Japanese automaker Honda's profit rose 3.5% in the October-December quarter from a year earlier on the back of solid demand in the U.S. and Europe and a recovery in its home market, the company said Thursday.

Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co.'s profit in the last quarter was 253.3 billion yen, or $1.7 billion. Quarterly sales jumped 21% to 5.39 trillion yen ($36 billion).

Nissan's profit sank in October-December to about half of what it earned the year before, the automaker said Thursday, though it stuck to its earlier earnings forecasts.

Nissan Motor Co., based in the port city of Yokohama, reported its profit was 29 billion yen ($195 million) in the last quarter, down from 50.6 billion yen a year earlier.

The work to tame inflation in Turkey — namely through interest rate hikes — will continue "with determination," the country's new central bank chief said Thursday, offering some certainty about efforts to right the battered economy following his predecessor's surprise resignation.

Speaking for the first time since taking the helm of the central bank on Saturday, Fatih Karahan, a former senior Goldman Sachs executive, said he expects inflation to drop considerably over this year and next.

The economic losses in south Lebanon have reached around $1.2 billion since the beginning of the Israel-Hezbollah clashes on October 8, a study has found.

From Flamin' Hot Cheetos to Sweet Heat Starburst, America's snacks are getting spicier. Now, Coca-Cola wants in on the trend.

On Wednesday, the Atlanta beverage giant introduced Coca-Cola Spiced, the first new permanent offering to its North American portfolio in three years. Coca-Cola Spiced and Coca-Cola Spiced Zero Sugar will go on sale in the U.S. and Canada on Feb. 19.

Chinese and U.S. officials have met in Beijing for talks on tough issues dividing the two largest economies, as trade and tariffs increasingly draw attention in the runup to the U.S. presidential election.

China's Ministry of Finance said Beijing raised objections to higher tariffs on Chinese exports, two-way investment restrictions and other limits on trade and technology during the talks by the countries' Economic Working Group. In a statement, it characterized the Monday-Tuesday talks as "constructive."

Missiles and drones are flying in the Red Sea, disrupting one of the world's key trade arteries and a chokepoint for energy shipments headed for Europe.

Attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels over Israel's war with Hamas are posing a new threat to the future of energy supplies to the 27-country European Union, which relies on imported natural gas to power factories, generate electricity and heat homes.

Nintendo reported healthy sales and profits on the back of the hit "Super Mario Bros. Wonder" game, prompting the Japanese video game maker to raise its full fiscal year forecasts.

Kyoto-based Nintendo Co. said Tuesday that demand for what it called the first completely new Super Mario game in the series remained strong. Sales of the new Zelda game and "Pikmin 4" also surged.

The European Union's executive arm shelved an anti-pesticide proposal Tuesday in yet another concession to farmers after weeks of protests that blocked many capitals and economic lifelines across the 27-nation bloc.

Although the proposal had languished in EU institutions for the past two years, the move by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was the latest indication that the bloc is willing to sacrifice environmental priorities to keep the farming community on its side. Despite concessions, protests continued from the Netherlands to Spain and Bulgaria.

Turkey has seen its fifth central bank leader depart in as many years as Hafize Gaye Erkan, the first woman in the top role, stepped down after just eight months in the job.

She announced her resignation late Friday after recent claims of nepotism emerged in local media, allegations that Erkan, a former senior Goldman Sachs executive, strongly rejected.