Economic activity in the eurozone fell in July, but only slightly in a signal that the bad effects of Brexit have yet to take hold in continental Europe, a closely watched survey showed Friday.

Data monitoring company Markit did not cite Britain's vote to leave the EU as the specific cause of the downturn, and even said France and Germany showed surprising resilience.

The head of the International Monetary Fund called Friday for quick action to end uncertainty over Britain's vote to leave the European Union, which she said is dampening global economic growth.

The IMF cut this year's global growth forecast by 0.1 percentage points to 3.1 percent in a report released this week due to the shockwaves of the British vote, said Christine Lagarde.

North Korea's economy contracted for the first time in five years in 2015, the South's central bank said Friday, undermining leader Kim Jong-Un's stated policy of simultaneous military and economic development.

The isolated North's gross domestic product appeared to have shrunk 1.1 percent last year -- the first downturn since 2010 and the sharpest fall since 2007, the Bank of Korea said.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Thursday said top economies should refrain from competitive currency devaluations -- a message likely directed at China, which hosts a G20 finance ministers meeting this weekend.

Malaysia has been gripped for more than a year by allegations that billions of dollars were looted from state investment fund 1MDB in an audacious campaign of fraud and money laundering.

The flood of billions of dollars out of China slowed dramatically in the second quarter, official figures showed Thursday, despite the yuan's persistent weakness making it less attractive to hold.

Britain should not be able to access the EU's single market without allowing free movement of EU citizens, French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday.

Oil prices edged up in Asia Thursday following U.S. data showing a drop in inventories and tracking gains across regional markets, while traders await central bank policy meetings in Europe and Japan.

Singapore revealed Thursday it had seized nearly $180 million in assets through its investigations into suspected fraud and money-laundering related to scandal-tainted Malaysian state fund 1MDB.

It added that half those assets were linked to Low Taek Jho, a Malaysian businessman and a close family friend of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Embattled German auto giant Volkswagen said Wednesday it booked another huge charge related to the engine-rigging scandal on its first-half accounts, but insisted that profits came in better than expected overall and it would stick to its full-year targets.