German businesses rounded off 2016 with a stronger-than-forecast increase in confidence, a closely-followed survey showed Monday, despite fears for the future over Brexit and Donald Trump.

Etihad Airways has begun cutting jobs in a restructuring process to reduce cost as it faces tough competition and a weakened global economy, the Emirati carrier said on Monday.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko urged people not to panic Monday after his government nationalized the country's largest private bank to try and avoid a financial meltdown.

Australia avoided a feared downgrade of its coveted AAA credit rating Monday after sticking to its ambition of returning the budget to surplus in 2020-21 despite softer growth forecasts.

Austerity-wracked Greece could strike a deal with its creditors by early next year, a senior EU official said Sunday, seeking to calm a recent row over surprise handouts announced by Athens.

With protests rocking his unpopular government, embattled President Nicolas Maduro delayed until January 2 taking Venezuela's highest denomination bill out of circulation.

The 100 bolivar bills would temporarily remain legal tender, Maduro said Saturday, but the borders with Colombia and Brazil will remain closed to hit what he claims are "mafias" hoarding Venezuelan cash abroad in a U.S.-backed plot to destabilize the country.

Saudi Arabia's largest telecommunications firm STC plans to buy a 10 percent stake in car booking firm Careem, the company said on Sunday.

Sri Lanka has secured $1.34 billion in loans from the World Bank to boost the cash-strapped island's economy over the next three years, the finance ministry said Saturday.

The loans would be at concessionary rates and repayments spread out over 15 years, the ministry said in a statement. 

Spain wants to put an end to its distinctive and gruelling work day which hurts productivity -- and it may move the country's clocks back by one hour to the same time zone as London's to do so.

The strong US dollar, boosted further by the Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates, could pose challenges to President-elect Donald Trump's economic agenda.