The U.S. economy's job creation ability disappointed in December, despite solid hiring in manufacturing and construction, according to government data.

Canada's trade deficit rose to Can$2.5 billion (US$1.7 billion) in November on the back of the sharpest rise in imports in more than eight years, the government statistics office has said.

Saudi Arabia announced Saturday it had boosted stipends and benefits for citizens to cushion the impact of economic reforms including the kingdom's first ever taxes after an oil price slump.

Most working Saudi Arabians are employed by the state and, like nationals in other energy-flush Gulf monarchies, have long benefited from a generous welfare system.

A "debt clock" in Berlin, run by German tax lobbyists to shame the government into reining in spending, is falling for the first time in its 22-year history.

Angry Sudanese queued outside bakeries in Khartoum on Friday as bread prices doubled overnight, with bakers blaming a government decision to stop importing wheat.

The U.S. economy's job creation ability disappointed in December, despite solid hiring in manufacturing and construction, according to government data reported Friday.

While the unemployment rate held steady at the 17-year low of 4.1 percent, employers added just 148,000 new hires in the final month of the year, far below expectations, and even below the sluggish 155,000 reported in December 2016.

A Cypriot court on Friday jailed a former CEO of Bank of Cyprus after he was found guilty of market manipulation by deceiving shareholders in the lead-up to a banking system meltdown in 2013.

The British government announced plans Thursday to distribute £330 million ($447 million, 371 million euros) taken from dormant bank accounts to good causes, bringing the total handed out to almost £700 million.

The Dormant Accounts Scheme was established in 2008, allowing the reallocation of money from accounts in which there have been no transactions for 15 years.

Egypt's grand mufti has said that bitcoin is forbidden in Islam, warning the digital currency could be used for criminal purposes.

Swedish carmaker Volvo, owned by the Chinese Geely, said Thursday that booming demand in China helped it notch up record sales for the fourth consecutive year in 2017.