-war tensions between China and the U.S. on Monday as President Donald Trump said delegations would "very shortly" resume talks and Beijing's top negotiator called for "calm."

Iran said on Monday it had sold the oil aboard a tanker that was released this month after being detained for six weeks by the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.