A senior commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday that cooperation with foreign firms on oil projects was necessary, but putting them in charge would be a national "disgrace."

The slow global economy and the health-driven turn against sweet sodas dented Coca-Cola sales for the sixth straight quarter, delivering a 28 percent hit to net income, the company reported Thursday.

Coca-Cola said worldwide revenues fell in the quarter to September 30 by 7.0 percent from a year ago to $10.6 billion, with sharp declines in its Latin America and Europe-Africa-Middle East regions.

Saudi Arabia's financial position remains strong despite sinking oil prices, although there is "some pressure" on bank liquidity, the finance minister has said.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday urged foreign businesses in the Philippines worried about his deadly drug war to "pack up and leave", as he launched another anti-American tirade before flying to Japan to attract investments.

Use of solar power is soaring, but Europe's biggest solar panel manufacturer, SolarWorld, took the surprise step last month of cutting 500 jobs from its workforce of 3,000.

The reason? Global sales are on track for a record year but prices are plunging due to a glut of supply. That is encouraging the spread of clean energy but squeezing manufacturers, leading to politically sensitive job losses.

Eurozone officials announced Tuesday they have approved 2.8 billion euros for Greece from its huge third bailout after the cash-strapped nation delivered the needed reforms.

"Today's decision to disburse €2.8 billion ($3.0 billion) to Greece is a sign that the Greek people are steadily making progress in reforming their country," said a statement from the directors of the European Stability Mechanism, the Eurozone body controlling Greece's bailout loans.

As the US recovery has gradually improved economic prospects of families, on-time payments and access to credit have improved, but there remain large areas where people are being left behind.

Many people still cannot access traditional forms of credit, or have high credit delinquency rates, according to the New York Federal Reserve Bank's Community Credit report released Monday.

The British government is expected to make a long-awaited decision Tuesday on increasing London's airport capacity, with speculation growing that controversial proposals to expand Heathrow will take off.

Environmental activists are set to hold a protest in anticipation of the announcement in the morning, blocking a fake runway outside parliament.

Belgium has conceded it cannot sign off on a landmark EU free trade deal with Canada because of continued objections from Wallonia and other regional leaders who rejected a late Monday deadline.

Eurozone business activity picked up strongly in October to a 10-month high, recovering from a dip in September, as economic powerhouse Germany led the way, a closely watched survey showed Monday.